My life at Clausthal University of Technology - Vijaybhai Solanki talks about his Mining Engineering degree and his passion for nature and sport.

Vijaybhai Solanki has come a long way, as he is more than 7,000 kilometers away from his home in India. The 25-year-old comes from near Amreli and his hometown is somewhat reminiscent of the Harz mountains and forests. "The trees in my home country are much smaller, though, and I have to duck under them," he says with a laugh.

Vijay, short for Vijaybhai, is currently in the fourth semester of the English-language Master's degree course in Mining Engineering. He has already completed his Bachelor's degree in India. He got to know Clausthal University of Technology and some other students from his home country through the website of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD). Vijay's favorite topic is sustainable mining. "It's important to me to protect the environment," he says. "If I work in this field later on, I can do my bit to protect the environment."

However, it's not just the connection with nature that excites him about his degree course, but also the close contact with the professors. This was particularly important for Vijay during digital teaching during the lockdown, as he is currently preparing for his Master's thesis. In it, he wants to write about a new and exciting subject area: space mining. This topic was already a central aspect of the 2020 colloquium on "Mining materials handling technology" and will continue to be of great importance in the future, especially for the industry, as new and above all sustainable ways of extracting raw materials are essential.

In addition to his studies, the 25-year-old attaches great importance to his health and fitness. His affinity with nature in the Harz region draws him out into the woods on his bike time and again. Vijay's favorite place, however, is the Clausthal Waldseebad. He likes to sit there, drink a coffee and enjoy the view. "After being outside, I can concentrate much better on my studies and am much more relaxed," he says.

Vijay normally loves going to the gym, but because of the pandemic, which has had a firm grip on everything since March, he had to find something new. So he took up calisthenics, a sport that involves doing exercises with your own body weight. There is also a calisthenics park at the TU Clausthal sports hall. With his ambition and perfectionism, Vijay was able to improve his skills quickly. "As far as I know, there are only two people in Clausthal, including me, who do this sport," explains Vijay, visibly proud. At the same time, he has decided to record his sport on video and share it on various social media channels. Why? "I want to get more people excited about sport and nature," he says. He has been successful with this on his Instagram profile, with around 800 people already following his content.

However, for Vijay, health and fitness are not just about sport. Cooking is also one of his favorite pastimes. The Clausthal student often tries out new and above all healthy recipes. However, his favorite is and remains the typical Indian dish chicken biryani, which consists mainly of rice, chicken and the Indian spice mixture garam masala. His mother often cooked this dish for him in India. And as he hasn't been able to see her in person for over a year, this dish is a nice reminder of his mother.