Open letter In-person courses planned

Dear students of Ruhr-Universität,

Today, I’d like to inform you about the Ruhr-Universität's plans for teaching and study in the upcoming summer semester.

Based on the predictions for the pandemic, we are currently assuming that the university will be able to resume in-person courses in the summer semester of 2022.

This means that you will finally benefit from the advantages and opportunities of interaction and exchange in the classroom and be able to experience a student life. You will meet your fellow students and your lecturers. You will try out and develop techniques and methods that you could only develop to a limited extent or not at all in online classes so far. You will now be able to learn and catch up on approaches that can only be learned and caught up on campus – in archives, libraries, by conducting experiments and working in teams.

All faculties and central research units are currently preparing study offers that take these necessities into account. Our intention is to help you to finally fully take up or continue your degree programmes – on campus as well as on excursions and internships in other regions.

This does not only mean that you’ll have to be physically present and perhaps move to Bochum for the first time, after having been enrolled at Ruhr-Universität for one or more semesters. It also means that you can and must become more active and independent in your studies. New challenges entail new efforts, as a university degree programme typically does.

It remains to be seen to what extent we will (be forced to) start with hybrid programmes and courses for smaller groups in order to meet the requirements of Covid-19 health protection. Yet, everyone will definitely have the chance to attend various in-person courses. We certainly expect you to study on campus in Bochum from April this year.

This doesn't mean that good and successful digital teaching formats will suddenly be discontinued. In addition to a broad range of in-person courses, online classes will routinely be offered, including lectures that can be attended asynchronously, online courses at international partner universities, digital prep classes for seminars and exercises based on the principle of the “inverted classroom,” as well as hybrid formats – the latter also helping to relieve the epidemiological burden, in case this should be necessary.

The pandemic has highlighted the strengths and limitations of digital formats and digital teaching. Therefore, we want to start the next semester by introducing the “new normal” in study and teaching: with lots of sensibly used in-person classes, supplemented and enhanced by digital ones.

In the past semesters, all members of the university had to show a lot of patience, consideration and flexibility. The pandemic has many of us hampered in reaching the goals that we set out for. Don’t let this get you down, let’s not give up! Let’s all together next semester return to a mode of learning and teaching that helps us get ahead! Let’s use the opportunities of in-person classes and our recent experiences with online formats to catch up on what we’ve missed!

I wish you luck and success for the upcoming oral and written exams, seminar papers and the completion of all your projects in the winter semester. And I look forward to seeing you on campus in the summer semester 2022!

Yours, Kornelia Freitag