Are you excited to dive into various state-of-the-art teaching and learning formats sharpening your intercultural awareness and understanding? Do you want to actively tackle real-world challenges in an international team? Are you interested in boosting your Academic Writing Skills?
EPICUR is excited to offer you courses in the European Tracks Sustainability and European Identities, Language and Culture!
Courses start from February 2023.
Registration is open until December 16, noon, and will happen through the EPICUR Interuniversity Campus.
Enjoy browsing through our EPICUR course offerings and add some courses to your studies in spring 2023!
If you have questions, here are some FAQs that might help. If you have further questions, come and join our information session on December 6, 5 to 6 pm. The link to the session will be posted on the FAQ website.
Would you like to stay up to date on what´s happening in the EPICUR world? Then subscribe to the EPICUR newsletter at contact@epicur.education. Stay EPICURious!
How much do you know about the state of the world?
Do you think the world is a better or worse place than it ever was?
In order to answer such questions, Ermelinda Kanushi from the UCF Governance team has organized a guest lecture with a prominent Swedish speaker Anna Rosling Rönnlund. Ms. Rosling Rönnlund is the founder of the well-known Gapminder
Foundation and co-author of the best-seller "Factfulness: Ten Reasons We're Wrong About the World – and Why Things Are Better Than You Think".
The lecture will be streamed at Max Kade 2 or you can watch it online at:
https://uni-freiburg.zoom.us/j/3725207811
For people making it a bit earlier at the Max Kade 2, we also offer some small cookies and coffee.
In order to participate in the lecture please make sure to preliminary answer a short quiz on world data. You can find the quiz at the link: https://askabc.org/e/freiburg/
The quiz is totally anonymous and the aggregation of the answers will be used for the sole purpose of this lecture. You can answer the quiz until 23 November 2022 at 14:00 CET.
Guest Lecturer: Anna Rosling Rönnlund "For a fact-based worldview"
When? November 24, 2022, at 18:30 CET
Where? Max Kade 2 Auditorium - Alte Uni, and Online
You are all invited to attend. We would be happy to see you in presence or online! No RSPV is required.
In WS 2021/22, Prof. Dr. Michael Müller, Karina Witte, and Petra Mußler co-taught the course "Planetary Health – Global Illness". It was open to LAS students and from the Master program "Pharmazeutische Wissenschaften". The course was a great success.
Very fittingly, the instructors have now received the teaching award "Hochschulbildung für eine nachhaltige Entwicklung" from the Heidelberg "Bildung für nachhaltige Entwicklung-Zentrum" (BNE). The laudation for the prize is available on the BNE website:
"Mit ihrem transfakultären Lehrangebot ist es Petra Mußler, Prof. Michael Müller und Dipl.-Pharm. Karina Witte gelungen, an der Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg einen Kurs zu entwickeln und sehr erfolgreich durchzuführen, der als Vorbild wirken kann für Vorhaben in Lehrbereichen, in denen BNE bisher noch wenig Verankerung gefunden hat."
UCF congratulates and thank the instructors – and of course all participating students!
Every year, around 40 to 50 outstanding scientists from Freiburg and many other countries around the world come to Freiburg Institute for Advanced Studies (FRIAS) as research fellows. There they can spend six to twelve months conducting research and developing their scientific projects in an international, interdisciplinary environment. Intensive work, lectures, and lively debates on current social, political, and scientific issues as well as public events characterize life at FRIAS.
On 1 October 2022, the classical archaeologist Prof. Dr. Ralf von den Hoff assumed office of full-time FRIAS director. The three-member board of directors is completed by the part-time speakers Prof. Dr. Barbara Di Ventura and UCF's Prof. Dr. Veronika Lipphardt (STS). We wish Veronika and the whole board a successful start!
Here you can read the university press release.
(Photo by Jörg Blum)
Our 7th LAS Graduation ceremony took place on October 14, traditionally at the end of the Welcome Week. Graduates, families and friends, students and staff came together in the Aula to celebrate the LAS graduates 2022.
Here you can get some more impressions from the festive ceremony.
This year our LAS Welcome Week started, in complete contrast to the two previous years, with no internet/wifi connection completely offline. Due to reconstruction work nearby, a cable was accidentially cut. But that did no harm and the Sign-Up and meeting with the UCF committees was a successful opening of the week.
Here you can have a look at our Welcome Week schedule with many fantastic fun events – including a jam session, hike, city-tour and movie night – organized by the UCF Student Council. One of our main events was, as always, our big Opening Celebration.
We warmly welcome our new LAS students and wish them a good start at UCF!
Here are some impressions:
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During the semester break, Dr. Sabine Sané and 16 LAS students spent 3 days in Copenhagen to find out more about this pioneer of urban sustainability. The excursion was funded by the DAAD via the VirtuaLAS II project.
First, Natalie Gulsrud from the University of Copenhagen provided insights into Copenhagen's green infrastructure. Then, the group visited Amager Bakke, a huge incineration plant that was opened in 2019 and provides approx. 70% of Copenhagen's district heat and 30% of the electricity. It also releases a tremendous amount of CO2 and is one of the main causes that Copenhagen will fail its CO2 neutral goal in 2025.
The excursion also included a visit to the rooftop farm Ostergro, a bike tour to explore how sustainable transport works in Copenhagen, and visits to various other sites that can be discussed concerning Copenhagen's sustainability measures such as Superkilen, the climate quarter, Jaegersborggade and Nordhavn, and a mushroom farm that grows mushrooms on coffee ground waste.
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| Bike Tour | Incineration Plant Amager Bakke | Ostergro Rooftop Farm |
We would like to draw your attention to a workshop that is co-organized by UCF alumna Charlotte Weinreich. ArTik e.V. organized a format called "Frauen* ans Mikro", in cooperation with the Women's Representative of the City of Freiburg. This workshop-day will take place on Saturday, October 8, 2022 at ArTik Freiburg and is aimed at women* only. The goal is to introduce the participants to the topic of structural and historically grown discrimination against women* and how this still affects the underrepresentation of women* in professions "at the micro", i.e. high-profile and creative professions as well as positions of power in politics and journalism. Following this input, the participants will get to know personalities working in these fields in a workshop format during which they can ask questions. This is intended to encourage them to tackle women-specific obstacles and structural problems of all kinds and to courageously pursue their professional aspirations.
Have a look at the new course offerings of the program Wissenschaft, Technologie, Gesellschaft (Science, Technology, Society) for the upcoming winter semester. The program is run in cooperation with UCF, ZfS, and the Professur for Science and Technology Studies. Courses deal with the interrelationships among science, technology, and society with a focus on the life science, the environment, and digitalization.
This Winter Semester, we will be offering the following classes (2-SWS, 6-ECTS). The courses are open to all University students:
We would also like to draw your attention to the student course competition for summer semester 2023. The deadline for submission is September 30, 2022. Here you can find the detailed description.
The new book of UCF's Prof. Frieder Vogelmann “Die Wirksamkeit des Wissens. Eine politische Epistemologie“ is now published by Suhrkamp.
Political epistemology names a challenging task: in order to do justice to the internal relations between truth and knowledge on the one hand, and politics and society on the other, it must reformulate the concepts of both epistemology and social and political theory. For the concept of knowledge, this means taking equal account of the truth and efficacy of knowledge. In his fundamental book, Frieder Vogelmann shows what far-reaching consequences this has: for the current debate about untruths in politics, for the possible forms of social criticism, and for philosophy's reflection on itself and its history.
Here you can find more information: www.suhrkamp.de/buch/frieder-vogelmann-die-wirksamkeit-des-wissens-t-9783518299722
We are happy to announce the LAS Course Catalog for the upcoming Winter Semester 2022-23! It includes many exciting courses such as:
Please note:
We were very happy to welcome more than 60 alumni back at UCF at our alumni meeting on July 30. After a first welcome at UCF in the Common Room, also many current LAS students joined us for the panel discussion "10 years UCF and alumni whereabouts and experience". The five coordinators discussed with seven alumni and current students.
After that, we all gathered at the Ganter Biergarten and enjoyed the beautiful weather and, most important, the good company! We hope that many more alumni events will follow this wonderful alumni meeting in the next years and thank everyone who participated.
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(Photos by Thomas Kurz)
We are looking foward to our Alumni Meeting and 10 Years UCF Celebration on Saturday, July 30, 2022.
Join us for our celebrations and memories of the past 10 UCF years! Our program for July 30:
Inaugural lecture of Prof. Frieder Vogelmann on July 21, 2022, 6-8pm in HS 1098:
You are warmly invited to the inaugural lecture by Prof. Vogelmann. Following university tradition, the lecture will be in German and is entitled "Der Weisheit Freund und aller Welt Feind? Philosophie mit, in und gegen die Welt". The lecture is followed by a small reception.
If you cannot make it in person, feel free to follow the lecture via the livestream:
https://t1p.de/ets-antrittsvorlesung
When? July 21, 2022, 6-8 PM
Where? HS 1098, KG I
On July 6, 2022, UCF awarded the Erasmus Prize for the Liberal Arts and Sciences for the 10th time. Thankfully, after two years of pause due to the pandemic, we were able to host the award ceremony in the beautiful Meckelhalle.
This year, the Erasmus Prize was awarded to Ines Schröder and to Dr. Vera Marstaller, both from the University of Freiburg. Please see the press release for further information. We were also happy to welcome Jeremy Fon Sing, Erasmus Prize winner 2020, finally in person in Freiburg.
We were very privileged to have author Carolin Emcke give the UCF Lecture 2022. Carolin Emcke talked about "Zeugenschaft aus Kriegen – Schwellen, Hindernisse, Tabus". We thank her for a very personal, interesting, and stirring lecture.
Finally, UCF thanks all guests for being part of this special award ceremony in our jubilee year, and especially the Sparkasse Freiburg-Nördlicher Breisgau for their longtime support.
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(Photos by Jürgen Gocke)
In a research-based learning project, the students of the class on "Energy Transitions and Policy" developed a report on the impact of a ban of fossil heating technologies on NEPCs and national energy dependence in collaboration with Oeko-Institut. In the context of the imminent climate and energy security crisis, the report estimates how banning fossil fuels for heating in the EU can contribute to meeting the climate targets and to reduce import dependency.
The report is presented in a public online event on July 11, 11-12 am: here you can register. You can also download the report here.
The Global Sustainability Week June 27 – 01 July 1, 2022 has the pleasure to invite you to a series of evening lectures on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and not only. (More information below)
The lectures will take place every day next week from 18:15 – 19:15 CEST. Either you can access the lectures online via Zoom or you can choose to watch them screened in one of the booked rooms.
For more information on how to access the lectures, please refer to the poster on the left.
Everyone is invited to join. So, feel free to let your colleagues and friends know. No RSVP is required. We will be waiting for you either in the class or online!
A German family in the 1980s, a pot full of mussels, and an unprecedented event…
What happens when routine is broken? What lurks beneath the surface of the nuclear family? And what does it take for a revolution to start?
In a collage of performances and classical theater elements, this play discovers what stands in-between people, what is normally overlooked or stays unspoken and what can be read in-between the lines. Based on the novel of Birgit Vanderbeke, Arts Liberated wrote one of the first theater adaptations and proudly presents to you an interpretation of a possible journey to revolution!
Last winter semester, four LAS-students sat down together and decided that it would be about time to breathe some life into the theatre scene in Freiburg after the long pause of the last two years. Motivated by this thought, they sat down together to explore topics of the "In-Between". Throughout the writing process, they discovered more and more related topics, such as the German reunification, feminism, current climate movements, but mainly focussed on the question what needs to happen for people in a situation of oppression to realize that they could potentially free themselves.
When? 8 pm, June 26, 27 and July 1, 2, 2022
Where? Theater Fistung
From June 27 to July 1, Ecoalas is hosting UCFs first "Global Sustainability Week". This week features a photo competition, interesting guest lecturers from different backgrounds, interactive breakfast meetings and an excursion in Freiburg all under the motto "Sustainable Development Goals: Todays Utopia, Tomorrows Reality?!" The event is mainly targeted to UCF students, but anyone is welcome to sign up via the following link https://forms.gle/WuDPgKxgMYEHGLFF6. More information will follow via email once you signed up.
Get creative and join the photo competition! Here you can find all information on the competition. Final date for submissions is July 1, 2022, 11 AM. (Deadline postponed)
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The Liberal Arts and Sciences application period starts on June 1 and runs until July 15.
Do you want to know what it's like to study LAS at UCF? Then have a look at our LAS Stories and the LAS course experiences! And follow our LAS students on Instagram for more fun facts and insights.
Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. mult. Hans-Joachim Gehrke, UCF's Director of Outreach, was appointed as Foreign Partner of the Academy of Athens. On March 24, 2022 the official reception session took place in the presence of the Secretary General Mr. Christos Zerefos, the President of the Academy of Athens. Prof. Gehrke gave a speech entitled "City and Education" (in Greek!). Here you can follow the reception and speech.
We warmly congratulate Achim Gehrke on this significant honor!
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Do you want to spice up your study program with a truly European component? EPICUR is offering a catalogue of outstanding courses such as the European Tracks, the European Language Learning Pathways or the new Learning Pathway in Sustainable Food Systems.
EPICUR courses are open to all students from all EPICUR partner universities.
Application is now open and ends June 13th.
Do you have any questions? EPICUR offers an info-session on May 24, 2022.
The UCF Student Council cordially invites all LAS students to the General Assembly (GA) of the summer semester 2022, which will take place on Thursday, May 12th at 17:00 via Zoom (link will be provided by the Student Council).
Besides news and updates on committee activities, updates or concerns from student side there also are some Student Council offices up for election! We encourage you to run for an office: Join the Executive Organisers, become the new LAS Treasurerer, run for Secretary of Outreach, become a Delegate to the Board of Studies or a LAS Student Mediator. It's your choice.
When? May 12, 17:00
Where? via Zoom
On Thursday, May 12, students from the course "Students and Other Knowers in Context", instructed by Prof. Veronika Lipphardt, will present their various creative final projects.
This year the students have manifested their learnings from the various topics discussed in the course in a creative manner. The outcomes range from a knowledge cookbook to a song and a dress, all connected to knowledge in different contexts.
The exhibition will be open to visitors in several spaces in Alte Uni, next Thursday, It is open to all.
When? May 12, 6-9 pm
Where? Alte Universität
The social and political problems of algorithms are often discussed under keywords like privacy, discrimination, or "bias". Research recently voiced criticism of this view: It is fundamentally about a wrong or right representation of the world by algorithms. This, however, leaves the fundamental epistemic and/or ontological questions untouched. An onto-epistemic critique of algorithms is developed by drawing primarily on relational approaches from the philosophy of technology or, for example, the "New Materialism".
The talk "Epistemologies and Ontologies of the Critique of Algorithms" by Prof. Tobias Matzner from Paderborn University traces such trends and discusses some problems and proposed solutions.
When? May 12, 6 pm
Where? Max-Kade-Auditorium
The talk will be in German but you can ask questions in English in the Q&A.
Prof. Dr. Lars P. Feld will give a lecture on "In what health care system do we want to live?" on April 27, 2022, starting at 6:30 p.m. as part of the "Academia meets Industry" series. Prof. Feld outlines the challenges facing the German healthcare system in the wake of the Corona pandemic and points to possible avenues for reform.
The lecture complements the four-week multimedia and interactive exhibition on the social market economy "In what order do we want to live?" and is aimed at all interested parties.
When? April 27, 2022, 6:30 pm
Where? Lecture Hall Biochemie/Physiologie, Hermann-Herder-Str. 7 and
Zoom:
https://uni-freiburg.zoom.us/j/62657581839?pwd=VHdxQkJFRUpLUzVTczc3Q0prTk9JZz09
Meeting-ID: 626 5758 1839
Kenncode: 3SPjwKEva
The event "Alone against Leni Riefenstahl – Filmmaker Nina Gladitz and her fight against the Nazi director" of the University Library Freiburg and the Institute for Media and Cultural Studies presents the first German re-release of Nina Gladitz' documentary film "Time of Silence and Time of Darkness" from 1982. In the film, Nina Gladitz documents the search for traces of the Sinto Josef Reinhardt, who had been an extra for Riefenstahl in her film "Tiefland" – together with many other Sinti and Romani children, teenagers and women. Many of them died in concentration camps after their unpaid and forced film work.
In 1984, Leni Riefenstahl obtained a ban on Gladitz's film in a sensational trial in Freiburg. Thus, an important document on the history and culture of remembrance of the Sinti and Roma disappeared from public view for almost forty years.
In addition to the film screening at the event, lectures will shed light on the life and cinematic work of Nina Gladitz and the aesthetics and reception of Riefenstahl's films. Furthermore, Nina Gladitz's lawyer will report on the trial at the time. Prof. Sabine Rollberg, member of the UCF advisory board, will moderate the event.
When? April 26, 2022 at 7 pm
Where? Veranstaltungssaal of the UB
Kindly register at: veranstaltung.gladitz@ub.uni-freiburg.de
With the end of March and the beginning of April, we have quite some changes at UCF. Dr. Ursula Glunk will leave UCF after working for seven years as UCF Academic Director. This is a sad moment for all of us. And it is an opportunity to thank Ursula for her successful years of great engagement and creativity at UCF – for the Liberal Arts and Sciences program and students and in many further UCF activities. Also, we would like to deeply thank Prof. Sitta von Reden for her great work and commitment as LAs Dean of Studies for the past five years.
Besides their many duties, Dr. Glunk and Prof. von Reden were a wonderful team at the LAS Graduation Ceremonies in the past years, handing over the degrees to our graduates. In a lovely farewell gathering in the courtyard of Alte Uni we said our goodbyes and thanks.
Prof. Frieder Vogelmann will take over the position as Dean of Studies of the Liberal Arts and Sciences Program. And we warmly welcome Stefan Adler, who will join UCF in April. We are looking forward to working with him and wish him a good start at UCF!
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| Graduation Ceremony | Farewell in the courtyard |
In the "Programm Lernrückstände" launched by the Baden Württemberg Ministry of Science, Research and the Arts, UCF has secured funding for measures to approach pandemic-related challenges concerning learning and community building: (1) workshops and conferences for informal, intercultural learning and community building, (2) peer mentoring, (3) additional welcome events for first year students, (4) support circles for students.
In this context, UCF is looking to hire a Project Manager Learning Community at UCF. The full job announcement is available here. Deadline is April 4.
The latest information on individual courses is available on ILIAS. Regarding course registration, please carefully read pages 4 and 5.
Please see here the University of Freiburg's position on the war in the Ukraine and for information about support measures.
The University of Freiburg strongly condemns Russia's war of aggression on Ukraine and would also like to further stimulate exchange on this issue. Against this backdrop, on March 9 2022 at 6 p.m., it invites the DFG Research Training Group "Empires: Dynamic Change, Temporality and Post-Imperial Orders" to a public online panel discussion on "The Return of the Empire? Putin's War and Its Global Implications".
During a three-day kick-off event at the end of last year 2021, participants from across Europe came together to meet their fellow group members, their academic mission guides and external stakeholders. Due to the pandemic situation, the kick-off event unfortunately had to be shifted to an online event, but the circumstances did not detract from the great atmosphere and the lively exchange of ideas – as an article about the event shows.
But what exactly are EPIC Missions?
EPIC Missions are pilot group projects organized by EPICUR – The European University – in which students from across Europe come together to solve existing problems of our times for real-world stakeholders with the academic support of mission guides. EPIC Missions are open to all students at EPICUR Universities. There are two different missions (from December until May):
Read more about the impressions of several participants of the kick-off event, including UCF's Stefanie Klose and Mathias Hempfling. The University of Freiburg also covered the launch of the EPIC Missions.
Are you an instructor and want to join the EPICUR adventure? Then have a look at the call for course proposals!
With this call for course proposals, we invite instructors at the EPICUR partner institutions to propose courses that would fit one of our two pilot themes, European Identities and Natural and Societal Sustainability, or focus on the acquisition of Key Competences (e.g., academic skills, interculturality, critical thinking) by 21 March 2022.
The 2021/22 Julie Johnson Kidd Travel Research Fellowship seeks to facilitate cooperation between scholars from Liberal Arts and mono-discipline programs within Europe. It offers 4-5 scholarships for joint projects designed between 2 scholars – one from the Liberal Arts program and the other from any single discipline department. The two scholars should come from different institutions and special consideration will be given to applicants from different European countries.
There will be 4-5 Scholarships worth 1500 Eur each awarded in this round. Deadline for submission of applications is extended until March 15, 2022.
Here you can find more information and how to apply for the J.J. Kidd Fellowship.
You are cordially invited to a talk by Dr. Katharina Hoppe from the Goethe Universität Frankfurt. Dr. Hoppe will talk about "Responding to the Present: post-anthropocentric sociology and post-heroic critique". Against the background of the intensification of ecological crises and the accompanying articulations of discontent about a policy that does not adequately address these crises, the lecture asks about requirements for sociological analyses that can do justice to this mixed situation. The lecture discusses the question which form of theory building is appropriate for the present and outlines an ethical attitude of responding to the world and WITH the world as crucial for such a project.
When? February 3, 2022, 6-8 PM
Where? HS 1009 and online
Kindly register in advance with Silvia Stößer, as space is limited. You will then also receive the link to the livestream.
The talk will be in German but you can ask questions in English in the Q&A. The lecture is organized by the chair of Epistemology and Theory of Science.
The UCF seminar Global Challenges has the pleasure to invite you to the guest lecture:
"Sustainable Development Goals – Then and Now"
Guest Speaker: Maryam Rabiee, Manager, Sustainable Development Network Solutions (SDSN)
Moderator: Ermelinda Kanushi, Lecturer UCF
When? Thursday, 27 January 2022 l @16:00 CET
Where? Zoom,
https://uni-freiburg.zoom.us/j/68733775598?pwd=bG9vOUVGZmhuQ0lObnM3UGVsZ3Y4UT09
RSVP is not required!
With the van to Lake Constance instead of along the Panamericana. Ostsee instead of South Sea. Corona has changed tourist travel behavior enormously. Travel book publisher and author Marianna Hillmer and Nina Hüpen-Bestendonk, graphic designer and travel blogger, report on the effects of the pandemic on professional blogging. They talk about small and large trips to their own region, about so-called armchair traveling on the sofa at home and present their favorite places on their own doorstep.
The event was created within the framework of the seminar "ArmChair Travelling, statt Fernreiseabenteuer".
When? January 25, 7 pm
Where? Literaturhaus Freiburg
We would like to thank all our supporters – students, staff, professors and many friends – for their commitment and engagement over the past challenging year. We wish everybody a peaceful festive season and all the best for the New Year 2022!
Starting February 25, we will again offer our live Q&A sessions. We look forward to seeing you 2022.
LAS students Yuping Ding and Karla Williams designed this year's Christmas card – thank you so much!
The Erasmus Prize 2021 was awarded to Dr. Rike Sinder for her dissertation "Die Systematisierung des islamischen Rechts. Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte teleologischen Naturrechtsdenkens" [The Systematization of Islamic Law. A Contribution to the History of Teleological Natural Law Theory].
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the presentation of the Erasmus Prize took place in a very small circle only and without a UCF lecture. Nevertheless it was a festive moment when Marcel Thimm (Chairman of the Board, Sparkasse Freiburg-Nördlicher Breisgau) handed over the certificate to Dr. Rike Sinder.
For her work, Dr. Sinder studied the structural change in Islamic law between the 8th and 14th centuries, based on the example of the Islamic legal concept of equity, istiḥsān (a form of juristic discretion, literally ‘to consider something good’). Rike Sinder analyzed primary sources in their original Arabic, Ancient Greek and Latin versions and secondary sources. She combines Arab philosophy and interpretations of the philosopher Aristotle with Islamic legal theory and debates on natural law in an exceptional way.
More information in the press release.
FLTR: Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. mult. Hans-Joachim Gehrke (UCF Director of Outreach), Dr. Rike Sinder (Prize Winner), Marcel Thimm (Chairman of the Board, Sparkasse Freiburg-Nördlicher Breisgau) (Photo by Patrick Seeger)
Are you excited to dive into various state-of-the-art teaching and learning formats sharpening your intercultural awareness and understanding? Do you want to actively deal with the current sustainability challenges and problems of our times? Are you interested in learning about the Anthropocene & transitions while gaining intercultural competencies? Do you want to interpret European identities through queer perspectives? Do you want to test your courage for sustainability?
How about adding some EPICUR-courses in the field of Liberal Arts and Sciences (LAS) to your studies? EPICUR is excited to offer you LAS courses in three different tracks: 1) Track Core, 2) Natural and Societal Sustainability, and 3) European Identities.
Courses start in January 2022. Courses are open to all EPICUR students! Registration is now open until December 15th and will happen through the EPICUR Interuniversity Campus.
Enjoy browsing through our EPICUR course offerings in the three Liberal Arts and Sciences study tracks and add some courses to your studies in 2022!
The 2nd Annual EPICUR FORUM, hosted this year by the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, will take place virtually on November 24 – 26 , 2021.
The objective of the Forum is to engage all 8 University communities in passionate activities & exchanges around topics which are directly linked to the activities of the EPICUR Alliance. This year's Forum is dedicated to the topics of Innovation & Inclusion. In the frame of this year's Forum, there will be various formats addressing different topics, themes and audiences in an interdisciplinary and intercultural fashion.
Particularly interesting for students is
Here you can sign up and find more information on the program.
We are proud to announce that the latest publication of STS Prof. Veronika Lipphardt and colleagues "Europe's Roma people are vulnerable to poor practice in genetics" has been published as comment in Nature and is being discussed in The New York Times.
In the past few years, several media and scientific reports have raised awareness about unethical uses of DNA databases. Prof. Lipphardt and colleagues focus on the Roma as largest minority in Europe. They analyzed several hundred publications between 1921 and 2021 and five databases in regards to issues with the obtaining, handling and interpretation of DNA data from Roma people. Most problematic is, as they show, the use of these data in forensic genetics research. Prof. Lipphardt and her colleagues call for a change in research and peer-review practices across a broad array of disciplines, from forensic genetics to molecular anthropology.
Read more:
Lipphardt/Surdu/Ellebrecht/Pfaffelhuber/Wienroth/Rappold:
"Europe's Roma people are vulnerable to poor practice in genetics"
Nature 599, 368-371 (2021), doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-021-03416-3
On Wednesday, November 17, 2021, the University of Freiburg hosts an "Tag der offenen Tür" and we at UCF participate with three live sessions.
Here you can find more information on the program of the university and on the UCF Zoom links.
As always, we started the new winter semester with our LAS Welcome Week and Graduation Ceremony – with COVID restrictions still in place. Besides regulations and restrictions on site, this meant also livestreams for those who could not be there in person.
The Welcome Week featured various information sessions, meetings with peer-advisors, an Opening Celebration in the spacious Paulussaal with fun and games (and masks), and a hike.
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The 6th LAS Graduation Ceremony took place on Saturday with a few graduates, fellow students, and UCF staff members physically in the Aula, many more graduates as well as families and friends online. It was a lovely ceremony, and everyone present in the Aula enjoyed the possibility of a live and in-person event, despite the regulations and restrictions.
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(photos by Alexander Schröder)
We are happy to announce that PD Dr. Frieder Vogelmann is acting ETS Chair this winter semester 2021/22. His areas of specialization are political epistemology, critical theory, and French philosophy.
"In research and in teaching, I focus on political epistemology, an emerging field of research in which I pursue the dual insight of early Frankfurt School Critical Theory that epistemology requires social and political theory just as social and political theory requires epistemology. This insight is the starting point for a dialogue with analytic, continental. and feminist epistemology on the one hand and (French) political and social theory/philosophy on the other hand. In particular, I am currently working on a concept of knowledge suitable for such a political epistemology, on the contemporary rise of untruths in politics and on the question how to defend the sciences and humanities against science denialism without lapsing into scientism."
PD Dr. Frieder Vogelmann will be teaching three courses in winter semester 2021/22:
More information on recent work and publications can be found here.
A warm welcome to UCF, dear Frieder Vogelmann!
At the beginning of winter semester 2021/22, we invite you to two interesting events.
Today, Dr. Sabine Nikolaus (Country Managing Director Germany Boehringer Ingelheim Deutschland GmbH) will provide the input for the Academia meets Industry Seminar with her talk "Pharmacy - quo vadis"
When? October 20, 2021, 17.00 (c.t.)
Where? Lecture Hall Otto-Krayer-Haus and Zoom
We also invite you to a talk by Dr. Terry L. Hunt on "Transporting Easter Island's Megalithic Statues: A critical aspect of the island's enigmatic prehistory". Dr. Hunt is an internationally renowned anthropologist, archaeologist, and dean of the University of Arizona's Honor's College. Most of Dr. Hunt's work circles around the human and environmental histories of the Pacific Islands, one of them being Rapa Nui – the Easter Island. It is mostly known for its fascinating, enigmatic stone statues carved by the early Rapanui, but also for its label as an example of ecological suicide. But is the scientific evidence for the story about Easter Island's cultural decline and fall really so clear and undebatable?
When? October 21, 2021, 18:00
Where? KG I, HS 1224
Places will be limited, so you need to sign up here: https://forms.gle/JpxintZyLJZJrds78. Please be aware that we will check your 3G-status.
If yes, then apply now for one of the EPIC Missions and become a pioneer student at one of the first European Universities! The pilot EPIC Missions 2021/22 are:
EPICUR achievements can be used for the BOK area of the ZfS (B.A. = component of the Ergänzungsbereich; 2-HF-Bachelor = component of the option Individuelle Studiengestaltung; B.Sc. = externer BOK-Bereich):
We are glad to announce our new office hours – live at UCF (with online options).
Thorsten Leiendecker (Program Coordination) offers an open LAS consultation in the UCF hallway on Monday from 10-12 (by appointment). Wednesday from 10-12 it's online (by appointment) or by phone (+49-761-203-67614).
The Exam Office opens its doors on Monday and Wednesday, 10-12h, in the exam office (AU 01070), also with prior appointment.
Our International Coordinator Anne Klemperer offers consultation on Monday afternoon (AU 01066) by appointment (anne.klemperer@ucf.uni-freiburg.de).
All office hours can be found at support and advising.
The mission at Uni Freiburg for the upcoming winter term is clear: "No lecture hall will be empty".
LAS pre-block courses have started face-to-face, and we are preparing a largely in-person winter term 2021-22. This also holds for the 2021 LAS Welcome Week and Graduation Ceremony.
We are all very much looking forward to this!
This opportunity is based on the Corona regulations from the State of Baden-Württemberg and the Ministry of Science, Research and the Arts. Here you can find information in different languages. Detailed regulations for Freiburg University will follow shortly.
This opportunity allows new (old) freedoms and comes with shared responsibilities under pandemic conditions. It is based on 3G rule: vaccinated, recovered, tested (geimpft, genesen, getestet). The University will soon announce more on the central Corona website.
Vaccination information for Baden-Württemberg is available here. The Studierendenwerk Freiburg has information for students who are vaccinated with a vaccine not approved in the EU.
We warmly invite you to the keynote lecture "How Academic Diversity is Transforming Scientific Knowledge in Biological Anthropology" by Deborah Bolnick.
"Academia has seen a concerted effort in recent years to expand diversity, equity, and inclusion in STEM fields, and these efforts have been lauded for increasing the involvement of historically underrepresented groups as well as broadening access and increasing justice within the life sciences. However, less attention has been given to the intellectual contributions that diversity brings — new kinds of questions, new concepts and theoretical perspectives, new approaches to research design and ethics, new insights and interpretations of data. In this lecture, I will discuss how academic diversity is transforming scientific knowledge in the fields of biological anthropology and human genetics, yielding new insights about both humans and non-humans, the interconnections between bodies, biology, and culture, and the politics and practice of science. Critically, efforts to change "who we are" means reconstituting "what we know"."
When? Friday, October 1, 6:30 pm (MESZ)
Where? Via Zoom
Please register with the subject "Keynote" under soscibio@soziologie.uni-freiburg.de for Zoom-access.
The lecture is part of the workshop "Critical Life Sciences", which is a joint event hosted by the SoSciBio Research Group of the University of Freiburg, the Chair for Science and Technology Studies at the University College Freiburg, the Chair for Gender Studies MINT, and the Freiburg Institute for Advanced Studies (FRIAS).
We are happy to offer you such interesting pre-block courses this summer. You can register until September 15 for the following courses:
Here you can find more information (including updated times and rooms) on the courses.
After last week's LAS selection interviews, we have now completed the selection process for the 2021 cohort of Liberal Arts and Sciences students. The University's Student Service Center will send the official notifications of admissions very soon.
For our soon-to-be new students, we have compiled information on living and studying (LAS) and hope to soon welcome you all in person to Freiburg!
We warmly welcome new colleagues at UCF, and say good-bye to Lukas.
Esther Di Nunzio is our new colleague in the examination office. She succeeds Lukas Kersten, who is leaving us this summer to concentrate on his PhD project. We wish Lukas all the best and welcome Esther at UCF. Esther lived and worked in Ghent, Belgium until 2003, and is now coming from the University of Education Freiburg.
Dr. Ulises Flores Hernández worked and studied in Mexico, South Korea and Germany before he obtained his PhD at the Chair of Forest Operations from the University of Freiburg. During the maternity leave of Dr. Sabine Sané, Ulises will take over tasks concerning the Major ESS and will teach courses in Environmental and Sustainability Sciences.
Have a good start at UCF!
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| Esther Di Nunzio | Dr. Ulises Flores Hernández | Lukas Kersten |
The new Course Catalog for winter semester 2021-22 is out now. Have a look at all the interesting and exciting courses that will be offered in fall, like:
The latest information on individual courses is available on ILIAS. Regarding course registration, please carefully read pages 4 and 5. Please note the update of the Course Catalog (September 21).
Every year, some students and graduates (co-)publish first research findings, which are often based on research in the context of their Bachelor theses. In 2021, Amelie Müller, Sarah Werner and Chiara Chiardi published first papers and articles.
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You can find more examples of student research and publications on our research website, as well as more After LAS stories from our alumni.
Amelie Müller, Lorenz Friedrich, Christian Reichel, Sina Herceg, Max Mittag, Dirk Holger Neuhaus. A comparative life cycle assessment of silicon PV modules: Impact of module design, manufacturing location and inventory, Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells, Volume 230, 15 September 2021, 111277, doi: 10.1016/j.solmat.2021.111277
Werner, S. S., Binder, N., Toews, I., Schünemann, H. J., Meerpohl, J. J., & Schwingshackl, L. (2021). Use of the GRADE approach for rating the certainty of evidence in evidence syntheses published in high impact factor nutrition journals: A methodological survey. Journal of Clinical Epidemiology, Volume 135, 54-69, doi: 10.1016/j.jclinepi.2021.02.010
Giardi, C. Vom Guten Hirten zum Theater. Kleinplastik als Untersuchungs- und Vermittlungsmethode, in: Un-learning Ecologies: Workbook Kunstvermittlung in der ökologischen Krise / Workbook Art Education in the Ecological Crisis, edited by Cynthia Gavranic, Janina Krepart, Chantal Küng, and Maren Ziese (2021), Zurich University of the Arts / Migros Museum für Gegenwartskunst
As soon as University Corona regulations allowed presence teaching, we jumped. As some students are not in Freiburg and others are members of risk groups, presence teaching largely means hybrid teaching.
One example is Dr. Simon Büchner's "Introduction to Life Sciences". With open windows, equipped with masks, laptops, and a meeting owl – a device for audio and video interaction between the physical classroom and students online – workgroups met partly live and partly online. Despite technical challenges, students valued the opportunity of finally being back in a classroom with fellow students:
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| Some classroom impressions |
Are you excited to dive into state-of-the-art teaching and learning formats? To sharpen your intercultural understanding? Do you want to actively deal with the current societal challenges? How about adding some EPICUR-courses in the field of Liberal Arts (and more!) to your studies? EPICUR is excited to offer you LAS-courses in three different tracks:
Courses start in September 2021 with more to come in 2022.
Registration is now open until July 13 on the EPICUR Interuniversity Campus.
Enjoy browsing through our EPICUR course offerings in the three Liberal Arts and Sciences study tracks and add some courses to your studies this spring 2021.
We have all been living a different lifestyle for over a year now and hearing the term 'unprecedented times' everywhere. Some may have felt it more intensely, others found ways to mitigate the effects, nevertheless, in one way or another everyone shares this experience.
As their final project for the module 'Media Art in Theory and Practice' led by Dr. Johanna Gampe, a group of LAS students is now creating a public Instagram account "Dialogues Of Isolation". The account is used as an accessible space for people who want to express their emotions that they have gathered over the last year of social isolation due to COVID-19 measures through digital art. Fellow students can submit any digital expression work (call it art or not) - photos, drawings, edits, collages, audio, writings, poems and so on - which reflect the thoughts over the past year of isolation.
Deadline: July 18, 2021.
During the Exhibition Week from July 19-25th, all works will be published. It is open to submissions from students at UCF and across the whole university.
More information at: www.instagram.com/dialoguesofisolation/
EPICUR is delighted to offer you LAS-courses for the upcoming fall/winter semester in three different tracks:
1) Track Core,
2) Natural and Societal Sustainability and
3) European Identities.
The wide variety of state-of-the-art teaching formats include joint and parallel courses and short intensive courses. All courses deal with real-world problems, include interdisciplinary and intercultural perspectives, and aim to inspire critical thinking and autonomous and transformative learning.
Courses start in September 2021 with some courses starting later this year. 20 offerings this fall/winter with more to come in 2022. Courses are open to all EPICUR students! Registration is now open until July 13 and will occur through the EPICUR Interuniversity Campus. Have a look at the EPICUR Course Catalog for more info.
Furthermore, the EPICUR students invite all international students to the upcoming Think Thank – "Building the Multilingual University of the Future" on June 30 (English), July 1 (French) and July 15 (German). The University of Freiburg is working on a new language policy, and you can have a say! Here you can find more information.
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With his talk "Die europäische Rechtsgemeinschaft in der Krise!?" Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. mult. Andreas Voßkuhle (Institut für Staatswissenschaft und Rechtsphilosophie, Universität Freiburg, ehemal. Präsident des Bundesverfassungsgerichts / Former president oft he Supreme Court) will provide the input for the upcoming Academia meets Industry Seminar.
The event will be moderated by Julia Wandt (Kommunikation und Strategie, Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg). Prof. Voßkuhle will present in German, the discussion will be in German and English.
When? June 21, 2021 17.00 (c.t.)
Where? Via Zoom https://uni-freiburg.zoom.us/j/61307113312
The 2021 Freiburg Science Market, hosted by the university and city of Freiburg, starts today! This year's online program offers many insights into science and innovation by all kinds by researchers from the many public and private research institutions in and around Freiburg.
The program includes a joint stand and contributions on the topic of sustainability by the two European higher education networks the University of Freiburg is engaged in – Eucor and EPICUR:
More information about Eucor and EPICUR, about the joint contributions, background interviews on the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, as well as the Zoom dial in information are available here.
The Liberal Arts and Sciences application period starts on June 1 and runs until July 31.
Do you want to know what it's like to study LAS at UCF? Then have a look at our LAS Stories and the LAS course experiences! And follow our LAS students on Instagram for more fun facts and insights.
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Have you ever wondered what it would be like if you could design your own, perfect course? Wissenschaft – Technologie – Gesellschaft is giving you exactly this chance.
Get together with your friends from at least one other study program and come up with an interesting and interdisciplinary course idea that asks the big questions that you missed in other courses, or finally makes the connections between subjects that you were always wondering about. The interdisciplinary courses should focus on Science Studies and Life Sciences | Environmental Sciences | Digitalization.
Make sure your idea matches the requirements outlined in the call for proposals and send it to the program coordination by the end of June. Feel free to get in touch with your colleague Nils Lang, who is in charge of the competition, beforehand and improve your ideas together. Let's make your new favorite course happen together!
New deadline: July 9th
Insights into re-thinking teaching: Kerstin Fest, Stefanie Klose and Steven Randall, the Freiburg EPICUR team based here at UCF, want to develop a European study program that is based on the Liberal Arts and Sciences in terms of didactics and content, and which can be taken in parallel in several countries. At its core are interactive and innovative teaching formats that prepare students to develop interdisciplinary approaches to the complex challenges of the 21st century. Kerstin Fest is designing classes on "European Identities," Stefanie Klose on "Ecological and Social Sustainability," and Steven Randall is developing concepts that teach core skills in academic work and writing.
In the winter semester 2020-21, Epicur pilot courses ran for the first time. The seminars were open to all students of Epicur universities. One example is the pilot course "Mediated Modelling for Sustainability", which Stefanie Klose organized along with Andreas Zitek, an Austrian colleague, between December 2020 and February 2021. For more insights into Kerstin, Stefanie, and Steven's LAS-based approach to a "European eye for complex issues", have a look at the Uni Freiburg press pages.
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| Dr. Kerstin Fest | Stefanie Klose | Dr. Steven Randall |
If you want to get involved in this exciting project, you can join the upcoming EPICUR Think Tank. Participating in it will give you the opportunity to be actively involved in shaping and developing teaching and learning in higher education as you will be advising the Freiburg EPICUR team based here at UCF. The Think Tank consists of five on-line sessions and can also be used as an Elective Joker worth 3 ECTS credits. Registration deadline is June 1, 2021.
The next General Assembly (GA) of the UCF Students Council will take place on May, 18 at 6 PM (ct) CEST. At this GA the student body will vote on an amendment to our current Charter. Therefore at least 60 people have to be present at the GA. The amendment concerns the position of Delegate to the Directorate. More information on the respective amendment can be found on the website of the Students Council.
But there are more good reasons to attend the GA: it's time to vote for two Executive Organizers, two Delegate to the Board of Studies, one Treasurer, two Mediators and one Secretary of Outreach.
And there are even better reasons to run for office! Become a part of a fabulous and engaged student association, become the new Max and Marianne, or the new Suhail! Do not be intimidated by the offices – people will always be there to support you. The call for Mediators additionally has a requirement that together, the two elected students should be male and international. (This means that we can have one international male and a German female, or a German male and an international female etc.)
When? May 18, 6 (ct) PM
As part of the German Diversity Day of the Association Charta der Vielfalt e. V., the European Diversity Month, and in line with the successful application for the "One University – One Book" competition with Carolin Emckes book "Against Hatred", this year's Diversity Day will take place on May 18, 2021.
The university has recently appointed a new Vice Rector for University Culture. The Gender and Diversity Office therefore offers anti-bias workshops under the motto "A university against hate – towards an appreciative and non-discriminatory university culture".
The digital anti-bias workshops take place via Zoom and last about 1.5 hours each. The aim of the workshops is to sensitize students and employees of all hierarchical levels to their own prejudices, and various forms of discrimination and disadvantage, to critically reflect on favorable or disadvantageous structures, and to learn about non-discriminatory, prejudice-conscious and appreciative behavior.
When? May 18, 2021. The workshops at 10:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. will be in German, the workshop at 2:00 p.m. in English.
Kindly register here. The maximum number of participants per workshop is 20 people. The order of the incoming registrations counts.
With the beginning of the new semester, spring has finally arrived! The university has new testing centers to provide staff and students the opportunity to get tested for the coronavirus (which we warmly recommend), the construction work at Alte Uni is making progress (there is new light and new staircases) and our Instagram team has two new members:
We warmly welcome Elisa, a 2nd-year LAS student majoring in Culture & History, and SeoWon, a 3rd-year LAS student majoring in Environmental Sciences. Together with Florence, who has initiated the UCF Student Instagram account, they are now responsible for it. Thank you for your engagement!
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| Elisa | Florence | SeoWon |
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| Ongoing and ... | ... finished construction work | @Alte Uni |
The initiative "Knowledge Transfer Upper Rhine" (KTUR), led by 12 universities, aims to strengthen the Upper Rhine innovation region together with all stakeholders, build a creative and open network along the Rhine on both sides of the border and achieve more national and global attention for the Upper Rhine region.
KTUR invites you to a lunch session and the virtual kick-off event:
KTUR PhD Talks Lunch Session on the topic: From Science to Startup – How to build a strong team
When? April 15, 1.00 – 2.00 pm
At the (virtual) kick-off event (open for all students) and you will have the opportunity to share experiences and ideas with the regional universities, startups, companies, intermediaries and other innovation actors on how the Upper Rhine innovation network can grow and gain more supra-regional attention. Here you can find the program.
When? April 21st and 22nd, both starting at 5 pm
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EPICUR is developing a wide variety of state-of-the-art teaching and learning formats in Liberal Arts and Sciences with an emphasis on collaborative teaching and learning. These courses deal with real-world problems, include interdisciplinary and intercultural perspectives, and aim to inspire critical thinking and autonomous and transformative learning, like:
The new EPICUR Liberal Arts and Sciences courses (in English) will be offered to students from across the alliance. Seats are limited.
Registration opens on the 1st April and ends on the 14th April at 5pm. Here you can find more information on how to register.
We are always interested in what our LAS alumni are up to and where their studies, work and projects have taken them. Therefore, we really appreciate that many of them stay and in contact with us and share their stories, like Lucca, Marilena and Patrick:
Lucca is doing a Master in Social, Cognitive, and Affective Neuroscience at FU Berlin. Alongside his studies, he is working as a research assistant at the Visual Perception Lab at the Clinic for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy at Charité Berlin and as a blog editor for the MIND Foundation for Psychedelic Science.
Marilena completed a Master of Law (LL.M.) in International Criminal Law at the Irish Center for Human Rights, NUI Galway and is now an independent human rights consultant based in London. She is commissioned by the UK Independent Uyghur Tribunal to manage the secretariat and investigate China's alleged international crimes against Uyghurs.
Patrick is about to finish his Master in Innovation Management, Entrepreneurship, and Sustainability in Berlin and Vienna. He is engaged in the rethinking economics movement and co-founder of the Berlin Doughnut Coalition, a participatory platform for urban regeneration.
Curious? Read more in our After LAS Stories.
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| Lucca Jaeckel | Marilena Stegbauer | Patrick Léon Gross |
Thank you all for sharing!
The new course catalog for summer semester 2021 is out now. Have a look at all the exciting and interesting courses that will be offered, like:
For course registration please carefully read pages 3 and 4.
We gladly announce two upcoming events from EPICUR: the info sessions for the EPICUR Internship Exchange Program and the Sustainability Spring Days at KIT.
EPICUR Internship Exchange Program and Info Session
Are you EPICurious to gain practical experiences abroad through an internship in an enterprise or in a civil society organization? Are you looking for opportunities to broaden your horizon and improve your intercultural skills? Would you like to work in an international environment while being flexible regarding the location (for personal reasons or for persisting travel restrictions)? Then the EPICUR Internship Exchange Program might be right for you!
The EPICUR Internship Exchange Program is part of EPCIUR mobilities and offers students the opportunity to complete cross-border internships in one of the EPICUR universities’ locations.
Learn more about the EPICUR Internship Exchange Program and how to apply in the online information session. Have a look at the flyer (PDF)
When? March 10, from 2 PM to 3 PM
Kindly register via internships-epicur@intl.kit.edu for the Info Session by Tuesday, March 9, 2021.
Sustainability Spring Days at KIT / March 22nd – 25th, 2021. Virtual Event
We would like to cordially invite you to join the Sustainability Spring Days at KIT from March 22nd – 25th, 2021 – this year as an all virtual event!
We will offer a large selection of workshops, lectures and excursions (many of which will be offered in English). Among others, topics like global climate change, personnel sustainability, climate policies, as well as technological and social innovations will be covered. There are 20 spots available for students of all EPICUR partner universities. Students can achieve 2 – 4 credit points. Please check with an adviser at your home institution whether EPICUR courses will be recognized in your program.
Register here (Registration is open until March 14, 11:59 pm)
Not sure yet who to vote yet for the Baden-Württembergian Landtag (State Parliament)? And keen on getting to know what the Freiburg candidates actually stand for?
We talk freiburg will host the first „The Roast of – Landtagswahlen 2021".
When? Wednesday, March 3, 2021 from 7 p.m. to around 10 p.m.
The Event is a livestream-format, where the candidates of the two state electoral districts of Freiburg (46 + 47) are roasted. Whether green-ecological tofu talers, a black-charred sausage or a boring red paprica, everyone will have their fair share on the grill, so you can decide who is best sent to Stuttgart in the state elections on March 14th.
The grill chefs Maria-Xenia Hardt and former LAS-student Maya Rollberg will give the candidates a good roasting. The candidates and you can expect peppered questions, sharp follow-ups and a spicy mixture of topics. In several courses we will serve what moves Freiburg and Baden-Württemberg:
From education over climate issues to Health - look forward to an appealing menu as well as some exciting questions and votings for you to participate and give your opinion!
They will send the prepared delicacies home to you via livestream. Cheers!
On March 3, starting at 7 p.m., simply tune in at www.wetalkfreiburg.de/live
Additionally, you can try the VoteSwiper. This free online voting aid supports voters in making their decision for the upcoming state elections in Baden-Württemberg.
The EPICURtalks series explores the advancement in teaching & learning, including Liberal Arts and Sciences approaches as well as developments of new tools and didactics in digital and hybrid settings.
The second virtual EPICURtalk "Teaching European Identities Radio Europe I: Postcolonial Europe" will take place on March, 2nd and is followed by a discussion with PD Dr. Miriam Nandi.
In her talk, Pia Masurczak will address the outcomes and experiences of her EPICUR-seminar on Postcolonial Europe. Debates about the restitution of African art and artefacts, about the arrival of refugees and migrants, or about systemic racism have (re-)surfaced in many European countries in the past few years. These issues are at least partly connected to the colonial legacy of many European nations and Europe as a whole.
Postcolonial thought offers ways to look at European identities and histories from a different perspective. To explore the ramifications of colonialism, the students shared their analyses and discussions in the form of a five-part podcast series. Each episode discusses a specific aspect of engagement with colonial legacies. And they gained understanding of how to transfer academic skills to a (new) journalistic format and make their information accessible to a wider, non-academic public.
When? March, 2nd, 2021 at 5:30 pm CET
Kindly register: RSVP to k.kiefel@zv.uni-freiburg.de by March 1, 2021. Attendees will receive their zoom link on March 2nd. The event will take approximately an hour.
Are you already interested in the podcast series that the students produced? Here you can listen to it: Each episode discusses a specific aspect of this engagement with colonial legacies, from anti-racist movements both in the UK and the US, the British exploitation of indigenous land rights in Canada, to possibly neo-colonial voluntary services abroad the repercussions of Brexit on the Caribbean.
Chiara Giardi, a recent UCF Culture & History graduate, is pursuing Master's degree in Art Education, Curatorial Studies at the Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK). There, she is engaged in various projects, including a collaboration between the ZHdK and the Migros Museum für Gegenwartskunst that is based on the ZHdK seminars Vermittlung in Ausstellungen I and Other classrooms: Ecopedagogies.
This culminated in a project publication that was presented yesterday: Un-learning Ecologies: Workbook Kunstvermittlung in der ökologischen Krise / Workbook Art Education in the Ecological Crisis, with articles in German and English, edited by Cynthia Gavranic, Janina Krepart, Chantal Küng, and Maren Ziese. The workbook can be downloaded from the ZHdK website.
Chiara 
contributed the article "Vom Guten Hirten zum Theater" and was, together with Caroline Glock and Ani Ekin Özdemir, responsible for the visual concept and graphic design.
Further information at the Kuratorium Ökologie of the ZHdK. An interview will follow on March 8 during the Swiss Sustainability Week.
UPDATE: Tomorrow, March 9 at 12:00, Radio NHWZ will be reporting about sustainability activities at the ZhdK.
The Global Affairs in Dialogue Committee invites UCF students to the upcoming "Career Talk on International and Human Rights Careers" – a webinar with UCF alumnae and alumni.
Besides Marilena Stegbauer, who was guest at the last episode of the talk series "Europe as Normative Power" and has shared her AfterLAS story here, we are thrilled to announce the presence of Elisa Miedbach, Lara Ellenberg, Magdalena Burtscher, and Paul Weber. All former LAS Governance students who pursued international careers after graduating from UCF.
They will give insights into their career paths and personal experiences, on how they made career decisions, and what advice they would give to current LAS students. Afterwards, you will be able to ask questions and receive the valuable first-hand information you might be looking for on how you could proceed after your graduation.
When? Friday, February 19th, 6 pm (s.t.)
The Global Affairs in Dialogue Committee also announces their next talk "Roles for the EU in Artificial Intelligence Governance: A Winning Near-Term End Game". It's part of the talk series "The EU as a Normative Power". Three highly knowledgeable experts will be joining the talk:
By joining this 90 min talk, you will have the opportunity to get an insight into the current state of Artificial Intelligence in the EU, its regulation, its opportunities, and its impact.
When? Thursday, February 25th, at 6:30 p.m.
Uni Freiburg and UCF are part of EPICUR, a pilot European University of the future. As of winter semester 2020/21, EPICUR offers LAS-based seminars and other teaching activities across the alliance:
The EPICUR LAS spring 2021 course catalog is now online! Registration deadline is February 19.
More information on upcoming courses and on course registration is available in the course catalog and on EPICampus, the EPICUR Virtual Campus Learning Platform. Credit recognition at UCF follows the procedure for courses taken outside the University of Freiburg during LAS.
Please also see the upcoming EPICUR course offerings in the field of Language & Culture.
The LAS course "Planning and Doing Research", part of the module "Research Design Across Disciplines" (RDAD), is aimed at LAS students who, towards the end of their studies, should refine their academic skills and intensify contact with academic research, before embarking on writing the Bachelor thesis, applying for Master programs or preparing for the next career moves. As part of the course, participants organize an interdisciplinary academic conference at which the students present and discuss their proposals before embarking on their B.A. or B.Sc. theses. Therefore, many (but not all) topics are the speakers' bachelor thesis topics.
When? This year's edition will be the first one entirely held online. It will take place on:
Thursday, February 11th, from 10:00-16:40 and
Friday, February 12th, from 14:00-16:20.
It will include panel sessions on "Perspectives on Covid-19", "Europe Across Disciplines", "African Countries in the Global Sphere", "Technocratic Solutions to Climate Change", "Meta Analyses on Ecology", "Perspectives on Illness", "Multi Media and Politics", "LASers studying Freiburg Cases", "How to: Sustainable Urbanism", "To Be or Not to Be in a (Digital) World" and many more.
The EPICURtalks series explores the advancement in teaching & learning, including Liberal Arts and Sciences approaches as well as developments of new tools and didactics in digital and hybrid settings. Hosted by the University of Freiburg, the series will travel virtually from partner to partner, inviting speakers from across the disciplinary spectrum to share their diverse perspectives on the future of teaching & learning in brief talks that inspire and invite further discussion.
The EPICUR Alliance cordially invites you to the first virtual EPICURtalks and discussion with Prof. Dr. Rainer Haas, Institute for Marketing & Innovation University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna on Teaching the Global Seminar: «Strategies for Internationalization @Home». In his talk, Prof. Haas will address the challenge of providing students with an international and intercultural experience when they are not able to participate in traditional exchange schemes
When? Feburary 2nd, 2021 at 5:30 pm CET
EPICURtalks is now online.
The Global Affairs in Dialogue committee of the University College Freiburg is thrilled to invite you to join the online talk "The Uyghur Tribunal – Investigating China’s Alleged Persecution of Uyghurs“.
For this event, we are inviting Sir Geoffrey Nice QC, the chair of the Uyghur Tribunal. He will share insights into the work of the tribunal, that is, the investigation of China’s alleged crimes against humanity against Uyghur and other Muslim population.
As part of the series "Europe as a Normative Power", the Global Affairs in Dialogue committee warmly welcomes you to discuss topics of common concern. University College of Freiburg alumni and now human rights consultant Marilena Stegbauer will moderate this very special edition.
When? The meeting will take place on Thursday, 14 January 2021 at 18:00 (CET).
For more information on the talk, please have a look at the website: https://www.globalorderproject.com
Update:
The event was a great success with many active participants. Sir Geoffrey Nice QC stated afterwards:
“I did enjoy the event - as I always do. Performance activities bring their own reward, but I hope that there is some additional and genuine reward in helping people (younger people inevitably) on a journey of intellectual or academic inquiry."
LAS student Vera Brandes designed this year's christmas card - thank you so much, dear Vera!
We would like to thank all our supporters – students, staff, professors and many friends – for their commitment and engagement over the past year. It was a challenging year 2020, and we wish everybody a peaceful festive season and all the best for the New Year 2021!
Next year, starting January 22nd, we will again offer our live Q&A sessions. Have a look at the dates and kindly register for each session. We look forward to seeing you 2021.
UCF
VirtualLAS is a UCF teaching project, funded by the DAAD International Virtual Academic Collaboration. Program. The project focuses on collaborative, digitally based teaching, and student-instructor dialogue as well as on intercultural competencies and team-working skills.
VirtualLAS will pilot and evaluate innovative and collaborative teaching formats using three projects with partners in Freiburg, Poland, Denmark, Sweden, and the United States. The course topics are:
VirtualLAS is a further teaching project that extends the Freiburg LAS Programm internationally and virtually!
On December 9, the LAS / EPICUR seminar on "Sustainable Cities" welcomed a prominent guest lecturer: Prof. Katherine Richardson is leader of the Sustainability Sciences Center in Copenhagen and VirtualLAS project partner. Her research focuses on identifying so-called planetary boundaries.
In her lecture, she demonstrated the importance of preserving biodiversity and reducing climate change so that the matter and material cycle is able to maintain human life. She highlighted the role of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for achieving a livable Earth for all and the necessity to understand their interconnectedness in order to reach them. As it is expected that the majority of the global population will be living in cities in near future, Sustainable cities is an SDG.
But will we be able to live within the planetary boundaries? Our actions so far are not sufficient. But as we managed the ozone depletion, we may be able to manage living on one planet Earth also in future. For further reading, please see central research publications co-authored by Katherine Richardson:
After a successful first panel discussion of the event series "Europe as a Normative Power", the Global Affairs in Dialogue warmly invite you to their next discussion on the "EU and the People's Republic – an Uncertain Future".
In this talk, expert Dr. Theresa Fallon, who is the founder of the think-tank CREAS and a longtime researcher of Europe-Asia relations, will share her expertise, discuss with us, and answer our questions. Here you can find more information on the topic or Dr. Fallon.
When? Wednesday, December 2nd, at 6.30 pm.
Prior registration is necessary to enter the meeting and can be done here. You will receive the link to the zoom-meeting via email a few hours before the talk.
Save the Date! The 1st EPICUR forum on Entrepreneurship & Sustainability will take place Dec 9-11, 2020.
The EPICUR forum is open to students, teachers, researchers and administrative staff from universities as well as local and European stakeholders. The program includes a virtual start-up tour, panel discussions, keynotes on environmental project funding and entrepreneurship, workshops for researchers and teachers from 6 European countries, an ERASMUS challenge for students, and much more. The full program is on the EPICUR website.
Registration is open until December 6. Be EPICURious!
Our "EPICUR Erasmus challenge" continues. The EPICUR alliance invites ERASMUS students and alumni to share their Erasmus "feeling" and experiences. Take part in our #EpicurErasmusChallenge on Instagram.
No doubt – this year's restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic gave us a hard time also in organizing our two major LAS autumn events: the 2020 Graduation Ceremony and Welcome Week. Thankfully, a hybrid format including live and online contributions was possible for both events:
Thanks to many heartwarming presentations and greetings, live and via video, the LAS Graduation Ceremony was a most lovely, festive, and memorable occasion that gave us all the opportunity to congratulate and bid farewell to the LAS Graduates 2020. More photos and info here.
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For this year's LAS Welcome Week, we invited all new students to our opening session in the Aula of the university (and under physically distanced conditions). Those who could not make it to Freiburg followed us via Livestream. During the Welcome Week, small-group hikes outside were possible thanks to the weather and not overly strict coronavirus regulations. Our traditional Opening Celebration was moved from the Peterhofkeller to the Internet and, surprise, it was a fabulous party with music, costumes, welcome speeches, and that LAS spirit already visible in our 2020 LAS cohort!
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On Monday, November 23rd at 16.00 (s.t.), the Global Affairs in Dialogue Committee (formerly known as the Global Order Project) will hold a panel discussion on European democracy promotion.
Under the topic “European democracy promotion – risks and opportunities” experts Prof. Dr. Tanja A. Börzel, Dr. Anna Khakee, and Dr. Marika Lerch will share their individual expertise with us, engage in discussion and answer our questions.
Prior registration is necessary to enter the meeting. We will send the participants a link via e-mail to get into the virtual conference a few hours before it starts.
The University of Freiburg will be hosting a virtual Tag der offenen Tür on November 18, 2020. We at UCF will participate with live sessions about our Liberal Arts and Sciences Program. Join us at UCF for two information and Q&A sessions, hosted by Dr. Ursula Glunk and Paul Sterzel and with current LAS students.
More information on our Open Day
Paul Sterzel, UCF Managing Director, and a current LAS student will present the LAS study program and answer all your questions.
1:00 pm: Talk live to LAS students
Current LAS students will introduce you to LAS from their perspective and inform you about student life, student activities and committees at UCF, and answer all your questions.
Dr. Ursula Glunk, UCF Academic Director, and a current LAS student will present the LAS study program and answer all your questions.
The slides from the LAS Information and Q&A sessions are available here (2.1 MB).
Beyond the UCF live sessions, you can join general Uni Freiburg offerings (in German) on topics such as: how to finance your studies, how to find a right study program for you, study abroad opportunities, and take a virtual campus tour.
Have a great and informative Tag der offenen Tür!
This winter term, the FRIAS is hosting a virtual Lunch Lecture Series on
Multidisciplinary Research on Resilience: Examples from Theory and Practice.
This semester's series is organized by the FRIAS Research Focus Building and Researching Resilience in the Environmental Humanities. At each session, affiliated researchers offer 25 minute lectures for students and the (University) public, followed by about 20 minutes of discussion.
The series is bi-weekly on Thursdays, 12.15 pm – 1.00 pm on Zoom. For more information and contacts, please see the FRIAS web page.
University of Freiburg: All policies and measures are announced on the University website. As of November 2, the level 5 measures of the University multi-level-plan apply. All classroom-based teaching is suspended.
University College Freiburg: All offices at UCF are closed to the public, including students. More information can be found on Ilias. In case of questions, please contact: las.consultation@ucf.uni-freiburg.de.
City of Freiburg: The city of Freiburg corona portal lists all current regulations in Freiburg and provides further information and links (in German).
State of Baden-Württemberg: Here you can find the current Corona Regulation in Baden-Württemberg as well as further information and links. The English version of the Corona Regulation is available here.
General information in English on the coronavirus and the current regulations and situation in Germany is available on the website of the Federal Ministry of Health.
Two LAS alumnae, Rosa-Lena Lange and Charlotte Weinreich, produced a documentary called "Just. Another. Month." The film focusses on two Namibian activists engaged in improving access to menstrual products and women's rights. Recently, the Badische Zeitung interviewed Rosa-Lena Lange about the film's production, content, and intention; the interview is available here. Further information about the film is hosted by the Freiburg Kommunales Kino.
The film was recently nominated for the Deutscher Menschrechts-Filmpreis 2020. The jury will announce the prize winners of 2020 at the end of October: So, we can hopefully expect more showings and general awareness!
UPDATE: We warmly congratulate Rosa-Lena Lange and Charlotte Weinreich for winning the Menschenrechts-Filmpreis 2020! Here you can read an interview of the filmmakers in unicross, here you can have a look at the statements of the laureates.
The new course catalog for winter semester 2020/21 is out now. Have a look at all the exciting and interesting courses that will be offered, like:
For course registration please carefully read pages 3 and 4.
We are always interested in what our LAS alumni are up to and where their studies, work and projects have taken them to. So we really appreciate that many of them stay and in contact with us and share their stories, like Benedikt, Elena and Veronika:
Elena interned at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City this past year, and is now back to finish her Master of Culture, Communication & Globalization at Aalborg University, Denmark.
Veronika completed her doctorate and will be moving to Boise to be an Idaho Science and Technology Policy – Center for Advanced Energy Studies (ISTP-CAES) Fellow.
Benedikt just spent 16 months in Beijing as a DAAD-scholar, and will now start the Master program Computer Science at University College London. Read more in our After LAS Stories.
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Thank you all for sharing and all our best wishes!
The publishers Harvard University Press and C.H. Beck are engaged in a collaboration on "A History of the World". This six-volume international academic endeavor intends to "trace the evolution of global society from prehistoric times to the present [and to] offer an exciting challenge to traditional understandings of familiar events and eras."
After its publication in German in 2017, volume 6 has now been translated and published by Harvard University Press: "Making Civilizations. The World before 600" is edited by Prof. Hans-Joachim Gehrke who "leads a distinguished group of historians in analyzing prehistory, the earliest human settlements, and the rise of the world’s first advanced civilizations".
The Erasmus Prize 2020 was awarded to Jeremy Fon Sing and Dr. Sergio Götte.
Jeremy Fon Sing received the award for his Bachelorthesis "Nuclear Radiation Detector, Robot Design and its Social Impact". Fon Sing, a LAS graduate with a focus on EES, examines in his work the ambivalence in society's perception of nuclear radiation and derives a concrete project in the field of Citizen Science: the construction of a robot for radiation detection. The work combines physics, applied technology and social sciences and is of high social relevance.
Dr. Sergio Götte received the Erasmus Prize for his dissertation "On the Subject of Death Determination in the Bioethical Debate." He examines whether the irreversible failure of brain functions is a valid and well-founded criterion for determining the death of a human being. Dr. Götte succeeds in building a bridge between philosophy, theology and the natural sciences, and enriches the bioethical debate.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, we decided to postpone the festive award ceremony to next year.
We congratulate both laureates warmly!
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| Jeremy Fon Sing | Dr. Sergio Götte |
In the course of the 900th anniversary of the founding of the city of Freiburg, LAS students present perspectives on education in the historic building of the Old University. The project „AU-f einer Reise. Perspektiven zur Bildung an der Alten Uni" is devided into three parts:
AU-f in die Vergangenheit: with an interactive AU-dioguide
AU-f in die Gegenwart: with snapshots of (student) life at Alte Uni
AU-f in die Zukunft: with interviews and surveys to participate
Discover the building and its history with an audio guide about the past of the institution, an Instagram Account about life in the building today and finally interviews and surveys about the future and further development of education on their website. Join us on this exciting journey!
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On 28.07.2020 a panel discussion will focus on the challenges of the digital summer semester and perspectives for the winter semester. Rector Prof. Dr. Hans-Jochen Schiewer, Prof. Dr. Juliane Besters-Dilger, Vice-President for Academic Affairs, the sinologist Prof. Dr. Nicola Spakowski, the doctoral student Eva Rüskamp from the English Department, and Jann Köster, a law student, will discuss the developments and decisions of the past and coming months.
When? July 28, 2020, 3:15 pm to 4:45 pm
Where? Livestream
The Global Order Project invites you to their Global Order Talk: "Shrinking Space for Media and Freedom of Speech in Times of COVID? The European Perspective on Media Freedom in the COVID (State of) Emergency".
The joint talk by international relations experts Dr. Rumena Filipova and Dr. Stoyan Panov will focus on the situation of media freedom in Europe during the pandemic state of emergency. Dr. Rumena Filipova and Dr. Stoyan Panov will share their expertise with us and answer our questions.
When? July 23, 5 pm
Where? Online platform BlueJeans.
On July 15, from 2pm-4.30pm (CEST), the EPICUR Student Board is hosting a webinar for interested students from all eight partner universities.
The program includes a welcome by Michel Deneken, President of EPICUR, University of Strasbourg, general presentations about EPICUR, and, most importantly, break-out sessions on:
The overarching aim is to inform students about EPICUR and to engage them in shaping this European University alliance.
An important part of the Work Package 3 is scoping the EPICUR partners for potential collaborations in LAS-based teaching and learning. To this end, the Freiburg WP3 / EPICUR team has put together a Mapping EPICUR Collaborations (curricular and co-curricular) survey.
Your participation in this survey enables WP3 to
Join us in this exciting endeavor of international, LAS-based teaching & learning collaboration!
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Today the LAS application period starts. Until August 20, prospective students can now apply online for LAS at UCF. We know that applying at a university can be challenging – that is why we have compiled guidelines that help you through the process.
Please note that the interviews for EU applicants will take place from September 7 – 10. They will be conducted online.
If you have any questions on the application and admissions process and would like to speak with us, you can join our Live Q&A Session on July 10.
We look forward to your application!
We are very proud to announce, that Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. mult. Hans-Joachim Gehrke, UCF's Director of Outreach, has now been appointed as a Foreign Member of the Academy of Athens. The Journal of the Government of the Greek Republic (May 25, 2020) states:
The election of Hans-Joachim Gehrke, emeritus professor of Ancient History at the University of Freiburg (Germany), as a Foreign Member of the Academy of Athens in the Literature and Fine Arts class, which was made by the Academy's General Assembly, has been confirmed.
The Minister of Education and Culture
Niki Kerameos
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We congratulate Prof. Achim Gehrke warmly on this honorable appointment!
Due to the Coronavirus pandemic, secondary school graduation exams and the issuing of school-leaving certificates has been delayed in Germany and many countries worldwide. In order to accommodate for this, the application period has been postponed at German universities. This also holds for the LAS Program at UCF:
The LAS application period 2020 runs from July 1 – August 20. We have updated the Application & Admissions guidelines accordingly.
We are very pleased with the positive feedback from prospective students for our Online Open Days. The upcoming live Q&A sessions will take place on Friday, June 12 with a special focus on the LAS Application & Admissions process. Please join us!
Beyond our regular live Q&A sessions, we are also offering student-organized and student-only live formats "Talk live to LAS students" on June 19 and July 3.
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Today and for the first time, UCF has started its LAS Online Open Days 2020! Join us for a full overview of the LAS program, the people involved, a series of Q&A sessions, and much more:
The new LAS study and examination regulations (Studien- und Prüfungsordnung; StuPO) will take effect as of October 2020. Changes were necessary for two reasons: (1) compliance with new legal regulations as well as with requirements and suggestions from the 2017/18 accreditation process, (2) further developments of the LAS program based on experiences and ideas at UCF since the previous reform in 2015.
The LAS StuPO 2020 changes were developed and discussed by an interdisciplinary task force, in coordination with further experts and an LAS student working group. The suggestions were continuously coordinated with the LAS examination office and with the University's legal and quality management departments. The StuPO then had to pass several university committees: the LAS Board of Studies, the Council of the Faculty of Humanities, and the University Senate.
Two exemplary amendments are the introduction of a 2 ECTS module Advanced Academic Skills in the LAS Core and the change in title of the Major Earth and Environmental Sciences to Environmental and Sustainability Sciences:
University of Freiburg: For information on the coronavirus and relevant policies and measures, please see the University website (updated constantly). In this video, Rector Hans-Jochen Schiewer explains what the coming summer semester will look like.
University College Freiburg: All offices at UCF are closed to the public, including students. More information can be found on Ilias. In case of questions, please contact: las.consultation@ucf.uni-freiburg.de.
The City of Freiburg has information and regulations in German for Freiburg.
State of Baden-Württemberg: Here you can find the current Corona Regulation of the state of Baden-Württemberg. If you scroll down, you can download an English version.
General information on the coronavirus in English: deutschland.de
LAS student Or Shapira was introduced to the four-sides model of communication by Prof. Friedmann Schulz von Thun as part of a course on aspects of communication with Dr. Büchner. That model not only sparked his interest but also his inspiration.
In the Responsibility and Leadership course with Prof. Lipphardt, Or had the chance to write something creative, and decided to present the four-sides model, based on "Miteinander Reden 1" by Prof. Schulz von Thun, to a new audience: children. Even Prof. Schulz von Thun himself has highly praised the book.
"After long weeks of thinking about what and how I should write, the children's book Schulz was written. Kind Ava Molleson has given life to the world with her minimalistic imaginative illustrations.
The book is about Enno, a child who had a fight with his mother. When he goes to relax in the forest, he meets a magical creature called Schulz, who changes his perception. Through the model, Schulz teaches Enno about communication and listening and helps him to make peace with his mother.
Schulz is a story about the misunderstandings we all know – adults and children alike – and how we can communicate more responsibly with others. I want to publish Schulz as a hardcover book, and am these days looking for a publisher. If anyone knows someone in this field, they are welcome to contact me. A copy of the book will be available in the Reading Room once the Alte Uni will be open for us again." Or Shapira
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"The book is funny, child-friendly, instructive - and the pictures of Mrs. Molleson are lovely! Schulz is cheeky and ingenious at the same time!" Prof. Friedmann Schulz von Thun.
Recently 29 LAS students visited the environmental and health related institutions in Geneva. The excursion was organized by the coordinators of the two Majors Life Sciences and Earth and Environmental Sciences. Here are some impressions: How to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals? It is mainly all about money! This appeared to be a central theme on our visit to the UN Environmental Program (UNEP), World Health Organization (WHO) and World Trade Organization (WTO). At the UNEP we learned that it is necessary to find ways to value the environment monetarily so that the environment has also a "seat at the table". The WHO has a convening power in supporting the health of the world population. They also explore how strongly health conditions are connected to the environment and the changing climate. However, they could be stronger if they would have more budget than a midsize hospital. Finally arriving at the "palace" of the WTO it was already visible from the outside how money seems to rule the world. The WTO was established to regulate trade over the boarders more transparently and non-discriminating by still keeping exemptions for environmental and health issues. All in all, we got a good insight into these important organizations and the work of some people. Let's hope that they also "walk the talk"!
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| Presentation at UNEP | At the WHO | Presentation at WTO |
UCF's Dr. Stoyan Panov has been awarded the 2019/2020 re:constitution– Exchange and Analysis on Democracy and the Rule of Law in Europe Fellowship.
re:constitution promotes dialogue on the rule of law across Europe between scholars, lawyers and other legal practitioners, as well as journalists in the fields of law, media and politics. The program awards fellowships to young scholars and practitioners of law for every academic year. At UCF, Stoyan Panov is a lecturer in International Law and Jurisprudence and his research interests cover the areas of EU law, human rights law, international criminal law, international law, the rule of law, anti-corruption mechanisms, and international security.
We congratulate him warmly!
The LAS 4th year course "Research Design Across Disciplines" (RDAD) prepares students for Bachelor thesis research. As part of the course, participants organize an interdisciplinary academic conference at which the students present and discuss their proposals before embarking on their B.A. or B.Sc. theses.
The RDAD conference 2020 will take place on February 13th and 14th. It includes panel sessions on "Advocacy", "Critical Discourses on Sex & Gender", "Improving Human-Environment Interactions", or "At the Edge of Legality" as well as a Poster Session on "Agriculture, Land & Mental Health.
The full program is available here.
The Erasmus+ Strategic Partnership CREATES is pleased to invite you to the one-day conference for university teachers:
Co-creative Learning in Higher Education: the CREATES Toolkit for Teachers
Teacher-scholars from around Europe will gather for this one-day conference in Freiburg to launch the CREATES toolkit of classroom techniques, teaching methods, and best practices for effective teaching and learning in higher education. The Erasmus+ Strategic Partnership CREATES invites attendants of all levels of teaching expertise, including:
• newer university teachers looking for models for active classroom participation,
• advanced teacher-scholars interested in sharing their experiences with a diverse
group of colleagues, and
• teaching services and center professionals.
Registration deadline: February 28, 2020
When? March 27, 2020, 8:30-16:30
Where? University of Freiburg, Germany
The conference program will include short introductions to several specific co-creative teaching techniques. At an 'information market', all participants will have the option to share their own teaching project or innovative technique and exchange with like-minded practitioners from different fields.
We look forward to an engaging day of practical exchange and networking with like-minded colleagues from universities across Europe.
Thursday, January 30, Annette Green, Vice president DACH, at SAS Heidelberg, will give a talk about "Transform a World of Data into a World of Intelligence". The event will be moderated by Prof. Dr. Schneider (Prorektor für Digitale Transformation).
The talk is part of the seminar series "Academia meets Industry", which aims at stimulating transdisciplinary discussions between university members and high profile managers. Here you can find more information.
When? Thursday, January 30, 2020, 17:00 (c.t.)
Where? Aula, KG I
For prospective LAS students, we would like to announce the following key dates for 2020:
1. LAS Open Days
Every year UCF opens its doors for prospective students. Our Open Days 2020 will take place on Friday, May 8 and on Friday, June 19.
2. Application Period
The application period for starting the LAS program in October 2020, is June 1 – July 15. For more information please see our Application and Admissions page; and please note that we will update our application guidelines in the next weeks.
A big thank you to our LAS student Chiara Giardi for designing this year's christmas card!!
We would like to thank all our supporters – students, staff, professors and many friends – for their commitment over the past year. It was an exciting year with many positive developments for UCF.
We wish everybody peaceful and inspiring holidays as well as a great start into the New Year 2020!
UCF
On November 21, Dr. Sabine Sané and 17 LAS students of the EES course "Resources and Sustainability" had the chance to meet Dr. Robert Habeck, federal chairman of the party Alliance 90/The Greens. They talked about different aspects of sustainability such as decoupling economic growth from environmental impact, price regulations vs. prohibition and more financial investments that need to be allocated to a sustainable development.
However, especially interesting got the conversation when they started to talk about the usefulness of a background in philosophy when working in a political environment and the benefits of a Liberal Arts and Sciences education.
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(photos by Peter Allmann)
We are very happy that the “alumniLAS” organization is now part of the Alumni Freiburg e.V. as the first “Fachchapter” at the University of Freiburg. Gregor Ranft, who is now “Vorsitzender of the UCF Fachchapter”, was presented the official accreditation during the LAS Graduation Ceremony 2019. Have a look at the new Fachchapter UCF webpage. To all our UCF alumni: In case you are not yet a member of the University of Freiburg Alumni Association, please consider joining. Stay in touch!
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(photos by Uwe Nüssle)
On November 18, 2019, University College Freiburg and the Studium generale invite you to a lecture by Jean Pütz: "Wissenschaftsjournalismus und Demokratie" (in German).
The science journalist Jean Pütz developed the TV show "Hobbythek", which was broadcast between 1974 and 2004. He is the author of over 80 books with a total circulation of over 6 million. Jean Pütz has been honored with numerous prizes, including the Batelle Prize for Science Journalism, the Prize of the Society of German Chemists for Outstanding Science Journalism and the Eduard Rhein Prize for his lifetime achievement.
When? Monday, November 18, 2019 20:00 h
Where? Alte Universität, HS 1, entrance via Brunnenstraße
(photo by Uwe Nüssle)
On October 19, 2019, more than 200 people gathered in the Aula to celebrate the 4th LAS Graduation Ceremony. Students, staff, families and friends joined us to congratulate and bid farewell to the LAS Graduates 2019. Here you can find more information and photos.
Starting on October 24, 2019, every Thursday FRIAS Fellows and guests offer 25-30 minute lectures for students and the (University) public, followed by 10-15 minutes of discussion. The lectures take place during lunch hour in the University´s centre in the middle of town.
This semester’s series is on “"Models and Modelling across Sciences" and the introductory Lunch Lecture will be given by PD Dr. Tobias Henschen: “What is a Scientific Model?”
When? 12:15 – 1:00 pm (Thursday, October 24, 2019)
Where? Lecture Hall HS 1009 in Kollegiengebäude I (KG I), University of Freiburg
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On Monday, October 14, our LAS Welcome Week 2019 begins. We are very much looking forward to welcoming all our new students. We have an exciting week ahead of us: we want to introduce you to the people and the structure of UCF and LAS, give you a study outline on your foundational year, and provide some general information such as the modalities of course registration and academic advising. As you can see from our Welcome Week schedule, the UCF Students Council has also numerous fun activities planned so that you get to know each other and Freiburg. Here you can already have a look at our Course Catalog, the Modul Handbook or get first impressions of Freiburg. This year the university provides an app for beginning students called "Studienstart – Uni Freiburg" that you can download for free for iOS and Android. |
From the Acropolis to Olympia and back
Prof. Achim Gehrke is a retired (?) Professor of Ancient History. To this day, he is curious and engaged as a teacher, supervisor, advisor, researcher… And he is an expert in many, if not all matters of classical Greek and Roman antiquity. Since 2015, he is part of a DFG funded historical-archaeological research project on the sanctuary Olympia: The multidimensional space of Olympia (Greece).
The DFG has now approved funding for a further interdisciplinary project that Achim Gehrke is involved in: "ΑΡΧΑΙΟΣ ΝΕΩΣ. Neue Studien zur archaischen Architektur auf der Akropolis von Athen" (The Old Temple. New studies on the archaic architecture of the Athenian Acropolis). This project again focuses on ancient Greece and will study the Acropolis – especially its archaic and early classical architectures and developments as well as its connections to the political history of the polis Athens – the cradle of Western Civilization and the birthplace of democracy.
In our LAS Stories, we gather all the testimonials we receive: from current LAS students, students who share their study abroad stories, to our LAS alumni who let us know what they are doing now. Have a look at our newly published stories: Daichi tells us more about his fantastic time at the University of Warwick, where he studied abroad for a year. UCF alumna Swenja is back in her hometown and about to start her own business, after completing a Master’s in Gender and Culture at the Swansea University, UK. Daniel, another UCF alumnus, found his passion in the Social Enterprise sector and is currently finishing his Master’s degree in Philosophy and Economics. Thank you all for sharing this with us!
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This year the Erasmus Prize for the Liberal Arts and Sciences was awarded to Lena Kulla, a LAS alumna, and to Alex Giurca, from the Institute of Forest Sciences of the University of Freiburg. Lena Kulla’s prize-winning Bachelorthesis ““Factors Influencing the Incorporation of an Upper-Extremity Prosthesis into Everyday Activities – A Phenomenological Approach to Prosthesis Acceptance and Usage” deals with the socially highly relevant issue of the acceptance or rejection of prostheses. Dr. Alex Giurca undertakes an interdisciplinary analysis of the bioeconomy in his thesis “The Forest-Based Bioeconomy: Actor Networks, Policies and Politics in Germany and Northern Europe” and combines approaches from forestry, political science, economics and management theory with quantitative and qualitative methods. For more information, please see the University of Freiburg press release and our website.
We were very pleased and honored that the diplomat Martin Kobler gave this year’s keynote speech. He talked about “Zerfällt die Welt? Erfahrungen mit Nation-Building im 21. Jahrhundert“. This was especially interesting since Martin Kobler was, inter alia, German Ambassador to Egypt, Iraq, and Pakistan, as well as UN Special Representative in Iraq, Congo and Libya.
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(Photos by Patrick Seeger)
Eight Universities in six countries successfully joined forces for the "European Universities" call from the European Commission. The consortium EPICUR (European Partnership for Innovative Campus Unifying Regions) is now a pilot project for the European University of the future and will receive € 5 millions to design and implement innovative teaching and learning infrastructure and formats – formats that are geared to the new generation of European citizens, to face the great societal challenges of the Europe of tomorrow.
The project's pilot phase consists of several action programs, such as
The EPICUR alliance is composed of eight partners:
The EPICUR alliance places "Liberal Arts and Sciences Education" at the center of its project: one of the long-term objectives is the creation of a four-year "European bachelor of liberal arts and sciences", taught in English at several EPICUR universities. Two important starting points for this ambitious goal are the University Colleges in Amsterdam and Freiburg!
More information on the University of Freiburg PR page and at the Université de Strasbourg.
Credits map: entelechie/stock.adobe.com
Credits logo: photos: Chriso, entelechie/stock.adobe.com, photomontage: Jürgen Oschwald
Across the disciplines, scientific models are of central importance. We use computational models to predict the climate for some future period; the ideal gas model to explain certain thermodynamic processes of gases; the double helix model to describe DNA molecules; dynamic-stochastic general-equilibrium models to justify economic policy decisions and so on. The immense importance of scientific models raises questions that do not necessarily surface in scientific practice, but can be quite perplexing. What is a model? What does it represent? How does it relate to theory? What purpose does it serve? Is it true or false?
The UCF Speaker Series, organized by PD Dr. Tobias Henschen and Dr. Simon Büchner, invites professors from different disciplines to talk about their "favourite" models. The talks and the models they cover are supposed to provide a starting point for discussions on intricate questions regarding the ontology and epistemology of models, their functions, and their use in research.
When? Wednesdays, 6:15 pm – 8 pm
Where? UCF, HS 01036a
If you are interested in attending the series, please contact Silvia Stößer.
A few weeks ago, the LAS students Yigit and Linnea were part of the Freiburg University delegation to the National Model United Nations 2019 conference in New York. Prior to the conference, they visited the UN Secretariat, the United Nations Development Programme, and the United Nations Operations and Crisis Centre. They also spent time with the University of Freiburg's North America alumni chapter, networking with them and promoting their project.
At the conference, Yigit represented the country of Colombia as a delegate at the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) while Linnea took part in the board of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) as a rapporteur. Linnea also held a speech at the UN General Assembly Hall on behalf of the Freiburg delegation, aiming to raise awareness about humanitarian aid workers who suffer from mental illnesses. The Freiburg delegation received a Distinguished Delegation Award at the end of the conference for their collective NMUN performance.
We enjoyed our time in New York City and had an amazing opportunity to experience a realistic setting of the UN. It was thrilling to have a practical involvement in the arenas of international relations as well as global politics, and we truly appreciated the international atmosphere of the conference. Linnea and Yigit
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Last month, four LAS students, coached by UCF's Dr. Stoyan Panov, took part in the European Human Rights Moot Court Competition (EHRMCC), an international human rights competition, intended to focus on the human rights activities of the Council of Europe and in particular the European Convention on Human Rights. The EHRMCC is one of the most competitive and prestigious moot court competitions.
The 7th edition of the EHRMCC took place in April 2019 coinciding with the 60th anniversary of the European Court of Human Rights, the main juris corpus of the Council of Europe. The case concerned cyber harassment, hate speech and gender equality within the framework of the European Convention on Human Rights.
The UCF team was among the 20 teams that qualified to participate in the highly competitive Final Oral Rounds Competition in Strasbourg on 15-19 April 2019. Kasia Schwartz, Nathalie Kornet, Julius Nebel and Paul Weber represented the UCF at the Competition. The UCF team reached the quarterfinals of the Competition and placed 5-6 overall from out of more than 100 registered teams in the Competition this year.
We congratulate the UCF team warmly!
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The skills we acquired during this project can be used in all different sorts of situations in our lives, be it at job interviews, at stressful situations at work or at oral presentations in university. All of this taken together made this project simply incredible and one of the best experiences I had during my time in Freiburg! UCF team
On May 2-5 2019, the 4th Liberal Education Student Conference (LESC) was held at Bard College Berlin. This conference engaged students with the question: "Liberal Education: In Conversation with Today's World of Tomorrow". Featuring invigorating conversations, guest lectures, and the core text: Nietzsche's "On the Advantage and Disadvantage of History for Life", participants from around Europe explored ideas from each others contributions and addressed questions on the role and future of liberal education in the following four domains: education, society, technology, and politics. Participants discovered differences and similarities which surround liberal education, and addressed varying views of what liberal education is and why such a conference as the LESC exist.
The 2019 LESC also featured the launch of angLES, a "trans-european, inter-university" liberal education students journal, a project designed to continue spreading and sharing ideas within and beyond the circles of liberal education. This journal provides a platform to extend the conversation about liberal education beyond the conference, as well as providing a close network for students with its imbedded peer-review process. Closing with stimulating questions, further knowledge, and inspirations, the LESC was a great advancement to the liberal education community in Europe.
The complex issue of sustainability necessitates cooperation of different actors and disciplines: In the light of current socio-ecological crises, a shift towards interdisciplinary approaches is indispensable. The lecture series "Identifying the Blind Spots – Or what we don't know: Interdisciplinary perspectives on the issue of sustainability" shall create a room for open dialogs, where the confrontation of different perspectives leads to the identification of their respective blind spots.
The goal of this lecture series is to determine and critically reflect the ignorance resulting from isolated views of individual disciplines and, further, to make room for synergies. Not only do we want to address questions, which we as a society may or may not have an answer for; rather, the focus shall lie on finding those questions that are usually not even asked – the blind spots.
Next lecture:
"Sustainability and Politics", Monday May 13th, 6-8pm, Veranstaltungsaal UB
Organized by the student initiative "Nachhaltigkeitsbüro Uni Freiburg" and sponsored, among others, by the UCF Students Council.
Starting in winter semester 2019/20, UCF offers three seminars entitled "Wissenschaft – Technologie – Gesellschaft". The seminars are taught in German and open for bachelor and master students of all faculties. In these seminars, students explore together with experts how science, technology and society are mutually dependent and which social-ethical questions accompany new scientific and technological developments. The seminars offer students the opportunity to engage in interdisciplinary teams with selected scientific and technological developments, to examine their social implications and to present the resulting findings in a generally understandable way. Here you can find more information on "Wissenschaft – Technologie – Gesellschaft".
We warmly welcome Dr. Marie Muschalek, the new coordinator for the project, at UCF!
It's Lunch Lectures time again! Starting this Thursday, April 25, FRIAS Fellows and guests offer 25-30 minute lectures for students and the public, followed by 10-15 minutes of discussion. This semester the FRIAS Lunch Lectures deal with "Intelligences. A multidisciplinary exploration of human and artificial intelligence."
When? Thursdays, 12.15 – 1.00 pm
Where? Lecture Hall HS 1009, KG I
Here you can find more information on the Lunch Lectures.
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We know that applying at a university can be challenging. To make the LAS application and admissions process as understandable and transparent as possible, we have updated our guidelines for you. The application and admissions section of our website provides information that guides you through the process of applying to the LAS Program at UCF. Please note: The application period for the LAS Program is June 1 – July 15, 2019. But, of course, you can and should start preparing all necessary documents as early as possible. And we encourage you to join us for our LAS Open Days on April 12 and June 7, 2019 and/or get in touch with us with your questions. We look forward to your application! |
Ivan, student of the Major Life Sciences, did an internship as part of his Electives at the University of Toulouse in winter semester 2018/19. We are glad that he shares his experience with us:
"During their studies at UCF, Life Sciences students must complete the Lab Practice module. This module gives insights on practical aspects of research in natural sciences, students experience lab’s everyday life and get the idea of main approaches to experiment design, while participating in current research or conducting their own. In my case, I wanted this module to be tightly connected to my bachelor thesis, that is why I was very happy to be accepted to complete my lab practice at Prof. Dr. Andrew Straw lab for Animal Physiology, Neurobiology and Behavior at the University of Freiburg. […] Imagine my surprise when I was invited to continue my work at the University of Toulouse within CNRS. Dr. Antoine Wystrach and Dr. Sebastian Schwarz study ant's navigation and were very interested in building a system similar to Dr. Straw’s Virtual Reality arena…" Read more.
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Pictures by Ivan Sukhov. Thank you.
Recently a group of 25 students participated in a study visit of the Major Earth and Environmental Sciences to the environmental institutions of United Nations: the World Meteorological Organization, the Food and Agriculture Organization, and the United Nations Environment Programme. They learned from experts in the field about the opportunities and challenges they face with global environmental governance as they fight starvation, promote green technologies, manage disaster risks, collect geospatial data, and combat climate change. More pictures and info on the two-day study trip can be found here.
The study trip was possible thanks to support by the Verband der Freunde der Universität Freiburg.
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At the round of talks on “Perspectives on 20 years of Vagina Monologues“, organized by the maniacts, the English department drama group, both UCF’s Dr. Ryan Plumley and LAS Alumna Stella Rutkat took part. Together with Dr. Esther Gaertner, gynecologist and co-founder of the mentoring network of the Deutschen Ärztinnenbund, and Simone Thomas, women’s representative of the City of Freiburg, they openly talked about how far we have come along, 20 years after the Vagina Monologues by Eve Ensler. What about the rights and self-determination of women today - sexually, politically and legally? The discussion was moderated by Maria-Xenia Hardt, who was also a UCF Teaching Fellow last summer semester. Here you can find more information on the event.
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Pictures by Simon Sahner
At the Research across Disciplines Conference fourth-year students will present their research designs and potential Bachelor's theses within panels, like:
Climate and Technology / Values / Environmental Justice / Fast Fashion / Gold Mining / Food and Health / Migration and Minority Protection / Security of Basic Needs: Energy, Income, Food / Political Criticism / Feminism and Gender / Colonialism and Warfare / Cultural Controversies
Here you can find the program of the conference with all topics and short descriptions.
When? Friday, February 8, 2019, 8:15 – 18:20
Where? KG 1023, after the lunch break KG 1139, KG 1132, Peterhof Room 3, Conference Conclusion: KG 3042, 17:20 –18:20
The Electives allow students to supplement their Major and to shape their specific academic profile. Some students use the Electives for an internship or a practical project. By doing so, they show remarkable initiative and creativity. To celebrate the successes of the past year and get inspiration for new adventures, we invite you to the Internships and Practical Projects in LAS 2019 Showcase.
When? February 6, 2019, 18:30 – 20:00
Where? KG II, room 2004
Students will briefly present their experience and take questions from the audience. The event is followed by a wine reception.
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The Fourth European Liberal Education Student Conference will take place from 2–5 May 2019 in Berlin. Students interested in participating should submit their proposal by February 3, 2019. This year LESC will deal with "Liberal Education: In Conversation with Today's World of Tomorrow". |
UCF is seeking to hire two Tutors for the introductory statistics course "Dealing with Numerical Information" and a Teaching Assistant for the Major area of Culture and History. Interested? Here you can find more information.
We are looking forward to your application.
Next week Dr. Ingmar Hoerr, MBA, Supervisory Board Chairman of CureVac AG and its CEO til 2018, will give his talk on "RNA, 3 D Printing and Mass Data: Not a vision but reality". The talk is part of the seminar series "Academia meets Industry", which aims at stimulating transdisciplinary discussions between university members and high profile managers. Here you can find more information.
When? Monday, January 28, 2019, 17.00 (s.t.)
Where? Lecture Hall Otto Krayer Haus, Albertstrasse 25
Curious what happens in the course Robot Design – Theory, Practice, Philosophy? Have a look:
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More information on the course Robot Design – Theory, Practice, Philosophy can be found in our course catalog. The course is kindly supported by Stura, thank you very much.
For prospective LAS students, we would like to announce the following key dates for 2019:
1. LAS Open Days
In spring 2019, UCF will again open its doors for prospective students. The Open Days 2019 will take place on Friday, April 12 and on Friday, June 7.
2. Application Period
The application period for starting the LAS program in October 2019 is June 1 – July 15.
3. Interview Week
The LAS selection interviews will take place from in the week of July 29 – August 2. Please see our Application and Admissions page for more information; and please note that we will update our application guidelines early 2019.
We would like to thank all our supporters – students, staff, professors and many friends – for their commitment over the past year. It was an eventful year with many positive developments for UCF.
We wish everybody peaceful and inspiring holidays as well as a great start into the New Year 2019!
UCF
In criminal investigations, composite sketches (also referred to as identikit pictures, phantom pictures, or mugshots) are created using data from different sources. DNA-based facial reconstruction aims at predicting a person's face using only genetic information. On Tuesday, 18 December 2018, experts from genetics, anthropology, statistics, political sciences, social sciences, and forensics will discuss various aspects of this topic, including terminology, methodology, scientific validity, potential and actual use in applications, and risks and benefits to society.
When? Tuesday, 18 December 2018, 2 pm. – 6 pm
Where? University Library, Veranstaltungssaal (1st floor)
The workshop is open to the public.
This Saturday the interactive exhibition "Selbst-Built", which was developed under the direction of Nexus Experiments and Vanessa Valk in cooperation with LAS students, will take place. "Self-Built" is the closing event of the course "L'homme machine", where artists and scientists explore how the body image adapts to changes affecting the brain or other body parts.
Workshops, installations, conversations and an interactive exhibition will provide space to reflect on one's own body perception. Together with students, scientists and artists this mini-festival offers a space for dialogue to try out, experience and discuss the topics of neurotechnology and body image.
When? December 8, 2018
Where? FRIAS, Albertstr. 19, 79104 Freiburg
Tickets (6 Euros / reduced 3 Euros) | Reservations under: nexus@brainlinks-braintools.uni-freiburg.de
Every Thursday between 12:15 and 13:00 current FRIAS Fellows and guests offer 25-30 minute lectures for students and the (University) public, followed by 10-15 minutes of discussion. The FRIAS Lunch Lectures Series are dedicated to reflecting on knowledge, science and technology in the broadest sense and will focus this semester on "Shifting Perspectives: When the Margins Become the Center". Here you can download the full program.
When? Thursdays, 12.15 – 1 pm Where? KG I, HS 1015
The LAS Program is pre-accredited via the quality assurance process of the Ministry of Science, Research and the Arts of the State of Baden-Württemberg.
Today, the Rectorate confirmed that the LAS Program successfully passed the internal accreditation procedure at the University of Freiburg. The University is in the process of implementing a system accreditation. As soon as the positive decision has been made regarding the university system accreditation, the LAS program will retroactively be awarded the seal of the German Accreditation Council. This decision is planned for November 2019.
Last week, two interesting higher education conferences took place in Korea: the “International Forum on Liberal Education” (hosted by the Korea National Institute for General Education in Seoul) and the “International Conference of General Education” (hosted by the Korean Association for General Education in Daegu).
The events brought together liberal and general education experts from Korean universities and from around the world – the Japan, China, the US, Slovakia, the Netherlands, and Germany. And UCF’s Managing Director Paul Sterzel participated in this inspiring setting; beyond very fruitful discussions, exchanges and networking, he brought back impressions from a wonderful and fascinating country.
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We are always happy to receive photos with the green LAS bag from our students, who currently study abroad. While Maya is sending her best from Penn State University, we also got a picture of her in Durham together with Alisa, who is studying at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Ronja and Antonia are both representing UCF at a study abroad fair at University College Utrecht, where they are currently studying. So, thank you for the pictures!
We wish you and all our students abroad all the best and hope you have an exciting and inspiring time!
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We warmly welcome our new dean of studies, Prof. Dr. Sitta von Reden to UCF. As one of her first official acts, she presented the conferring of the degrees at the graduation ceremony 2018.
Sitta von Reden studied Economics, History, and Latin at the University of Freiburg and the Freie Universität Berlin. After accomplishing her PhD at the University of Cambridge, she was Research Fellow at the University of Oxford. From 1992-2005 she was lecturer and senior lecturer at the University of Bristol. She received her Habilitation at the University of Augsburg. Since 2010 she holds the Chair for Ancient History at the University of Freiburg. Her foci in research and in teaching are on ancient economic and global history.
In 2017 she received a € 2.5 Million ERC Advanced Grant from the European Research Council (ERC) – one of the most prestigious research awards in Europe. Her interdisciplinary ERC research project BaSaR ("Beyond the Silk Road. Economic Development, Frontier Zones and Inter-Imperiality in the Afro-Eurasian World Region") aims to provide a global perspective on economic development and inter-imperial exchange in the Afro-Eurasian world region from 300 BCE to 300 CE. Further information including Professor von Reden's full academic CV is available on the Ancient History Department's website. We are more than happy, to have her as our new dean of studies.
On October 13, 2018 UCF staff, students, guests, graduates and their families and friends celebrated the third Liberal Arts and Sciences Graduation Ceremony. It was an exciting afternoon with many memorable moments. Thank you all for making this a wonderful event. More information and photos are available here.
Recently we welcomed our new students at UCF. During the Welcome Week they not only got to know UCF, its staff and the program, but also their fellow LAS students. Jam sessions, games, pub crawls and a big opening celebration were among the fun parts of the Welcome Week.
We wish everyone a good start at UCF!
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(Photos by LAS student Paul Weber. Thank you!)
We are always happy that our UCF Alumni let us know what they are doing and stay in contact with us. Recently, LAS Alumna Theresa Weinstein has returned to Freiburg to teach “Design Thinking” to LAS students. Her workshop, conducted together with Felix Gnann and Ines Mayan, was part of the October Intensive “Entrepreneurship” by Dr. Markus Strauch. Theresa was among the first LAS graduates. She majored in Life Sciences at UCF, continued with the HPI School of Design Thinking and is now doing her Master at the Berlin School of Mind and Brain. More information on Theresa is available on our After LAS Stories page.
Theresa was also among the first LAS students who took the “Entrepreneurship” course herself. Now she is back at UCF and contributes with her “Design Thinking Workshop”. The aim of the workshop was to create an idea in a team that can be developed into a business plan in the course of the seminar with the help of Design Thinking. In a systematic approach, the Design Thinking Process, students try to put themselves in the perspective of the user and to design the solution from his or her perspective. In order to achieve the most innovative solution possible, Design Thinking takes advantage of multidisciplinary teamwork and is thus a perfect tool for the LAS students. Apart from that is a very colorful and creative process, as you can see from the pictures.
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On Monday October 8, 2018 our LAS Welcome Weeks begins. We are very much looking forward to welcoming all our new students. As you can see from our Welcome Week schedule, we have an exciting week ahead of us: we want to introduce you to the people and the structure of UCF and LAS, give you a study outline on your foundational year, and provide some general information such as the modalities of course registration and academic advising.
Besides that, the UCF Students Council has numerous fun activities planned so that you get to know each other and Freiburg.
Here you can already have a look at our Course Catalog, the Model Handbook or get first impressions of Freiburg. We look forward to next week!
In February 2019, the Universities of Strasbourg and Freiburg are organizing a Winter School for students from Adelaide on "Crossing Borders: A New European Perspective" including topics such as www.ucf.uni-freiburg.de European Studies, Human Rights, Climate Change, and Renewable Energy.
The Winter School includes a weekend program on entrepreneurship that is open to students from Freiburg and Strasbourg. Adelaide has specifically asked that LAS students apply!
When? February 2-3, 2019
Where? ThincLab Châlons in the Champagne
Application deadline: October 14
For more information, please see the call for applications.
Ancient Greeks lived in a landscape full of stories: where gods and heroes made the sun rise and plants grow, where rivers and winds had personalities, where mountains hid secret entrances to other worlds. Modern Greece, too, has its stories: of environmental challenges, of the tourism economy, of political renewal. Can we moderns learn from the ancients about a sustainable use of nature? What are the possibilities and the limits of modern scientific approaches to knowledge? Can we re-enchant the Greek landscape by understanding its deep history?
Recently LAS students explored the relations between humans and nature in both ancient and modern Greece by visiting archaeological sites, hiking the woods and hills, and speaking with on-site experts about themes ranging from ancient water management techniques to modern heritage site management, from ancient animal sacrifice to modern organic wine growing. The excursion ended with a look to the future of cultural story-telling at Elefsina, European Cultural Capital for 2021.
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The excursion was organized by the LAS Coordinators for Culture & History and Earth & Environmental Sciences. Students from all LAS Majors and from the Faculty of Biology participated.
We thank Freunde der Universität Freiburg, Stiftung Humanismus Heute, and STURA for their kind support!
UCF invites applications for two C.H. Beck Teaching Fellowships for the module Responsibility and Leadership II in the Bachelor program Liberal Arts and Sciences.
Each Fellowship is rewarded with € 2,500 for a 6 ECTS course to be taught in summer semester 2019.
With these fellowships, the C.H. Beck Foundation promotes the combination of practical and academic contents when teaching Responsibility and Leadership.
More information on the fellowships can be found here. The application deadline for this round is September 30, 2018.
As of July 2018, Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Freitag transferred to the University of Mannheim where he now holds the Chair of Theoretical Philosophy at the Department of Philosophy. We congratulate Wolfgang Freitag and thank him for his outstanding work in the last five years here at UCF!
Together with Prof. Veronika Lipphardt and UCF staff he created and further developed the LAS Core curriculum that has become one of the distinctive features of the Freiburg LAS program. He taught and inspired many LAS students with courses on Theory of Knowledge or Knowledge in Context, especially in their first two years of study. From 2015 to 2018 Wolfgang Freitag was Dean of Studies and made great contributions to the overall integration and organization of the LAS Program. Beyond his LAS- and teaching-contributions, Prof. Freitag worked on various research projects, e.g. think: Language and Self-Consciousness or Mind the Meaning – The Philosophy of Psychological Expressivism.
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| Farewell Party Prof. Wolfgang Freitag | PD Dr. Tobias Henschen |
Until a new professor takes over the Chair in Epistemology and Theory of Science, the LAS teaching duties will be covered by a substitute professor. With the beginning of winter semester 2018/19, we warmly welcome PD Dr. Tobias Henschen to UCF. PD Dr. Henschen did his PhD in Philosophy at the University of Heidelberg, was a postdoctoral research fellow at the Philosophy Department of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and received his Habilitation at the University of Konstanz. His main research interests include general philosophy of science, philosophy of economics, and the philosophy of Kant and Heidegger. In this five-minute video, he provides an outline of his most recent research on macroeconomics. More information on PD Dr. Henschen is available here.
PD Dr. Tobias Henschen will be teaching in the majors Governance (Economic Crises: History, Causes and Consequences), Culture and History (History of Philosophy) and in the Core (Knowledge, Truth, and Inference). Tobias, welcome to UCF!
We are always happy to hear from our LAS graduates and what they are doing after LAS. Veronika Vazhnik majored in Earth and Environmental Sciences at UCF and graduated in 2016. After that, Veronika started her PhD studies in BioRenewable Systems at Penn State University's Agricultural and Biological Engineering department, supervised by Prof. Tom Richard.
Now, after passing her comprehensive exams, Veronika is writing her dissertation at the Idaho National Lab (INL). In her dissertation, she is developing a framework that can help farmers decide which crop to place where on the field based on the farmer’s priorities and based on sustainability assessment of the choices. Her scientific approach is transdisciplinary, including landscape ecology, sustainability science, agricultural engineering, economic theory, operations research; as well as talking to farmers about what matters to them on their farms.
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| Prof. Richards Lab Team of 2017-2018 |
3D Printer Oak Ridge | Table Rock Mountain, View Grand Teton |
Besides that, Veronika is doing a minor in operations research, which is a subfield of industrial engineering that develops mathematical tools for decision-making and optimization. She visits conferences, co-organizes a workshop in the Chesapeake Bay on how to overcome the water pollution challenge and organizes a team to take part in the EcoChallenge. We thank Veronika for her update and wish her all the best for her projects!
Veronika during her LAS study abroad time in Hong Kong
Next week Dr. Michael Lauk, Chief Executive Officer Neuroloop GmbH, Freiburg, will give his talk on "Starting without Ending: Insights into 20 years of founding and managing Life-Science Start-ups". The talk is part of the seminar series "Academia meets Industry", which aims at stimulating transdisciplinary discussions between university members and high profile managers.
When? Wednesday, July 11, 2018, 17.00 (s.t.)
Where? Lecture Hall 00 005, Institute of Physiology/Pharmacology,
Hermann-Herder-Str. 7
At the annual University of Freiburg Dies Universitatis, the Teaching Project "Forschendes Lernen im Uniseum" was awarded an innovation prize by the University of Freiburg Students' Union. The project combines research-oriented academic learning with practical aspects of museal exhibition work. It is carried in collaboration between the University's Uniseum, the History Department, and UCF. Specifically, the prize goes to the development of new exhibition modules for the Uniseum's "Kabinett des Staunens" (Cabinet of Amazement).
Press coverage is available at the Badische Zeitung.
Fotos are available at the Uni Freiburg Twitter feed.
A group of 35 students from UCF, accompanied by Dr. Stoyan Panov, participated in a two-day visit to the UN Conference on Trade and Development, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, and the International Committee of the Red Cross in Geneva, Switzerland.
The UCF group visited the UN and met with an expert from the UN Conference on Trade and Development. The LAS students were given the opportunity to learn about the mandate and role of the UNCTAD as regards to global trade and development and the function of the UN in that area. They further had the chance to inquire of the pathway to work for the UN in a highly interactive Q&A format with the UN official and visited a plenary session of the 2018 International Labour Conference.
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The next day the group visited the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights where they learned about the challenging role of the UNHRC in terms of promoting and protecting human rights in the world. The discussion was interactive and allowed to get inside information as to the role of human rights experts on various missions in problematic places around the world in the field of human rights.
Finally the students visited the International Committee of the Red Cross where they met with an ICRC operations coordinator for Africa and an associate from the ICRC Law and Policy Forum. The discussion centered on the function of the ICRC and oftentimes precarious and brave role of ICRC personnel in the midst of warzones, incorporating many practical examples and experiences from on-field operations of the ICRC.
For the first time, the Erasmus Prize for the Liberal Arts and Sciences 2018 was awarded to two Liberal Arts and Sciences graduates: Roosje van der Kamp from Amsterdam University College and Felisa Mesuere from UCF. Roosje van der Kamp connects in her Bachelor thesis "A Modern Disease: A Philosophical Inquiry into Kierkegaard’s Concept of Depression and the Age of Reflection" Kierkegaard’s critique of modernity to his concept of depression and places this in the context of modern discourses on depression. Felisa Mesuere combines in her Bachelor thesis "Playing with Morals – Gender Ambiguity in Monteverdi’s Oper L’Orfeo" approaches from history, music and gender studies in order to analyze gender ambiguity in Claudio Monteverdi’s early 17th-century opera L’Orfeo. For more information, please see the University of Freiburg press release.
This year we very honored that Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. mult. Dr.-Ing. E.h. Jürgen Mittelstraß, director of the Konstanz Science Forum, gave the UCF Lecture 2018. We thank Prof. Mittelstraß for his inspring lecture on: "Fröhliche Wissenschaft? Wissenschaft und Universität zwischen Erkenntnis- und Verwertungsidealen".
UCF thanks all guests for being part of the 2018 award ceremony and the ongoing support!
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(Photos by Patrick Seeger and LAS student Tom Burggraf. Thank you very much!)
Prof. Harrington's lecture "Rejected Miracles: Reflections on a medical archive at the boundary between skepticism and the supernatural" is about what must be the most unusual medical archive in the world. It is an archive of medical miracles – supernatural healings that don’t just ask you to take the patients' word for it, but that have been extensively vetted by medical authorities. The archive is not in some distant, exotic part of the world. It is just a short train or plane ride away from Freiburg, at the Catholic pilgrimage site in southern France called Lourdes.The lecture is part of the Colloquium Series "Society/Environment/Biology" of the Chair in Science and Technology Studies.
When? Thursday, June 14, 2018, 16.00
Where? Veranstaltungssaal of the University Library, 1.OG
The lecture is free and open to the public.
Currently, the extension of DNA-analysis in criminal investigations is discussed fervently in political arenas; this week, for example, at the Conference of Ministers of the Interior and the Conference of Ministers of Justice for an implementation on the national level in Germany. Bavaria passed a Police Task Act (PAG) in late May that allows police forces to analyse DNA for hair, eye and skin color as well as "biogeographical ancestry".
The initiative STS@Freiburg, including UCF professor Veronika Lipphardt, has been widely quoted and represented in international media – to name but a few:
In addition, in the context of the current international debate on race and racism as well as the opening of the exhibition "Rassismus. Die Erfindung der Menschenrassen" at the Deutsche Hygiene Museum Dresden, Prof. Lipphardt and the multidisciplinary initiative are again being heard by media and actively contributing to the debate:
Prof. Campbell’s lecture "Lively Selves or Risky Subjects: The Unsettled Life of a Technology of Solidarity" will examine the role of social movements and technology in responding to and treating the opioid epidemic in the United States. The lecture is part of the Colloquium Series "Society/Environment/Biology" of the Chair in Science and Technology Studies.
When? Thursday, May 17, 2018, 16.00
Where? Veranstaltungssaal of the University Library, 1.OG
The lecture is free and open to the public.
In her lecture "The Homelands of the Plague: Soviet Disease Ecology in Central ASIA; 1920s–1950s.", Prof. Susan Jones will analyze the development of an important Russian/Soviet school of "disease ecology" at the intersection of human medicine, veterinary medicine, and ecological fieldwork. The lecture is part of the Colloquium Series "Society/Environment/Biology" of the Chair in Science and Technology Studies.
When? Thursday, May 3, 2018, 16.00
Where? Veranstaltungssaal of the University Library, 1.OG
The lecture is free and open to the public.
The interrelationships between society, the environment, and biology are becoming ever more complex and important. Concepts such as disease, genes, ecologies, and biomedicine have taken on new meanings in politics, law, ethics, popular culture, and the sciences themselves. Navigating and understanding this changing landscape poses challenges that span academic disciplines.
The Chair in Science and Technology Studies invites you to the Colloquium Series "Society/Environment/Biology" this summer semester. All lectures – by world-renowned scholars in Science and Technology Studies, History of Science, and History of Medicine – are open to the public and will be followed by discussion.
When? Thursday, April 19, 2018, 16.00 – The first talk is by Jenny Reardon on "Just Genomes?"
Prof. Reardon will be speaking on governance, ethics, and justice after the Human Genome Project.
Where? All talks will take place in the Veranstaltungssaal of the University Library
You can find an up-to-date calendar of talks here.
The Chair for Epistemology and Theory of Science has successfully applied for funding for the research project "Mind the Meaning – The Philosophy of Psychological Expressivism". The project, headed by Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Freitag, is funded by the Fritz Thyssen Stiftung for Wissenschaftsförderung and will start in spring / summer 2018. For more information on the project, please see our research site or contact Dr. Marc Andree Weber.
Next week Dr. Kirsten Lund-Jürgensen, Executive Vice president and president of Pfizer Global Supply at Pfizer Inc., USA will give her talk on "Working in a Global Pharmaceutical Company: Expectations and Opportunities". The talk is part of the seminar series "Academia meets Industry", which aims at stimulating transdisciplinary discussions between university members and high profile managers.
When? Wednesday, March 14, 2018, 17.00 (s.t.)
Where? Lecture Hall Weismannhaus, Albertstr. 21 a
UCF invites applications for two C.H. Beck Teaching Fellowships for the module Responsibility and Leadership II in the Bachelor program Liberal Arts and Sciences.
With these fellowships, the C.H. Beck Foundation promotes the combination of practical and academic contents when teaching Respnsibility and Leadership.
More information on the fellowships can be found here. The application deadline for this round is March 31, 2018.
We have finalized the Liberal Arts and Sciences Course Catalog for the Summer Semester 2018. The LAS Course Catalog includes detailed information (Instructor, Course Description, Dates and Times) on the upcoming Block and Semester long courses as well as on the Course Registration procedure. You can download the Course Catalog, as well as older Course Catalogs and other handbooks, here.
The public debate on Forensic DNA Phenotyping is ongoing in Germany. In this context, the multidisciplinary initiative STS@Freiburg that was co-initiated at the UCF Chair in Science and Technology Studies in November 2016 is being heard and consulted by media and decision-makers.
In their 45-minute feature from earlier this week, Deutschlandfunk covered recent developments and interviewed a number experts from throughout Europe – including UCF's Prof. Veronika Lipphardt. The audio is available here.
In the LAS course Research Design Across Disciplines (RDAD), fourth-year students refine their academic skills, learn about the contexts of research, and develop research proposals of their own. The course ends with a self-organized conference at which the students present and discuss their proposals before embarking on their B.A. or B.Sc. theses.
The RDAD conference 2018 will take place on February 9th and 10th. It includes panel sessions on topics such as "Global Actors and their Foreign Policies", "Views on Humanity", "Improving Human-Environment Interactions", or "The Human Body between Health and Disease" as well as a Poster Session.
The full program is available here.
A group of 40 students from University College Freiburg, from the Faculty of Law-University of Freiburg and EUCOR partner University of Basel accompanied by Dr. Stoyan Panov (UCF) attended a hearing of the European Court of Human Rights on 24 January 2018. The group witnessed the Grand Chamber hearing of the highly politically contentious case of Navalnyy v. Russia in the European Court of Human Rights. The case concerned the numerous detentions of Mr. Alexey Navalnyy, his right to a fair trial, and the freedom of political assembly in Russia. After the hearings, the group met with a lawyer from the Registry of the Court who discussed what it is like to work at the Court.
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| ECtHR building, Strasbourg | Meeting with a lawyer from the ECtHR |
In the afternoon, the group visited the Council of Europe and attended the hearing and Q&A session of the Prime Minister of Denmark, Lars Løkke Rasmussen, before the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. Afterwards, Mr. Alun Drake from the Directorate of Communication of the Council of Europe met with the group and presented on the function of the Council of Europe followed up by a Q&A session on the current challenges that the Council of Europe is facing. The visit to the Grand Chamber's hearing of the ECtHR and the Council of Europe was particularly valuable for the participants in the Public International Law and International Law in Practice courses.
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| Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe | Council of Europe, Strasbourg |
The excursion was possible thanks to kind support by Alumni Freiburg!
UCF is seeking to hire:
Research Associate (E13, 50%) at the Chair in Science and Technology Studies
Two tutors for the LAS introductory statistics course
Student Assistant at the Chair of Epistemology and Theory of Science
More information is available under Job Offers. We are looking forward to your applications!
The ongoing LAS Governance Course "Finance and Banking", taught by Dr. Gerhard Kempter, covers topics such as the global financial industry, bank regulation and management, and the power of money. In the context of this course and in order to provide first-hand insights, an expert interview via Skype will take place with the self-made billionaire Mr. Alan Gerry.
This session is open to all who are interested in economics and finance. It will focus on topics such as financial regulation, risks, and crises, but also on cryptocurrencies and Donald Trump's tax reform.
When? On Tuesday, January 16, 2018, 18:00 – 20:00
Where? Lecture Hall 1016 (Kollegiengebäude I, ground floor)
Mr. Alan Gerry
For prospective LAS students, we would like to announce the following key dates for 2018:
1. LAS Open Days
In spring 2018, UCF will again open its doors for prospective students. The Open Days 2018 will take place on Friday, April 20 and on Friday, June 8. More information is available here.
2. Application Period
The application period for starting the LAS program in October 2018 is June 1 – July 15.
3. Interview Week
The LAS selection interviews will take place from in the week of July 30 – August 3. Please see our Application and Admissions page for more information; and please note that we will update our application guidelines early 2018.
We would like to thank everybody who contributed to making 2017 a very positive year for UCF – students, staff, professors, the many supporters and friends. We look forward to continuing our collaborations of many kinds in 2018.
And we wish everybody peaceful and inspiring holidays as well as a great start to the New Year 2018.
UCF
On December 15−16, 2017, the think4 workshop "Self-Consciousness − Philosophy Meets Empirical Science" will take place.
Subjects that exhibit self-consciousness are able to consciously recognize mental and bodily states as their own. Philosophical, neuroscientific and psychological theories of self-consciousness seek to account for this ability at different levels of explanation. Relevant questions are, for instance: How does self-consciousness emerge in a brain? Is self-consciousness in any interesting way distinct from the awareness of other things? Is it a non-conceptual, pre-reflective feature of all experiences? Further questions concern our way of referring to self-conscious states and the specific kind of knowledge that we seem to have of ourselves. The aim of this workshop is to explore contemporary neuroscientific and psychological answers to these questions and to discuss concepts and theories that philosophy can offer.
The program is available here. Participation is free and open to all who are interested. Kindly register via email to: office-ets@ucf.uni-freiburg.de
On December 7, Prof. Veronika Lipphardt and Prof. Peter Pfaffelhuber will give the FRIAS Lunch Lecture on "Mixed methods in interdisciplinary collaboration: A case study in Population Genetics". This lecture is part of the FRIAS series "Quantitative vs. qualitative methods across science: Mutual reinforcement, (un)happy co-existence, or source of schisms?".
When? 12:15 − 13:00 on December 7, 2017
Where? KG I, HS 1015
On November 22, the University of Freiburg opens its doors and UCF with its Liberal Arts and Sciences Bachelor program is part of it. Come visit us for:
1. Info Session on Liberal Arts and Sciences
by Thorsten Leiendecker, LAS Program Coordinator
12−14h, UCF, Alte Universität, Bertoldstr. 17, first floor, room 01036a
2. LAS Course session "Sciences, Technology & Society"
12−14h, KG 1224, Kollegiengebäude I
Science and technology are defining characteristics of our world. But how is scientific knowledge made, how are technologies developed? Read more.
3. LAS Course session "Environment Risks and Us"
16−18h, KG 1231, Kollegiengebäude I
In this course students explore the complex relationships between human activities, the environment and resulting risks − for human health as well as for the environment. Read more.
To make the planning of your day and navigation at the University easier, the University of Freiburg provides a special app for its Open Day. We are looking forward to seeing you at UCF!
Creating Responsive, Engaging and Tailored Education with Students (CREATES) is an Erasmus+ Strategic Partnership focusing on educational approaches that encourage student agency and self-directed learning. The project is funded by the European Commission for 3 years. UCF's project partners are:
Leuphana University Lüneburg (D)
Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna in Pisa (I)
University College Maastricht (NL)
On October 31, the CREATES project team – including UCF's Dr. Ursula Glunk – met for the first time in Lüneburg:
We are proud to be part of such an experienced and inspired higher education community. Over the next three years, UCF staff members and students will work together with our international colleagues in order to develop best practices and toolkits for (1) creating engaging classrooms, (2) designing advising approaches that support students in taking ownership for their learning path throughout the curriculum. We will share our findings with educators, students, and higher education decision-makers through training events, conferences, and publications. So: stay tuned for more!
On October 14, 2017 we celebrated our second Liberal Arts and Sciences Graduation Ceremony. Over 200 people joined us to congratulate and bid farewell to the LAS Graduates 2017. We would like to thank all of you for making this celebration a memorable day for all of us. More information and photos are available here.
Last week we welcomed our new LAS students at UCF. During the Welcome Week the students met their teachers and visited info sessions where they learned everything about the structure and organization of the study program. Besides that, they got to know each other and their fellow LAS students, tried the Mensa for the first time and had fun at pub crawls and the big Opening Celebration. We wish you a good start here at UCF!
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(Photos by Tom Burggraf)
On September 22, the University of Freiburg awarded Dr. Lya Friedrich Pfeifer the honorary senator distinction. Lya Pfeifer devoted her career to strengthening relations between the United States and Germany. Since 2003, she is President of the Max Kade Foundation, a foundation that promotes exchange between students and academics in the US and German-speaking countries. Beyond transatlantic exchange programs, the foundation has supported the construction or renovation of student dorms across Germany, three alone in Freiburg.
In January 2017, the foundation agreed to gift $600,000 to University College Freiburg in order to renovate and refurbish two lecture halls at the Alte Universität. They were last renovated during the reconstruction of the Alte Uni complex after the Second World War. With the generous donation from the Max Kade Foundation, the University can put the lecture halls to full use and to achieve their full potential as central learning and interaction spaces.
We thank Dr. Lya Friedrich Pfeifer and the Max Kade Foundation for their huge support!
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For more information, please see the University of Freiburg press release and the portrait of Lya Pfeifer in the Badische Zeitung.
We have finalized the Liberal Arts and Sciences Course Catalog for the Winter Semester 2017-18. The LAS Course Catalog includes detailed information (Instructor, Course Description, Dates and Times) on the upcoming Block and Semester long courses as well as on the Course Registration procedure. You can download the Course Catalog, as well as older Course Catalogs and other handbooks, here.
A special LESC issue of the Journal of Educational Philosophy and Theory, featuring seven fascinating student contributions to the first European Liberal Education Conference (LESC), has just been published OnlineFirst by Taylor and Francis. The European Liberal Education Student Conference (LESC) was jointly organised by undergraduates of the Studium Individuale programme at Leuphana University, Lüneburg and the Liberal Arts and Sciences programme at University College, Freiburg. The first LESC conference took place at Leuphana University in 2016, the second at University College Freiburg in 2017. Here you can find all the links to the contributions of the LESC special issue. We congratulate the authors and LECS student organizers warmly.
Das Format Faszination Wissenschaft ist als interdisziplinäres Forschungsdesign für Bachelorstudierende konzipiert. Ihr wollt wissenschaftlich kreativ sein, euch mit anderen Disziplionen austauschen und "outside the box" denken? Ihr wollt eigene Forschungsprojekte entwickeln, einen Forschungsantrag verfassen und die deutsche und europäische Forschungslandschaft kennenlernen? Dann ist Faszination Wissenschaft genau das Richtige für euch.
Das Programm für das Wintersemester 2017/18 umfasst folgende Kurse, die als BOK-Kurs, im Ergänzungsbereich oder als Wahlfach anrechenbar sind:
Schlaf und Schlafstörungen
Beziehungen in der Arbeitswelt
Genetische Veränderungen des Erbguts
Der Faszination Wissenschaft Programmflyer des Wintersemesters 2017/18 steht hier zum Download zur Verfügung.
"To preserve a document about mankind for one million years..."
Next week, the Freiburg Institute for Advanced Studies (FRIAS) is hosting an interdisciplinary conference in the context of the Human Document Project 2017. The project and conference bring together researchers and practitioners to discuss questions of cultural heritage and data storage. What kind of content – texts, art, research data – should we preserve? Which technologies are suitable for which preservation purposes? Among 40 other speakers, Prof. Hans-Joachim Gehrke, UCF Director of Outreach, will present his findings on "Cultural transformation and dark ages in historical scholarship".
In their Summer Semester guest lecture series, the Freiburg Global Order Project is hosting a talk on "Anti-establishment parties in Central and Eastern Europe – Less ideology, more support?"
By? Sarah Engler, University of Bern
When? July 20, 2017 at 19:00
Where? Kollegiengebäude I, Room 1108
For more information, please see the GOP Facebook page.
Debates on Forensic DNA Phenotyping (FDP) have intensified in Germany since recently. Experts, practitioners, politicians and the public are divided upon the questions whether, when, in which cases, and under what conditions these new technologies could and should be applied (or not).
Denise Syndercombe-Court, a word leading expertin forensic DNA analyses, will give a lecture on “Best Practices of Forensic DNA Phenotyping (FDP): Experiences and insights from the UK” and provide first-hand insights into the practices, comities and regulatory issues of FDP. She draws on her vast and detailed experiences gained by her research, her reporting on cases, and her memberships in numerous institutions and state bodies dealing with forensic DNA analyses. Here you can find more information on the lecture and Prof. Syndercome-Court.
The talk is hosted and introduced by the Chair for Science and Technology Studies and University College Freiburg together with the multidisciplinary initiative STS@Freiburg.
When? 17:00 on July 14, 2017
Where? University Library, Veranstaltungssaal, 1st floor.
In 2017, the Erasmus Prize for the Liberal Arts and Sciences was awarded for the fifth time. The Erasmus Prize honors Bachelor, Master or PhD theses that create bridges between the natural sciences and the humanities. This year, the Prize was awarded to Matthias Leanza for his dissertation “Die Zeit der Prävention. Eine Genealogie“. In his PhD thesis, Leanza traces the mutual genesis and interconnected history of prevention and modernity using disease prevention as an example. From a methodological perspective Leanza combines history of science with sociological societal theory. For more information, please see the University of Freiburg press release.
We were very privileged to have Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Friederike Fless, President of the German Archaeological Institute, give the UCF Lecture 2017. Prof. Fless talked on “Das bedrohte Welterbe – Palmyra und seine Folgen”. We thank her very much for her very up-to-date and most inspiring lecture!
The award ceremony took place on June 23, 2017, in the Meckelhalle of the Sparkasse Freiburg. Towards the end of his career, Erasmus of Rotterdam, after whom the prize is named, worked and lived in the Haus zum Walfisch. This building today houses the Sparkasse Freiburg-Nördlicher Breisgau. The evening included a guided tour by Marcel Thimm himself, Chairman of the Board of the Sparkasse Freiburg.
UCF thanks all guests and supporters for being part of the 2017 award ceremony!
(Photos by Patrick Seeger)
The Freiburg Global Order Project is hosting a lecture by Dr. h.c. Hans-Christof Graf von Sponeck on "Global Populism and Inter-Nationalism. An International Perspective".
Dr. h.c. Hans-Christof Graf von Sponeck has extensive experience in international relations and diplomacy. From 1968 to 2000 he worked for the United Nations, from 1998 on he served as the UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Iraq and held the position of a UN Assistant Secretary General. Today, Dr. h.c. von Sponeck teaches at the Centre of Conflict Studies at University Marburg.
When? 19:00 on June 21, 2017
Where? KG III, Room 3043
UPDATE June 21, 2017:
Yesterday, Deutschlandfunk broadcasted a special feature "Erweiterte DNA-Analyse. Den Tätern auf der Spur". Background information is available here, the podcast here.
Furthermore, the TV channel 3sat interviewed Prof. Lipphardt. A few weeks ago, we posted about Prof. Veronika Lipphardt's engagement in the public debate about DNA forensics and how that relates to her academic work in the field of Science and Technology studies.
An interview with Professors Veronika and Anna Lipphardt is available (in German) on the University of Freiburg website.
In order expand academic exchange and complement the ongoing public debate, she is now hosting a Symposium on June 9 and 10: "Erweiterte DNA-Analysen in der Forensik: Möglichkeiten, Herausforderungen, Risiken". For more information, please see the STS@Freiburg website.
The symposium includes a public lecture by Prof. Dr. Amade M'charek
(University of Amsterdam) on
"DNA Phenotyping – Between the Individual Suspect and the Suspect Population"
Friday, June 9 at 19:00 (s.t.)
Großer Anatomiehörsaal, Albertstr. 17
The application period for starting the Liberal Arts and Sciences B.A./B.Sc. program in October 2017 runs from June 1 to July 15.
You can find our Application & Admissions guidelines including links to the university's Student Portal under Prospective Students. The Student Portal is the starting point for your application and the necessary applications forms are now available.
If you have questions concerning the LAS program and/or the application process, please see our Q&As and our get in touch with us:
international@service.uni-freiburg.de for questions concerning non-EU applications, especially the recognition of non-German higher education entrance qualifications
application@ucf.uni-freiburg.de for general application and admissions questions
Our upcoming 2nd Open Day 2017 on June 2 is a great opportunity to visit Freiburg, learn more about UCF and LAS, and to get to know staff and students.
Finally and just in time for the application period, we updated the Online Study-Choice Assistant (OSA) for the Liberal Arts and Sciences program. This interactive tool provides insights into the LAS program and counts as a "Studyorientation-test" that must be completed and submitted for matriculation at the University of Freiburg.
We are looking forward to many interesting applications and a new cohort of students in October 2017!
Every year, the University of Freiburg awards the Bertha-Ottenstein-Prize for outstanding achievements in the field of gender equality. Dr. Ryan Plumley, responsible for the LAS Major Culture and History, is one of the Bertha-Ottenstein laureates 2017.
He is being honored for the concept of his course on feminism in the Culture and History Major. The award ceremony is on May 31 in the context of the University of Freiburg "Dies Universitatis".
Together with the University of Freiburg Studium generale, UCF is hosting a guest lecture by Prof. Dr. Ernst Ulrich von Weizsäcker:
When? Friday, May 5 at 16:00
Where? Kollegiengebäude I, HS 1010
Ernst Ulrich von Weizsäcker is a "pioneer on environmental, climate and energy policies".
He was, inter alia, Professor of Biology, Director at the UN Centre for Science and Technology for Development, and President of the Institute for Climate, Environment and Energy. His interests and influence reach far beyond the Natural and Environmental Sciences. From 1998 to 2005 he was member of the German Bundestag. Since 2012 he is Co-President of the Club of Rome. He has authored several books, e.g. "Factor 5: Transforming the Global Economy through 80% Increase in Resource Productivity".
"We Shall Need a New Enlightenment – Balancing Human Development and Environmental Sustainability"
Business as usual leads into ecological disasters. We are destroying our common home, says Pope Francis. In effect, our thinking is wrong, fundamentally wrong. The Enlightenment of the 17th and 18th Century was great – for its time. Its time was still the time of the "empty world" (Herman Daly). You could go out into the endless seeming nature and hunt and fish and dig and cut. Today, we are living in a "full world". Laws and morale from the empty world no longer fit. And some of the tenets of the earlier Enlightenment have led to individualism, selfishness, greed, market dominance, short-termism and the rest. In the full world, we need balance in the first place. Balance between long term and short term, between public goods and private gains, between markets and the State, between individualism and solidarity, between analytical details and comprehension of the whole, and between feminine and masculine virtues.
A New Enlightenment is meant to lead to a fundamental overhaul of our morale and legal structures. It is meant to include the long-term perspective of cultivating our physical and biological environment. It is meant to respect the needs of our great-grandchildren.
Starting Thursday, May 4, LAS students, together with students from Leuphana University in Lüneburg, are hosting the 2nd Liberal Education Student Conference in Freiburg. The overarching topic is "A complex world needs complex thinking: The potentials and limits of Liberal Education in approaching contemporary challenges".
The LESC includes
Key note addresses from Prof. Heiner Schanz (Freiburg), Prof. Veronika Lipphardt (Freiburg), and Dr. Helen Brookman (London).
Conference tracks focusing on (1) Human Rights & Intersectionality, (2) Distrust & Populism, (3) Future of Health, (4) Technology
Various discussion, feedback, and networking formats.
The full program and background as well as organizational information are available on the LESC website.
At the Freiburg March for Science last Saturday, 2,500 scientists demonstrated their support for academic freedom and respect for science and scientific findings as well as their critique of populism and "alternative facts". In his speech, UCF's Dr. Nicholas Buchanan furthermore highlighted the importance of responsibility and public awareness in and for science – especially in the light of the manifold complex problems and societal and technological transformations we are facing.
Uncertainty, skepticism, critical scrutiny and argumentation are inherent to the scientific (and public) debate and process. And science and scientists are definitely not infallible. Following Winston Churchill, one could postulate: The scientific method is the worst form of knowledge production except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time. What's going on that academics are taking to the streets? Where did the discussion about the meaning evidence and facts come from and what does it entail? What are facts and what role do or should they play for society and for policymaking?
On April 22, altogether several hundred thousand scientists and science supporters in over 600 cities worldwide participated in Marches for Science. According to the Washington, DC initiators: "The March for Science champions robustly funded and publicly communicated science as a pillar of human freedom and prosperity. We unite as a diverse, nonpartisan group to call for science that upholds the common good and for political leaders and policy makers to enact evidence based policies in the public interest."
Professor Wolfgang Freitag on "Alternative Facts"
In several recent interviews, Wolfgang Freitag, Professor for Epistemology and Theory of Science at UCF, gave his analysis and comment of the situation: "There are no alternative facts, only competing opinions. […] And opinions that are proven wrong must be dismissed." What is new about the current discussion and taking into question science and facts? What does it mean for science and for society and for policymaking? Learn more at
Deutschlandfunk Radio [at 12:40]
Zeitung zum Samstag (April 15), p.2
Do you want to know more e.g. about Ignorance, Uncertainty and Non-Knowledge? These and further questions pertaining to science, knowledge, and the societal context of science and knowledge are at the core of the LAS program, embodied in LAS teaching by Prof. Freitag (Epistemology and Theory of Science) and Prof. Lipphardt (Science and Technology Studies).
In 2012, the University of Freiburg established the first Professorship in "Science and Technology Studies" (STS) in Germany. Prof. Veronika Lipphardt and her team play a central teaching role in the LAS program and are internationally active researchers. STS scholars study the relationships between scientific knowledge, technology, and society. An ongoing public debate on DNA profiling and forensics exemplifies the societal role STS and Prof. Lipphardt and her team can play:
The law enforcement community in Germany has been calling for more extensive use of forensic DNA analyses in criminal cases. A federal bill allowing extended criminological use of DNA analyses is currently being considered in the German Bundesrat. However, such analyses, as well as the collection and storage of DNA in general, raise legal and ethical issues. And scientists have continuously questioned the scientific accuracy of such analytical tools.
Following an open letter by the STS team at UCF and international collaborators, Prof. Lipphardt and her group were invited to present their critical perspective on DNA forensics at a Symposium held by the German Federal Ministry of Justice on March 21. Beyond legal, political, and academic circles, the question of DNA forensics has now received broad public attention in Germany, e.g.
Süddeutsche Zeitung (March 23)
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (March 27)
and internationally:
Nature (March 27) – with more correspondence to come.
Furthermore, the Science Media Center Germany has compiled extensive resources and expert voices.
Notwithstanding the legal and discursive developments in Germany and our individual opinions concerning DNA forensics, this situation demonstrates how science is socially embedded and has societal consequences. It is also an example of STS research and its application as well as of active public engagement on the part of (STS) scholars such as Prof. Lipphardt and her team and colleagues.
UPDATE MAY 5, 2017:
The registration deadline for the Eucor Summer School 2017 has been extended until May 21.
The €200 student contribution will be covered by the University of Freiburg.
This upcoming August, the European Campus is hosting its first interdisciplinary and intercultural Summer School. The overarching theme is "Business – Science – Society: How Can We Shape Our Future?"
EUCOR – The European Campus is a trinational university association on the Upper Rhine, including the Universities of Basel, Freiburg, Haute-Alsace, and Strasbourg and the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology. The Summer School curriculum focuses on the topics "Organization and Culture," "Digital Transformation," and "Ethics and Values" and is taught by university and non-university experts from the Upper Rhine region and beyond.
When? August 20 – 26, 2017
Where? Studienhaus Wiesneck, 79256 Buchenbach
Bachelor students who are in their 4th semester and beyond can apply as of now and until April 30. ECTS recognition is possible for participating LAS students. The student contribution to the overall costs is €200. The full program and information on the application procedure are available on the Eucor Website.
For the first time, University College Freiburg invites applications for two C. H. Beck Teaching Fellowships for the module Responsibility and Leadership II in the bachelor program Liberal Arts and Sciences (LAS).
This part of the curriculum is designed to inspire and equip students to effectively engage with the challenges they are going to face before and after graduation.Teaching methods combine rigorous academic input with personal reflection and training in more experiential formats.
The application deadline for this round is March 24, 2017. Further C. H. Beck fellowships for later teaching periods will be announced in summer 2017. Here you can find the full announcement.
Over the course of his career, Prof. Achim Gehrke has received many honors and awards. On February 8, 2017, he was bestowed with a further and very special distinction that ranges among the highest a university can give: an Honorary Doctorate of the Faculty of Arts and Humanities at the University of Cologne.
We warmly congratulate Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Gehrke and are honored by his engagement as Director of Outreach, teacher, and mentor at UCF.
On Friday, February 17, UCF will be hosting the second student conference "Research Design across Disciplines". The conference offers 4th-year LAS students to present and discuss their thesis proposals for their ongoing or upcoming Bachelor theses. It is the end-point of the course " Research Design across Disciplines" that exposes students to current research and to the expectations to independent and collaborative research in different disciplines, refreshes and deepens academic skills, and lets students develop self-management skills enabling them to take on long and complex projects, such as the Bachelor thesis.
The conference will take place in Kollegiengebäude I and includes panels that range from "State, Democracy, Minorities" to "Environmental Governance and Technology" and "(Non-)Knowledge in History".
The program is available here. And photos from the poster session are available on the UCF Facebook page.
"A complex world needs complex thinking: The potentials and limits of Liberal Education in approaching contemporary challenges."
From May 5 – 7, 2017, students from University College Freiburg and Leuphana University Lüneburg are hosting the 2nd Liberal Education Student Conference (2nd LESC) at the University of Freiburg. The organizing committee has now announced their call for proposals.
The call (deadline: March 1, 2017) and more information about the conference are available on the LESC website. For impressions from the 1st Liberal Education Student Conference, please see their Facebook page.
Das Lehr-Forschungs-Programm "Faszination Wissenschaft" führt Bachelorstudierende an das Berufsfeld Wissenschaft heran, fördert Kompetenzen zum wissenschaftlichen Projektdesign und vermittelt Kenntnisse zur deutschen und europäischen Förderlandschaft. In Projektseminaren entwickeln und bearbeiten Studierende aus unterschiedlichen Studiengängen Forschungsfragen zu interdisziplinären, gesellschaftsrelevanten Themen.
Das Programm des Sommersemesters 2017 umfasst die Themen...
Was ist Komplexität?
Migration – menschliches Grundphänomen aus interdisziplinärer Perspektive
Phänomenales Bewusstsein – zwischen Philosophie, Kognitions- und Neurowissenschaften
Der Faszination Wissenschaft Programmflyer des Sommersemesters 2017 steht hier zum Download zur Verfügung.
University College Freiburg and the first LAS graduates are the main feature of uni'alumni 2017, the University of Freiburg alumni publication. Under the headline "Studium mit Aussicht", the feature includes presentations of UCF and the LAS program, first-hand impressions from LAS graduates as well as interviews with UCF's Prof. Gehrke and with Caroll Neubauer – CEO of B. Braun Melsungen, President of the German American Chamber of Commerce, Uni Freiburg alum and UCF supporter:
On January 11, a group of 40 LAS students accompanied by Dr. Stoyan Panov attended a hearing of the Harkins v. the UK case at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. The case concerned the prohibition of inhuman and degrading treatment and punishment and the right to a fair trial in extradition proceedings from the UK to the US and the potential imposition of a life sentence without parole in the state of Florida.
The group also visited the Council of Europe where they received inside knowledge of what the Council of Europe does, its structure, and functioning. The visit included a meeting with Mr. Gianluca Esposito, Administrator in the Directorate General Human Rights and the Rule of Law, who conducted a valuable lengthy Q&A session on current challenges that the Council of Europe is facing, e.g. the situation in Crimea, the protection and promotion of human rights in Europe, or the states of emergency in France and Turkey.
The excursion to Strasbourg was especially valuable for the participants in the LAS courses "Public International Law" and "Human Rights in the Global South". The impressions and acquired knowledge were actively integrated and discussed in these LAS seminars.
The excursions were possible thanks to kind support by Verband der Freunde der Universität Freiburg im Breisgau e.V.
As every year, UCF invites prospective LAS students to Freiburg and to the annual LAS Open Days on April 28 and on June 2!
2016 was an eventful year. At UCF, we experienced many positive developments, including a successful Harvard Summer School, new students and staff, or the first graduation of UCF Liberal Arts and Sciences students. The graduation meant a sentimental farewell to the pioneer LAS students. And it was a major step forward for the LAS graduates individually and for UCF towards becoming an established institution.
At the same time, 2016 was and is a year of frustration, turmoil, and violence for many people around the world. We therefore wish all of you an encouraging, collected, and peaceful holiday break and New Year 2017.
UCF
Starting January 1, 2017, Dr. Katharina Kraus will be taking on the position of Assistant Professor with tenure track at the Department of Philosophy of the University of Notre Dame. We congratulate her to her new position and warmly thank her for her engagement at UCF! Thankfully, she will remain connected to UCF and Freiburg, especially in her research.
Accordingly, the Chair for Epistemology and Theory of Science is currently seeking applications for the position of Assistant Professor in ETS. The full job ad is available (in German) here.
On December 2 and 3, 2016, Prof. Wolfgang Freitag and Dr. Katharina Kraus from the Chair in Epistemology and Theory of Science (ETS) are organizing a workshop on "Philosophy and the Semantics of 'I'". The workshop is based in the ongoing ETS research at UCF and the University's Department of Philosophy:
"When speaking about ourselves we often use statements that contain a first person pronoun, such as the English word 'I' and its cognates. There has been a controversial discussion whether de se judgments have features that set them apart from other judgments, such as a semantic peculiarity deriving from the first-person pronoun. The aim of this workshop is to address this issue and to explore its epistemological and metaphysical relevance."
The program is available here. Participation is free and open to all who are interested. Registration please by email to office-ets@ucf.uni-freiburg.de
Call for Applications – wissenschaftliche Hilfskraft for Faszination Wissenschaft
UCF is seeking to hire a Student Assistant ("Bachelor-geprüfte wissenschaftliche Hilfskraft") for Faszination Wissenschaft starting in January 2017. Please see here for the full job ad. Application deadline is December 5, 2016.
The University of Freiburg is hosting the 2016 "Tag des Lernens und Lehrens" on November 18. This event provides a platform for exchange and reflection on methods and challenges of higher education learning and teaching. The conference in Kollegiengebäude I includes lectures, workshops, poster presentations, and many opportunities to learn about learning. UCF will be present with a poster presentation on its teaching project Faszination Wissenschaft. For more information, please see the full program at: Tag des Lernens und Lehrens.
In October 2012, 78 pioneer students started their LAS studies and from the beginning became part of the fascinating process of developing UCF. Four years later, on October 15, 2016, the University, UCF, students, graduates, families and friends came together to celebrate the first LAS Graduation – a milestone for each student and for the College.
In the upcoming Winter Semester 2016/17, we are reviving the UCF Lecture Series in a new format. You are welcome to join three lectures on the theme "Kontroversen und Konvergenzen: Wissenschaften an ihren Schnittstellen".
This Lectures Series brings together researchers from different disciplines, from the natural and the social sciences as well as from the humanities, to discuss a topic that lies at the intersection of their research areas. All meetings will be held in German. The full program is available here.
The Lehrstuhl in Science and Technology Studies University College Freiburg is inaugurating a new colloquium series beginning in Winter Semester 2016-17 with the goal of fostering a network of scholars and students interested in the social dimensions of science and technology. The series will invite speakers from inside and outside the university for talks and discussions. All are welcome to attend, and students wishing to receive credit for the colloquium should contact Dr. Nicholas Buchanan at nicholas.buchanan@ucf.uni-freiburg.de.
You can find an up-to-date calendar of talks here.
The conference "Global Dialogue on Liberal Arts and Science Education" in May 2015, hosted by the Harvard Center Shanghai, was the starting point for a now published book that explores a variety of international LAS innovations, start-ups, and major international collaborations between American, European and Asian institutions.
In Shanghai, Prof. Gehrke, UCF Director of Outreach, presented a UCF paper that covers the concept and experiences with the “start-up” LAS program in Freiburg: "Toward a New Unity of Research and Teaching in Academia" (co-authored by Nicholas Eschenbruch and Paul Sterzel). The conference included papers and perspectives from experts and practitioners from all over the world. The papers have since been revised, integrated and have now been published by William C. Kirby and Marijk C. van der Wende at Palgrave Macmillan:
The book covers developments in various regions as well as commonalities and differences in LAS educational concepts and practices. It highlights the experiences of international leaders in liberal arts and science education from around the world. Focusing on why this model responds to the twenty-first century requirements for excellence and relevance in undergraduate education, the contributions also explore if and how it can be implemented in different contexts and across academic cultures, structures, and traditions.
Please note that an updated version of the Course Catalog for the Winter Semester 2016-17 is now online. It can downloaded under Statutes and Handbooks.
LAS Core Lecturer (in part-time)
UCF is seeking to hire a Lecturer for the LAS Core starting in October. Please see here for the full job ad. Application deadline is August 29, 2016.
Teaching Assistant (20h/month)
UCF is seeking to hire a Teaching Assistant for the LAS course "Maths and Physics for the Sciences". Start is in October, application deadline is September 12, and the job ad is available here.
We have finalized the Liberal Arts and Sciences Course Catalog for the Winter Semester 2016-17. The LAS Course Catalog includes information (Instructor, Course Description, Dates and Times) on the upcoming Block and Semester long courses as well as on the Course Registration procedure. It can downloaded under Statutes and Handbooks.
Starting in September, Dr. Nicholas Buchanan will take on a position that is roughly equivalent to Assistant Professor at the Chair in Science and Technology Studies (STS). He will be doing independent research and teach in the LAS program. In teaching, Nick focuses on legal, sociological, and historical matters concerning the environment. More generally, he will be an excellent contact for LAS students and graduates interested in STS and the history of science.
His interests focus on the intersection of science, technology, and the environment. His current project investigates the history of artificial environments and the role they played in shaping our understanding of the environment and the human place in nature. In earlier work, Nick examined the contested place of scientific expertise in controversies over environmental governance, human attempts to control the environment (and often the people in it), and the tense interplay between science and policy.
Currently Nick is a visiting Assistant Professor at the University of Minnesota’s Program in the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine, where he teaches courses on ethics and law in science and technology, the cultural history of technology, and environmental studies. He earned his PhD in History and Anthropology of Science and Technology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and his BA with Highest Honors and Highest Distinction from the University of California, Berkeley.
We look forward to welcoming him to Freiburg, to UCF, and to the LAS program!
Medieval History, Cognitive Science, Linguistics, and now – Environmental Governance. That is the range of academic fields from which the Erasmus Prize winning theses have come since 2013, a clear statement that the Prize is truly interdisciplinary. This year the Erasmus Prize for the Liberal Arts and Sciences was awarded to Dr. Cristina Espinosa for her doctoral dissertation: "Apart from nature or a part of nature? Discourse analyses of the politics of redefining the relationships between humans and nature".
In her thesis, Dr. Espinosa analyzes the definition and redefinition of the relationship between humans and nature in the context of political initiatives and processes at various levels, from the local to the global. Her work exemplarily integrates approaches from the natural and the social sciences, and has a dedicated focus on epistemological questions. For more information, please see the Uni Freiburg press release.
On July 14, we once again hosted the Erasmus Prize ceremony and UCF Lecture 2016 in the Meckelhalle of the Sparkasse Freiburg. This year Prof. Dr. Margret Wintermantel, President of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), gave a very interesting and inspiring lecture on "Internationalization of Higher Education – Opportunities and Challenges".
Thanks to all who were involved in organizing the 2016 annual UCF event and for the ongoing support for UCF!
(Photos by Patrick Seeger and LAS student Alena Zakurazhnova)
Since 2012 LAS students, their parents, and we ourselves have been thinking about the crucial question: What happens after LAS? So far, we did not have direct answers and referred to information from other UCs, especially those in the Netherlands, and to very promising results from more general placement studies.
Now, we finally have first answers of our own. 50 pioneer LAS students who started the program in 2012 will be graduating this summer. Together with the emerging UCF alumni organization, we are currently collecting information on their next steps. Although some decisions are still open (many German Master Programs have not yet completed the admissions procedures), we can now provide a preliminary overview of their plans and destinations after University College Freiburg:
About 50% will pursue further academic training directly after graduating, for example:
PhD (fast track) Biorenewable systems, Penn State University
LLM International Criminal Law, National University of Ireland
MA International Affairs, Hertie School of Governance
MA Philosophy, FU Berlin
MA Public Policy, International Institute of Social Studies, Den Haag / Institut Barcelona d’Estudis Internacionals
MA Social Sciences, Humboldt Universität (invited for interview)
MBA, St. Thomas University
MSc / fast-track PhD Neurosciences, Universität Freiburg
MSc Comparative Social Policy, University of Oxford
MSc Environmental Communication and Management, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
MSc in Education, Johns Hopkins University
MSc Migration Studies, University of Oxford
MSc Molecular Medicine, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin
MSc Sustainable Development, Universiteit Utrecht
MSc Translational Medical Research, Universität Heidelberg
Others will go on to discover the world of employment, intern- and traineeships in:
NGOs and Think Tanks (e.g. Terre des Femmes, Human Rights Watch)
Cultural organizations (e.g. Goethe Institute, Museums)
Research institutes
Businesses and Social Entrepreneurship
Yet others will take time off after an academically intense 4-year LAS program in order to travel and explore.
From the start, we were convinced of our program and our students. Now, we and especially our graduates can be proud that this has been recognized by prestigious institutions all around the world. We will update the list as we receive more information on our graduates' paths. Already now, we wish them all the best!
The UCF Students Council has organized a lectures series on civilians in armed conflicts and refugees. External lecturers have been invited to present their perspective and expertise in the following areas and lectures:
1. July 13th: Dr. Melanie Kolbe (Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva): "Refugees of Today – Professionals of Tomorrow? Labor Migration Policies in the Context of the Refugee Crisis"
2. July 20th: Rica Terbeck (Evaluator for the Council of Europe): "The UN in Humanitarian Crises – A Report from the Middle East"
3. July 26th: Hannah Pool (Farsi Translator): "Lost Between Borders – Stories Behind the Refugee Crisis"
All talks are at 8:00 pm and take place in Room 01036a, Alte Universität
On Monday, July 11, UCF is hosting a guest talk on work fields and job opportunities for LAS graduates. Mrs. Sester from the Environmental Protection Bureau (Freiburg) and Prof. Dr. Bunke from the Ökoinstitut / Institute of Applied Ecology will give guest talks and present different fields of work in their institutions. While there is a topical focus on LAS students majoring in Earth and Environmental Sciences, everybody interested is welcome to join the talks!
When: July 11, 2016, at 9:00
Where: HS 1, Alte Universität
"Science and Public Reason in a Global World"
In cooperation between the University of Freiburg and Harvard University, UCF is currently hosting the first Harvard Summer School in Freiburg. Prof. Jasanoff, Professor of Science and Technology Studies at Harvard Kennedy School, will be holding a Guest Lecture on "Science and Public Reason in a Global World".
When? Monday, July 11th, 14 – 16h
Where? Hörsaal 1, Alte Universität, Bertoldstr. 17
In contrast to other liberal education models, the LAS program in Freiburg reaches across academic disciplines and includes humanities (Culture and History) to the social (Governance) and the natural sciences: Life Sciences and Earth and Environmental Sciences (EES). In order to present the features of and their experiences in the EES Major, students have set up an EES website. It includes information on the courses and lecturers as well as internship and graduate program opportunities and ecology oriented student initiatives.
The lecture and discussion series "Academy meets Industry" is co-hosted by UCF and brings together people and perspectives from academia and industry – and International Organizations. The upcoming (June 22, 2016, 17:00) talk and discussion in the seminar series "Academia meets Industry" will focus on question of global health governance. Starting point for a topic that reaches from the Life Sciences to Governance is the talk by Dr. Rüdiger Krech from the WHO.
Upcoming Seminar (June 22, 2016):
Dr. Rüdiger Krech (WHO): "Global Governance for Health – The Role of WHO"
17:00 (s.t.) at Otto Krayer Haus, University of Freiburg, Albertstrasse 25
for full details, please see:
On June 10, about 80 prospective students visited UCF and Freiburg for our second LAS Open Day 2016. UCF provided presentations, information, campus tours, and, of course, cake. Thanks to the great student support! Thanks also for the interest and the many questions from prospective new LAS students.
If you missed this year's Open Days, please see the photos below and the Open Day presentation for a few impressions: LAS Open Day Presentation. For the first time, the presentation includes first hand answers to the big question: "What can I do with LAS?" Our upcoming graduates are step by step planning their next steps, including various PhD and Master programs, intern- and traineeships...
For the ongoing LAS application phase, further contact and information possibilities are available here.
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(Thanks to Alena for the photos!)
UCF is seeking to hire a Student Assistant for the Major Governance and for the study area Academic English. For more information, please see our job ad here.
The application period for starting the Liberal Arts and Sciences B.A./B.Sc. program in October 2016 runs from June 1 to July 15.
On our site for Prospective Students, you can find our Application & Admissions guidelines including links to the university's Student Portal – the starting point for your application where the necessary forms are online as of June 1. Furthermore, we have uploaded more Testimonials from current LAS students.
If you have questions concerning the LAS program and/or the application process, please see our Q&As and our Contact Info. Finally, our upcoming 2nd Open Day 2016 on June 10 is a great opportunity to visit Freiburg, learn more about UCF and LAS, and to get to know staff and students.
With our pioneer cohort of LAS students graduating this summer, this year’s application and admissions process is a special one. For the first time, UCF and its LAS program will have come full circle.
We are looking forward to many interesting applications and a new cohort of students starting in October 2016!
You may have already seen the Jack around campus these days. But who – or rather what – is the Jack?
Jack is a platform for creative and critical minds, for lovers of the English language, for writers and artists: the Jack is the very first student magazine initiated, run, and published regularly by us, students of University College Freiburg (UCF). Every issue of the Jack explores one specified general topic in an interdisciplinary and creative way: its articles adopt a political, scientific, social, philosophical, personal, cultural or alternative perspective and take on divergent stylistic forms.
This very first issue with the fitting topic "for the first time" is about travelling, about having to flee from home in a struggle for safety, about the consequences of scientific innovation, about post-modern revolutionists and about much more.
We, the UCF Journalism Committee, have started selling the Jack in front of the Mensa at Rempartstraße at lunch time and in front of the library in the afternoon. Why don't you drop by, buy a copy for yourself or your friends and let us know if you are interested in contributing yourself to this new project.
So are you - yes you, no matter what you study or if you study at all! – a creative mind yourself? Do you like drawing, writing or layout? Yes? Then approach us on campus or send us an e-mail to ucf.journalismcommittee@gmail.com. You can make this project even more wonderful and exciting! We are looking forward to hearing from you!
The UCF Journalism Committee
For the Major Governance and in the area of Advanced Academic English, we are currently seeking to hire new TAs! For more information and the job ads, please see our job offers page.
UCF's Global Order Project Team warmly invites you to our event "Goodbye Hegemony! Power and Influence in the Global System". Prof. Ned Lebow (King’s College London) will offer a different perspective on power and influence in the global order, focusing on the United States as the former hegemon in the global system.
Join us at 8:15pm on Tuesday, 3 May, in HS 1199 (KG I) for another fascinating talk and discussion!
This event is a cooperation between the Global Order Project and the Colloquium Politicum of the University of Freiburg: https://www.studiumgenerale.uni-freiburg.de/col-politicum/vortragsreihen/global-order-ss16
About 80 prospective students and some parents joined us at UCF last Friday for our first Open Day 2016. We introduced them to the University and city of Freiburg and, of course, to our Liberal Arts and Sciences program. If you missed the Open Day on April 22 – please see the photos and the presentation slide show for a few impressions and join us on our second Open Day 2016 on June 10.
Special thanks to Alena for the photos and to all cake bakers!
UCF's Global Order Project Team warmly invites you to our event "From Unilateralism to Multipolarity: The United Nations and De-Westernization" on Thursday, April 21, 2016, at 18 h c.t. in HS 1098, KG 1.
We are delighted to present our guest speaker Dr. h.c. Hans-Christoph Graf von Sponeck (Former UN Assistant Secretary General). The talk will be followed by a discussion and open reception.
Save the date and join us!
The Austrian-German-Swiss TV channel 3sat is currently featuring a theme week "Das Geheimnis der Gene". The Thursday evening Talk Show Scobel will focus on "Race, Blood, and Genes". UCF's Prof. Lipphardt is invited as one of the experts for the discussion on the relations between genomics, ethics, society, and racism. The show was aired on Thursday at 9pm on 3sat and is available in their archive.
We are pleased to announce the relaunch of our website! While the new website is not a complete redesign, we did clear up some dust the old site had collected since 2012 and can now provide clearer guidance and more concise information for various target groups.
For example, the new site includes a section specifically designed to inform prospective students about Freiburg, UCF, and our LAS program.
As no website can or should answer all questions, we have summarized our contact details and information channels – both for general interest, for current, and for prospective LAS students.
Furthermore, the updated LAS application and admissions information for 2016 is now online.
Finally, we have given more attention to UCF as an institution at the University of Freiburg and to the people involved in the College and in the Liberal Arts and Sciences program. "People involved" of course includes the UCF Student Council that now has a section of its own on the UCF website.
We kindly invite you to explore the new site, find out more about UCF and the LAS program – and to let us know what you think and what we might have forgotten!
University College FreiburgPeople at UCF
On Friday, March 4, 2016 the LAS Bachelor candidates will present their thesis proposals in a one-day conference in KG1. The aim is to give the students the opportunity to present their proposals in public, to receive useful feedback, and to gain some conference experience.
The conference is part of the course Research Design across Disciplines: A framework course for the bachelor thesis. This course is aimed at fourth-year students who, in their final year of LAS studies, should refine their academic skills and intensify contact with academic research, before embarking on writing the Bachelor thesis, applying for Master programs, or preparing for the next carrier moves.
The presentations will take place in three different rooms in KG I. Here you can download the programs:
Sessions: "Life Sciences", "Perspectives on Gender", "Frames and Narratives" (Room 1098)
Sessions: "Tales of Heroes", "Feminism and Identities", Open Section (Room 1199)
Sessions: "Society and State", "Politics and Policies", "Major Social Debates" (Room 1221)
Poster Session (Rooms 1098 and 1199)
You are cordially invited!
ELSA international, the European Law Students' Association, hosts the annual European Human Rights Moot Court Competition in cooperation with, inter alia, the Council of Europe and the European Human Rights Association. This year's finals took place in Strasbourg at the premises of the Palace of Europe and the European Court of Human Rights on February 14-19.
The UCF team, composed of Isabelle Kopineck, Harriet von Spiegel, Marilena Stegbauer and Matthias Haslberger and coached by UCF's Dr. Stoyan Panov, dedicated long months in preparing for the competition and displayed an excellent performance. The team reached the quarterfinals of the Finals Competition and ranked 6th in the overall tournament from a total of 79 teams from 26 European countries. This deserves special recognition as their competitors came from specialized law faculties. We congratulate the UCF team!
You can find more information on Facebook and http://ehrmcc.elsa.org/about/
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For all prospective students of the Liberal Arts and Science program, the University College Freiburg will hold two Open Days in 2016. If you are interested in finding out more about the program, meeting the LAS lecturers and LAS students, visiting our facilities, then this is the perfect event for you.
On April 22 and June 10 the UCF opens its doors for prospective students. Here you can find more information.
The University of Freiburg regularly invites retired professors to give insights into their academic careers and experiences. Next Tuesday, Prof. Gehrke (UCF Director of Outreach) will look back on his career in academia and present his experiences in and with the academic world. With view to the seemingly dominant role that research plays today and also to his engagement at UCF – primarily a teaching institution –, the focus of his talk is of special interest:Thinking the university from the perspective of teaching and learning.
"Erzählte Erfahrungen: Der Professor als Lehrer", Tuesday, Feb 2nd, 20:00 pm, Aula, KG I
Next Tuesday, Yulia Egorova, will give her talk "Jewishness, Genetics and Genomic Sovereignty". The talk is a contribution to the lecture series on Genomics, Identity, and Society, organized by UCF Prof. Veronika Lipphardt.
Yulia Egorova is director of the Centre for the Study of Jewish Culture, Society and Politics at Durham University, UK. Her research interests include Anthropology of Jewish communities, the social aspects of science and biotechnology, and the relationship between science and religion. The talk will take place at 18h at Theater Saal, Alte Universität, Bertoldstr. 17.
Today, Celine Wawruschka will present the findings from her newest research. Her talk "Genetic History and National Identity: The Case of Turkey" will take place at 18h at Theater Saal, Alte Universität, Bertoldstr. 17.
Celine Wawruschka works at the Institut für Mittelalterforschung at the Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften. Holding a doctorate in Pre- and Early History as well as Cultural and Social Anthropology she has, among other things, explored early medieval settlement structures and prehistoric economies in Anatolia. The talk is a contribution to the lecture series on Genomics, Identity, and Society, organized by UCF Prof. Veronika Lipphardt.
Today, Catherine Nash, Professor of Human Geography at Queen Mary University of London, will present the findings from her newest research on cultural geography and genetics. The talk is a contribution to the lecture series on “Genomics, Identity, and Society”, organized by UCF Prof. Veronika Lipphardt and will take place at 18h at Theater Saal, Alte Universität, Bertoldstr. 17. More information on Prof. Catherine Nash and the Lecture Talk.
Phenomena of self-conciousness are widely discussed inside and outside of philosophy. Those phenomena include, in particular, self-ascriptions of mental states such as "I think" and "I'm in pain". This capability enables self-conception and self-confidence. The aim of this workshop "think2 – Repräsentationen des Ich" is to discuss various aspects relating to I-representations, in particular in the area of conflict between cognitivists and expressivists.
Please note that the workshop takes place in KG I (Kollegiengebäude I), room 1139!
This year alone, hundreds of thousands of people have fled the Middle East and Africa to escape civil war and terror. As a result, the influx of refugees Europe is currently experiencing poses many challenges. In light of these developments, the Global Order Project is inviting to their event
GLOBAL (DIS)ORDER: CONFLICT – MIGRATION – CAPITULATION? on Thursday, December 3, 2015, at 18:30 h in the Theatersaal, Alte Uni (Bertholdstraße 17).
As guest speakers the Global Order Project has invited Dr. Epkenhans and Prof. Dr. Krieger from the University Freiburg. Dr. Tim Epkenhans will elucidate what role the historical legacy of decolonization and the end of the bipolar world order play in the disintegration of the Middle Eastern state system, which is fuelling today's migrant streams. Afterwards, Professor Dr. Tim Krieger will give insights on the significance of the refugee crisis for Europe and its immigration policy, in particular regarding border enforcement mechanisms and the perspectives for a quota system within the Schengen area.
After the talks is plenty of time for questions and discussion, followed by an open reception. The Global Order Project is a network of students and experts who are studying issues of Global Order in various disciplines. The project was initiated by the former chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court Luis Moreno Ocampo in 2014. Currently student groups from University College Maastricht, University College Freiburg and Harvard University are involved in the initiative.
We are very pleased to announce that, starting December 1, Dr. Ursula Glunk has taken over the position of Academic Director at UCF!
Ursula Glunk's background is in Psychology and Organization Studies. She worked as an Assistant and later Associate Professor at Maastricht University School of Business and Economics. With her strong interest in personal development, learning facilitation and innovation, she moved towards education management - first at Maastricht University, until recently at Zeppelin University. As Academic Director, Ursula Glunk heads the teaching team and plans and oversees all teaching activities at UCF. Together with Paul Sterzel, she is responsible for the daily affairs and further development of the college. We are looking forward to working with Ursula, to her new ideas, initiative and input!
Dr. Katharina Kraus, Assistant Professor at the Chair for Epistemology and Theory of Science, recently received twofold recognition and honors (and funding) – for her past and for her future work:
For her dissertation "Psychological Knowledge in Kant's Critical Thinking" (University of Cambridge, UK, 2014) she was awarded the "Kant-Dissertationspreis 2015" by the Faculty of Philosophy and Education, University of Vienna. The award was presented in the context of the 12th International Kant Congress in September 2015 in Vienna.
Soon afterwards, Katharina was accepted in the Eliteprogramm for postdocs, funded by the Baden-Württemberg-Stiftung, starting 2016. Her research project "The First Person – Semantic, Epistemic, and Scientific Perspective" will investigate the epistemic status of "I-thoughts", i.e. thoughts on our self-related mental states, such as our own beliefs, desires, and feelings. The project integrates philosophy with psychological and neuroscientific studies with the aim of characterizing the specific ability to acquire substantial self-knowledge and the role of such knowledge in science. Beyond honors and recognition, the project receives a research grant of €110,000.
We congratulate Katharina!
University College participates in the Open Day / Tag der offenen Tür der Universität Freiburg and opens its doors. We invite you to visit our presentations and course. We are looking forward to seeing you.
The Seminar für Alte Geschichte holds a symposium in honor of the 70th birthday of Prof. Hans-Joachim Gehrke, our Director of Outreach. The symposium Historiographie und Vergangenheitsvorstellungen in der Antike takes place from 29.-31.10.2015. We congratulate Prof. Hans-Joachim Gehrke!
Hans-Joachim Gehrke has been involved at UCF since the very beginning – as Director of Outreach and as Representative for the Rector at UCF. This is a special honor for us considering that he can look back on a very successful academic career and life: He trained, educated and inspired generations of students and young researchers in Ancient History and neighboring disciplines. He was (and is!) involved in archaeological expeditions and interdisciplinary historical research that is recognized far beyond the immediate academic community. At Freiburg University, in Germany and beyond, in the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, in many interdisciplinary research projects, in the Academies of Sciences in Halle, Erfurt and Heidelberg – he took on responsibilities for academia in the broadest sense. Finally, and even after a successful term as President of the Deutsches Archäologische Institut in Berlin, he still had and has the energy and curiosity to provide decisive guidance in founding UCF.
UCF expresses its gratitude and wishes him all the best for the future!
Prof. Dr. Jenny Reardon will present the findings from her newest research in her talk "The Postgenomic Condition: Ethics, Justice, Knowledge after the Genome" next Tuesday, October 27, 18-20h in the Theater Saal, Alte Universität. Jenny Reardon is Professor of Sociology and Faculty Affiliate in the Center for Biomolecular Science and Engineering at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Her STS studies on population genetics and genomics have been groundbreaking.The Chair for Science and Technology Studies and the UCF are happy to host the lecture that is also the opening talk of a lecture series on Genomics, Identity, and Society.
The latest versions of the Student Handbook 2015, the Course Catalog WS 2015/16 and the new Studienordnung Bachelor of Liberal Arts and Sciences 2015 can be found and downloaded under Statutes and Handbooks.
After an interesting and intense application and admissions period, we are looking forward to welcoming our new LAS students at University College. See more on Facebook.
UCF has established a small tradition with the yearly award ceremony for the Erasmus Prize for the Liberal Arts and Sciences, combined with an external guest lecture (and a bit of a celebration…). In 2013 we celebrated the UCF Inauguration, had Prof. Dr. Hans-Jörg Rheinberger as guest speaker, and awarded the first UCF Erasmus Prize to Michael Schonhardt for his Master's Thesis by on the medieval, monastic book and knowledge culture.
In 2014 Prof. Moreno Ocampo spent a full week in Freiburg and gave his key note speech on the importance of globally-oriented higher education. Next to the Erasmus Prize award for Martin Brösamle and his dissertation on "Architectural Design Processes", Harm Hospers from University College Maastricht was awarded an Honorary Professorship at the University of Freiburg for his academic achievements and his (as well as UCM's!) decisive support in establishing UCF. Finally, we had our first UCF Advisory Board meeting.
Last Thursday, on July 2, we once again hosted the Erasmus Prize ceremony and UCF Lecture 2015 in the Meckel Halle of the Sparkasse Freiburg: Dr. Susanne Gundermann received the Erasmus Prize for her dissertation on "English as a Lingua Franca - Modelling the Role of the Native Speaker", an empirical studies that has very practical implications for our English-taught LAS program. With view to our first generation of LAS graduates Prof. Dr. Dr. Andreas Barner gave us a very interesting and encouraging lecture on "Hochschul-Bildung und Beschäftigungsfähigkeit heute und morgen".
Thanks to all who were involved in organizing the 2015 annual UCF event and for the ongoing support and curiosity for UCF!
See more pictures on facebook.
(Photos by Patrick Seeger and LAS student Alena Zakurazhnova)
The application period for new LAS students starting the program in October 2015 started on June 1st and will run until July 15th. At UCF, we try to provide prospective, interested students as much information as possible about the LAS program and the application and admissions process:
Open Days: While already over, the two 2015 Open Days were well attended and hopefully provided the right information and assistance. Short documentation is available on the UCF Facebook page: April 24 and June 12. Furthermore, you can find the Open Day presentation slides on slideshare.
Concerning insights into the LAS program itself, its structure, the people involved, and what studying LAS at UCF is like, this website provides information – as does the Liberal Arts and Sciences Online Studychoice Assistant (OSA). Our OSA is interactive, gives you sample tasks and typical study situations and provides help in deciding if LAS is the right program for you!
LAS consultation hours: UCF hosts a weekly consultation hour on Friday afternoons during which staff members are available for your questions concerning the LAS program. Please feel free to contact the central office if you are interested in talking to somebody in person, by phone or Skype: studyinfo@ucf.uni-freiburg.de.
Sometimes, talking to a current LAS student is more helpful and insightful than talking to staff members... The UCF Student Council has both a Facebook page and a Website. Please feel free to get in touch with current LAS students by Facebook or Email.
We have, finally, compiled all necessary information and links concerning the actual application and admissions process. Please see the UCF website and contact us by Email for any questions: application@ucf.uni-freiburg.de.
The Application and Admissions period for the upcoming winter semester 2015/16 started today, June 1st. On our website, we have compiled necessary information concerning the application, the necessary forms and documentation: Application Information
Your actual application is processed by the university's Student Services Center. They provide further information as well as the application forms: Studierendenportal
We are looking forward to many interesting applications!
After a thorough search procedure, UCF is happy to announce that Prof. Veronika Lipphardt has accepted the Rector's offer to become our professor of Science and Technology Studies. She comes from the renowned Berlin Max-Planck Institute for the History of Science and works on the history of the life sciences, particularly physical anthropology and human population genetics and their social and cultural contexts. Her current research focuses on the history of knowledge about human variation in the 20th century. Veronika Lipphardt studied history, biology, musicology and social sciences in Vienna, Potsdam, Berlin and Freiburg. Her most recent book is about German-Jewish physical anthropologists and geneticists and how they contributed to the scientific debate about the so-called "Jewish race" between 1900 and 1935. We are happy to welcome her at UCF on June 5, and look forward to all the exciting interdisciplinary teaching and cooperation her research suggests!
We recently updated both the LAS Course Catalog and its underlying Module Handbook. The Module Handbook "translates" and explicates the LAS Rules and Regulations, i.e. the foundation of the LAS program. In every semester, the LAS modules are put to work in the form of concrete courses, found in the Course Catalog.
Module Handbook 2014-15
Course Catalog Summer Semester 2015
Furthermore, we revised the LAS Brochure. See more.
The English Daily Telegraph recently interviewed us for a Study Abroad special feature. The article covers various opportunities for English students interested in study Liberal Arts and Sciences. See here for the article.
We have fixed the dates for the Liberal Arts and Sciences Open Days 2015 at UCF! Our Open Days for the LAS program starting in October will be on April 24th and on June 12th. For more information please see our Open Day site.
UCF currently has two positions open in the admin area. For all further information, please check our job offers!
The University of Freiburg is currently in the process of establishing the second Professorship associated with UCF: "Science and Technology Studies". See the announcement for details concerning the Professorship.
The trial lectures for the Professorship are now scheduled to take place on July 24 and 25 in Room 01011, Werthmannstraße 8/Rear Building:
Thursday, 24.07.2014
13.00: Associate Prof. Dr. Götz Hoeppe – U Waterloo, Ontario/Kanada: "Framing Numero-Politics: On the Practices and Politics of Assessing Marine Resources in India"
15.00: Juniorprofessor Dr. Jörg Niewöhner – HU Berlin: "Localising matter(s) – Ethnographic co-laboration with bio- and geosciences"
17.00: Juniorprofessorin Estrid Sørensen – U Bochum: "The Ritual of Plural Knowledge"
Friday, 25.07.2014
09.15: Prof. Dr. Veronika Lipphardt – MPIWG Berlin: "Narrating diversity, fixing unruly samples. Interdisciplinary entanglements of human population genetics"
11.15: Juniorprofessorin Dr. Susanne Bauer – U Frankfurt/Main: "Accounting for Mutations. Technoscience, Nuclear Ecologies and Post-Soviet Sociality"
13.15: Prof. Dr. Jutta Weber – U Paderborn: "Tinkering With the Unpredictable. A Brief History of Technoscience Culture"
University College Freiburg is seeking for its study program "Liberal Arts and Sciences" an academic assistant (geprüfte wiss. Hilfskraft) in the field of Governance starting October 1, 2014 – March 31, 2015 for 50 hours/month, with a possibility of extension. Please check our job announcement!
The LAS Module Handbook 2013/14 is now on our Media and Publications page. The Handbook is gives a detailed description of the LAS curriculum and its modules especially in the Core and Majors.
University College Freiburg invites applications for the position of a Project manager (50 % TV-L E 11). For all further information, please check our job announcement
The semester schedule of the LAS program has been adjusted. While retaining the successful block format, it now offers an improved fit with the schedule of the University of Freiburg and more structured space for continuous language learning throughout the year. For new LAS student, the academic year will start later in October than it used to: check the dates here.
Together with the University of Freiburg's Student Services Center (SCS), we have made a few corrections to the application and admissions process. Furthermore, we have revised the information guidelines for the process. The application period for commencing LAS at UCF is from June 1 – July 15. You can find the updated process and information here.
UCF will be hosting the second LAS Open Day this upcoming Friday, May 16. We kindly invite all interested future students to get to know UCF, LAS and the many people involved. See the program for more information.
In 2013 and 2014, UCF hosted 2 workshops on Problem-Based Learning (PBL), financed by the Stifterverband in their program Lehren - Lecturer. In the last workshop Prof. Dr. Wim Gijselaers, head of the department of Educational Research and Development at Maastricht University and a leading PBL expert gave a talk on "Principles of Problem-Based Learning (PBL) in Higher Education: How PBL can meet changing educational demands". You can find the video online at: [http://www.hochschuldidaktik.uni-freiburg.de/themenportal/dateien/pol_gijselaers]
University College Freiburg invites applications for the position of a Lecturer (100% TV-L 13) in the Major "Earth and Environmental Science". For all further information, please check our job announcement!
We have finalized the program for our first LAS/UCF Open Day on March 7, 2014 from 12:00 to 4:00 PM. Please check here for more information.
The deadline for nominations for the Erasmus Prize for the Liberal Arts and Sciences is coming up on February 16. Please check here for all information concerning the prize and the nomination process.
Time flies when you're involved in something fun. 2013, UCF's second year, is almost over, and we would like to briefly look back on the past months.
First of all, the second generation of students in our programs Liberal Arts and Sciences, IndiTrack and Faszination Wissenschaft started their studies with great enthusiasm and curiosity. And our first generation has (hopefully) become accustomed to studying in a very special context and have not only taken over responsibility for themselves but also for the second generation. UCF is a growing community!
Also in 2013, we not only institutionalized the UCF directorate and external advisory board, but were honored and excited to welcome Wolfgang Freitag, Professor for Epistemology and Theory of Science, at the University of Freiburg, the Faculty of Humanities and, of course, at UCF.
Finally, 2013 was the year of our official Inauguration celebration, during which we also – for the first time – awarded the Erasmus Prize for the Liberal Arts and Sciences.
Altogether, 2013 was a challenging and rewarding year for all involved with more highlights than can be summarized here. We would like to thank everybody involved at and around UCF for their outstanding commitment and support. Now, it is time to look forward to more challenges and rewards and to wish everybody a peaceful break and plenty of energy for 2014!
The Faculty of Humanities has opened the call for applications for the Professorship in Science and Technology Studies. As with the Professorship for Epistemology and Theory of Science, it was established specifically in the context the Liberal Arts and Sciences study program. You can find the call at our job offer page.
Despite the fact that the application period for the winter term 2014/15 will not commence until June 2014, we can already announce the time period for the interviews: Interviews are expected to take place between August 4th and August 8th 2014. We look forward to your applications and hope this early announcement makes planning your application and summer activities easier.
The Erasmus Prize for the Liberal Arts and Sciences was awarded for the first time on June 24, 2013, on the occasion of the UCF Inauguration. UCF has now opened the call for nominations for the Erasmus Prize 2013.
Yesterday, the first volume of the new UCF book series "Septem", which is dedicated to the pedagogical, academic and epistemological foundations of our LAS program, was published at the Rombach Verlag: "Von artes liberales zu liberal arts" covers and compares concepts of Liberal Education in an historical and international perspective. The articles are based on last year's UCF lecture series and includes publications from Bernhard Zimmermann, UCF Dean of Studies, and Ryan Plumley, LAS Course Coordinator "Culture and History".
Next Wednesday, on November 20, the University of Freiburg will be hosting its annual "Tag der offenen Tür". Throughout the day, the university's study programs open their courses for interests students and the many institutions involved in student life present themselves. UCF will be present with a stand in Prometheushalle/Kollegiengebäude I as of 9 am.
In order to expand its teaching staff and strengthen the administration of the LAS program, UCF is now looking for
(1) an Academic Program Coordinator and
(2) a Lecturer and Course Coordinator for the Major in "Governance".
Together with the university's "Studium generale", UCF will again be hosting a public lecture series this winter term. Last year's lectures ("Bildung: Von artes liberales zu liberal arts") covered historical and international concepts of liberal education and will soon be published in book form.
This winter term, the lecture series focusses on UCF's key theme: "Knowledge" ("Wissen"). The lectures (in German) will all be held by professors from the university. They are not only experts in their respective fields (Theory of Science, Ancient History, Mineralogy/Geochemistry, Philosophy of Law, Classical Archaeology, Molecular Embryology, Biomedical Microtechnology), but also all involved in UCF, mainly in the Liberal Arts and Sciences study commission.
Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Freitag, who recently took up the Chair in Epistemology and Theory of Science, will start the program on Tuesday, November 5th.
All UCF students are highly encouraged to participate!
After an intense selection process for the upcoming, second generation of LAS students, we are currently preparing the start of the second year at University College Freiburg. The year will begin on Monday, Sept. 30 with a Welcome Week at UCF and beyond. Together with our first generation of LAS students we will introduce the "freshmen" to the many aspects of studying Liberal Arts and Sciences at UCF and to living in Freiburg as a (new) student.
We will be posting the Welcome Week program soon, so please stay tuned!
University College Freiburg was officially established as an institution at the University of Freiburg in September 2012 and opened its doors to 78 Liberal Arts and Sciences students and 12 IndiTrack students on October 1. After a very dynamic and successful first academic year, we decided that it was time to celebrate the founding and inauguration of UCF on a larger scale and with the many people that had been involved in this project over the last three years. The perfect occasion was provided by the award ceremony for the Erasmus Prize, a prize for young researchers, donated by the Sparkasse Freiburg-Nördlicher Breisgau and awarded by UCF. We would like to thank our students as well as the many and very diverse guests and supporters that made this – UCF and its Inauguration – possible. On the Inauguration page, you can relive the event as it happened.
As announced late April, we updated our website with the interviews with our first-generation LAS students. They talk about their first semester experiences at UCF and give you a general impression about how it is to study Liberal Arts and Sciences in Freiburg. All interview clips are now available here.
Last Monday a group of 60 prospective students and parents visited the University College Freiburg to become more familiar with the new Bachelors Program "Liberal Arts and Sciences." We enjoyed the lively conversations and hope that all of you had a good time. We are very happy that there are so many people interested in studying LAS.
If you missed this Open Day there is still time to register on our website for the next Open Day on June 7th.
Next Monday the first LAS Open Day will take place at University College Freiburg. You can learn more about the LAS study program, talk to students and staff and visit seminars. Online registration is possible until 6 pm on Thursday April 4th . If you cannot make it next week we are also offering a second Open Day on June 7, 2013.
We look forward to having a great first Open Day next week and to meeting many interested students.
The next application period for UCF's Liberal Arts and Sciences program will start very soon: from June 1 to July 15. Therefore we offer two Open Days this year for prospective students who are interested in this new program:
On Monday, April 8th, we open the college from 1 to 5pm for this year's first Open Day. The schedule of the day can be found here.
We will guide interested students through our academic program with presentations explaining what LAS at the UCF is all about, how it is structured, who are the people behind the scenes, who are the students studying at UCF. If somebody is deeply curious they may even follow an Open Class or Lecture. To get an insight in life at the University of Freiburg, UCF and in Freiburg we offer an information market where participants can meet LAS students, institutions of the University and meet our lecturers face-to-face.
For people who are unable to attend April, 8th, we offer a second date on Friday, June 7.
This summer semester, the UCF's third project will start: in "Faszination Wissenschaft" we will design and offer a new kind of research-oriented module for undergraduates from all the faculties.
The module will introduce B.A. and B.Sc. students to practical perspectives concerning professional careers as scientists or scholars. The main focus lies on developing analytical and conceptual skills for designing interdisciplinary research projects. Students from many different disciplines will work together and practice putting together research proposals in areas that cannot be addressed by one field alone. The first course, which will start in April, will deal with topics in the area of Health and Illness.
The first Interdisciplinary Track (IndiTrack) students will soon be completing their first semester of studies. Fudder, an online news journal, recently published a short article which describes some of the students' experiences and reasons for choosing IndiTrack. So far the students have found their individually-tailored studies to be more work than they expected, but also very rewarding and interesting.
IndiTrack is a project which enables Bachelor students of the University of Freiburg to undertake an additional year of interdisciplinary studies between the second and third year of their regular programs.
In 2013 the University of Freiburg will award the Erasmus Prize for the Liberal Arts and Sciences for the first time. This prize underscores the epistemological focus of the Liberal Arts and Sciences concept in Freiburg and rewards an academic work that deals in an exemplary way with epistemological questions in the treatment of its topics. Furthermore, the prize aims to highlight an academic work that makes a special contribution to methodological and theoretical exchange across disciplinary boundaries.
For detailed information about the nomination procedure and the background of the prize please click here.
For all prospective students of the Liberal Arts and Science program, the University College Freiburg will hold two Open Days 2013: One is scheduled for the beginning of April, the other one in June 2013. If you are interested in finding out more about the program, meeting the LAS lecturers, visiting our facilities, and "tasting" a lecture, then this is the perfect event for you.
After finishing the first block of the LAS study program on the November 23 and with a short break of one week (the so-called "reflection week") the students return today for their 2nd block of studies. This block runs until mid-February 2013 finishing with one week of exams and another reflection week. To all of our student: We wish you a warm "Welcome Back!"
In cooperation with the University's "Studium generale", the University College Freiburg is hosting a lecture series with the topic: "From artes liberals to liberal arts" this winter term. The lecture series starts in the Antiquity, continues into the Middle Ages and the Early Modern Ages, and finally reaches the present time. Questions concerning education and knowledge will be discussed from the perspective of the different epochs. The schedule of the lecture series can be found here.
Starting on November 9th, the UCF will be offering a consultation hour for prospective students who are interested in learning more about the LAS Bachelor degree program. Every Friday afternoon between 1:00 and 3:00 pm a UCF lecturer will talk to prospective students about the Liberal Arts and Sciences program and answer questions.
If you are interested, please register here to participate in one of the consultation hours.
This week, Harm Hospers, Dean of University College Maastricht, is visiting us at University College Freiburg together with Thomas Cleij, Dean of the Maastricht Science Programme, the natural sciences counterpart to the University College Maastricht (UCM).
First of all, we are discussing ways to deepen the partnership between the Colleges, for example via student and faculty exchanges. Secondly, Harm will be holding a lecture on "Liberal Arts and Sciences - Concept and Experiences at UCM". The lecture is part of Nicholas Eschenbruch's LAS Plenary Course.
The LAS students started their studies at the beginning of October with a Welcome Week, where they got to know the academic and management staff of the University College Freiburg and of course their fellow students. Our short video clip summarizes the highlights of the Welcome Week and gives a good impression what the atmosphere was like.
The LAS Module Handbook for the Winter Term 2012/13 is now on our Media and Publications page. The Handbook is available in English and in German and gives a detailed description of the curriculum of the Winter Term 2012/13.
The first generation of students starts with the new Bachelor program "Liberal Arts and Sciences". After tea and coffee in the common room and a little tour around the city, UCF's Dean of Studies, Bernhard Zimmermann, University's Vice President Heiner Schanz and the whole UCF team welcome the pioneer students in the Theatersaal of the Alte Universität. It is an important day for the College as well as for the students and one can feel the excitement of everyone, to be part of this special program.
The Welcome Week lasts until Friday and it is all about getting to know each other, finding one's way in the University and starting to organize the first semester.
Paul Sterzel, our Managing Director, is currently on a "Recruiting Tour" in Norway. The next two weeks he will report on his experiences in Norway.
Report 1: : Road to LAS? More like road from LAS...
I am currently on a "Recruiting Tour" with a group of 15 more or less veteran recruiters from various US colleges and universities. There's one further European on tour, Harm Hospers, Dean of UCM. Most of these people are experts when it comes to recruiting and admissions. It's their job. They know their admissions capacities and regulations etc. by heart, go through hundreds, if not thousands of "apps" per year, speak of particularly interesting high schools in South Korea or Ghana or wherever as if they were around the corner. Luckily, the tour started slowly, with a get together in Bergen, Norway, from where we took the ferry somewhere closer to the Red Cross United World College where I will be presenting UCF and LAS tomorrow. Aside from rather random "spreading the word" about LAS, it's all about getting in contact with recruiting professionals, with international schools and, especially, with interesting potential students! More to come tomorrow evening!
The University College Freiburg is moving! From Wednesday 26.9. to Friday 28.9. our offices are closed. Please be aware that phones and email accounts will not be regularly accessible to our staff. On Monday 1.10. we will open the new offices to the public and our new students in our new location: Alte Universität, Bertoldstr. 17, 1st floor.
Two more colleagues joined the UCF team: Glenda-Alicia Leung and Lisanne Raderschall. Language-Lecturer Glenda- Alicia Leung holds a double MA in Applied Linguistics and Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) and is responsible for the English teaching at UCF. Lisanne Raderschall studied Liberal Arts and Sciences at the University College Maastricht and therefore is familiar with the LAS concept. As Junior Project Manager, she deals with various organizational and conceptual tasks. We wish Lisanne and Glenda a good start at UCF!
Curious to know how the 2012/13 academic year of LAS is organized? Have a look at the info graphic now online at the Study Preview page. Course, exam and reflection periods as well as semester breaks for the first year of LAS are presented here.
During the last few days all the admission letters for the liberal arts and sciences program were sent out by the vice chancellor's office of the University of Freiburg. Registration is taking place starting now until the August 31, 2012. The letters of acceptance contain information about the registration process.
You can also find more information here.
We are looking forward to meeting you in October! Enjoy your summer holidays and we hope to see you soon.
This week we completed the interviews with perspective students for the Liberal Arts and Sciences program. Many thanks to the candidates for coming to Freiburg - especially those who traveled from other parts of the country or abroad just to meet with us. The letters of acceptance will be sent out by the University of Freiburg next week. We are already busy preparing for our Welcome Week which starts on the October 1.
A video interview with Volker Balli, Coordinator of the governance major, is now available on our website on the Media and Publications page. In the video clip Balli highlights some issues that the students with a governance major will be addressing, for example what are the common problems in this area and who decides how to deal with them.
Have you read the newspaper yet today? You can read about University College Freiburg in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung today! The article can be found on page 6 (in the section called "Bildungswelten") and is entitled "Die Vergrößerung des Horizonts" – "The Expanding Horizon." The Liberal Arts and Sciences program and the IndiTrack project are described.
We interviewed our four University Teachers and asked them to introduce themselves and tell us more about their specific major. If you want to learn more about "Culture and History", "Life Sciences", "Earth and Environmental Sciences" or "Governance" and the academic staff members of UCF, have a look at our Media and Publications page or watch the video clips directly at the respective major's page.
Nicholas Eschenbruch, Director of Education illustrates in a video-interview the objectives of the LAS core and explains why the core program is the backbone of LAS. For more interviews with Nicholas Eschenbruch, explaining the electives and the language area, have a look at our Media and Publications page.
A more detailed Study Preview is now online to give prospective students an overview of how the LAS program is organized. Each LAS year is described and illustrated separately to provide a comprehensive outline of the curriculum. In addition to that, more information concerning the four majors is now available.
The LAS Open Day on May 18 was a great success! Our short video clip gives you a good impression of the program and the atmosphere of the Day.
Since some potential applicants could not make it and others were not yet aware of the University of Freiburg's new Liberals Arts and Sciences program, we will offer a smaller-scale LAS Info Day on Monday July 2 2012 at UCF.
You will have a chance to meet the new program's teaching and administrative staff, ask questions, get more information on the program, admission requirements, and the registration process and have a look at the campus and the city of Freiburg.
What do I have to bring? Where do I have to go? What do I need to send? When do I have to submit my application? When can I register? And how...?
Questions, questions, questions that are important to get answers to in order to meet all the application requirements. The detailed instructions, whether in German or English are sometimes difficult to understand, and therefore we have put together a comprehensive information sheet to help you to get through the "application-jungle". Here is the link: https://www.ucf.uni-freiburg.de/las/application_information
We are happy to announce that our 4th teacher - Dr. Ryan Plumley - has now arrived in Freiburg. Dr. Plumley earned his PhD from Cornell University (Ithaka, USA) for his work on "The Romantic Subject of Textuality: German Literate Culture in the Late Eighteenth Century."
He is originally from the US, and has moved from Berlin to our beautiful city. Welcome Ryan and we wish you a good start!
Check out our new student advising which will be offered once a week (on Mondays, starting June 4) – by phone, via Skype or personally in Freiburg in our offices. Dr. Eschenbruch will be available to answer all the questions that you didn't find answers to on our website. Just sign up for a time to get in touch with Dr. Nicholas Eschenbruch, our Director of Education.
The Open Day on Friday was a great success. At our future site, the Old University Quadrangle, we were joined by approximately 80 people from all over Germany (and, in some cases, the world!): mostly prospective applicants and their families, but also journalists and university staff from other faculties. Introductory talks about LAS, guided tours of selected university departments and focussed question and answer sessions gave applicants a feeling for the LAS program, and UCF staff a first impression of our prospective students.
We were impressed by your well-considered questions and your committment to finding a study program that suits you. In the light of your questions, we have updated the Q&A page. Everybody at UCF is now very excited about the start of the application period on June 1 – we look forward to hearing from you.
A date for an additional, smaller-scale Open Day for all those who could not make it will soon be announced.
We are proud to announce that the LAS program has now received official approval from the Ministry of Science, Research and the Arts of the State of Baden-Wuerttemberg. In its quality assurance process, the Ministry has found that the program meets all applicable quality standards and has given us the go-ahead for the next five years. With the approval of the Ministry, the Rules and Regulations for the LAS program are now operational and available in the University's Studyportal.
For us, this authorization means an official acknowledgement of the time, effort and brain power we have put into the LAS program since December 2011 – and it also means we are now ready to receive your applications, starting June 1!
Three of our four newly-employed teachers have arrived at the College in Freiburg and are working rigorously on the core program.
Dr. Volker Balli earned his PhD from the European University Institute in Florence in Social and Political Sciences. His research focused on "Power and Gestalt of Political Concepts".
Dr. Simon Büchner came to us from the Department of Cognitive Science at the University of Freiburg. After receiving his PhD in Psychology for his research in "Information Processing in Wayfinding", he was working on Spatial Cognition.
For the Life Sciences program we have hired Dr. Karin Moll who completed her PhD in Biology at the University of Cambridge. Her research addresses biomechanical aspects of insects. We wish a very good start to all of our teachers!
May 9, 2012: Open Day schedule online!
Open Day schedule online! The detailed program of the Open Day on May 18th is now online. Between 12 and 5 p.m., Open Day visitors have the opportunity to learn more about the LAS Bachelor program, get to know teachers and members of the University College and join a tour around the university campus. If you're interested, please don't forget to register for the Day.
Is studying in Freiburg the right choice for me? Visit our web page "Study Life" and find out if Freiburg is the place for you. Find out why Freiburg is called the Green City, watch video interviews with international students, and find out what it is like to study and live in Freiburg.
Would you like more background information on the University College and its program "Liberal Arts and Sciences"? Then watch our Director of Outreach, Prof. em. Hans-Joachim Gehrke, answering questions like "Why did you decide to commit yourself to the University College Freiburg?" For more videos have a look at our Media and Publications page.
As announced earlier on this website, the interviews of Lina and Chris, two students from University College Maastricht, are now online.
Enjoy the student's general view on "Liberal Arts and Sciences" programs and in particular on the new program at the University of Freiburg! For more videos have a look at our Media and Publications page.
Again one step forward towards our new BA program "Liberal Arts and Sciences": Last week our LAS Board of Studies was officially founded by the Rectorate!
The interfaculty steering committee which has played a crucial role in the conceptual development of the LAS program since early 2011 has now been transformed into our official Board of Studies. This Board develops and oversees the curriculum, the admissions regulations and all matters relating to teaching.
The six members of the Board are all professors of our University working in different academic fields that reflect once again the interdisciplinary focus of the LAS program.
The members are:
Prof. Dr. Bernhard Zimmermann, Faculty of Philology (Chair and executive representative of the LAS Board of Studies)
Prof. Dr. Maarten Hoenen, Faculty of Humanities
Prof. Dr. Ralf Poscher, Faculty of Law
Prof. Dr. Thomas Stieglitz, Faculty of Engineering
Prof. Dr. Kerstin Krieglstein, Faculty of Medicine
Prof. Dr. Reto Gieré, Faculty of Chemistry, Pharmacy, and Earth Sciences
It was a great afternoon at the Uniseum with Minister-President Winfried Kretschmann last Thursday! Our staff had the opportunity to inform him and the Minister of Science, Research and Arts, Theresia Bauer, about the University College at the University Freiburg. After concentrated presentations, we had a lively discussion with students, the Ministers and the Rectorate of the University as well as with our guests from University College Maastricht, Lukas Fesenfeld (student, Liberals Arts and Sciences) and Prof. Harm Hospers (Dean).
Last week Lina and Chris, two students from University College Maastricht who have been advising us about student perspectives on Liberal Arts and Sciences, visited Freiburg. We took the opportunity to ask them some general questions about LAS and what they think about the program in Freiburg. The interviews will be published over the next weeks.
In 2011, UCF and the Liberal Arts and Sciences program at Freiburg have moved from a visionary idea to a concrete project with funds, people, rooms and a curricular concept. 2012 is going to be even more decisive, as we will soon become an official institution at the University of Freiburg, finalize the curriculum, hire teaching staff and, finally, welcome our first students. We thank everybody – and there have been many – who have been involved in some role in 2011 for their support. One year from now, UCF and the first LAS program in Germany will be up and running!
Over the coming weeks and month we will provide you with more information about the LAS program and the UCF. So watch this space or connect with us on Facebook.
If you would like to find out what studying LAS would mean and what subjects you could be taking, have a look at our Study Preview where we present Study Outlines for the four different majors we are currently planning to offer. The outlines give an idea how the LAS program could look for an individual student in each major. Also, if you have more questions concerning LAS check out the new Questions and Answers page.
Who are the people behind University College Freiburg and what are their responsibilities within the College? Have a look at our new UCF Heads page and find out!
Today, we launched our website. For a start, you can take a first look at the LAS program with the LAS Fact Sheet, a preview of the study areas and the first background videos with Prof. Dr. Heiner Schanz (Full-Time Vice Rector for Academic Affairs).
Don't forget to connect with us on Facebook.
Natascha Gimbel joins our team as administrator. She has previously worked at Freiburg's Catholic University of Applied Sciences in support roles for international students.
The LAS project moves into new offices in the Haus zur Lieben Hand on the University's humanities' campus, right in the center of Freiburg. We are very happy to find a home in this attractive historical building.
A group of students from University College Maastricht takes up their work as our Student Think Tank, advising us about student perspectives on Liberal Arts and Sciences.
Dr. Nicholas Eschenbruch becomes the first full-time member of the UCF team as Director of Education. He knows College environments well from his own time at the United World College of the Adriatic and at Oxford University (St. John's and St. Antony's). A Social Anthropologist and Historian by training, he has been involved in interdisciplinary research and teaching in Medical Anthropology and History for about a decade, and has also trained as a group facilitator and counselor.
Having been envisaged by the Vice-Rector since 2008, the founding of a University College and the introduction of a Liberal Arts and Sciences degree at the University of Freiburg finally take a more concrete shape: we receive the go-ahead from the funding agencies and support from the local business community; a group of professors from all eleven faculties takes up its work as our steering committee; and we are very pleased to be able to recruit outstanding academics from within the university for two essential positions: Prof. Hans-Joachim Gehrke as the College's Director of Outreach and Prof. Bernhard Zimmermann as the LAS program's Dean of Studies.
