At 10 am every Tuesday, 35 second semester Bachelor of Architecture students, along with seven lecturers from the professorships for building morphology and presentation methodology within the Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism, meet in the »Grüner Salon« for their weekly picnic. Not for a picnic in the great outdoors as originally planned, though, but rather a digital one on Moodle. The conceptual aim? To conceive small architectures in the Park an der Ilm that visitors and interested parties are able to access as places of communication. It remains to be seen whether a real-life or virtual interpretation of the salon concept will ultimately emerge.

Im Rahmen der Thüringer Forschungsdatenmanagement-Tage 2020 wird an der Bauhaus-Universität Weimar ein kostenloses Webinar zu den Themen FAIR-Prinzipien (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) und Datenmanagementpläne angeboten. In dem Workshop mit dem Motto »Data Management Plans: FAIRify your Data!« werden auf die erschienene Leitlinie zum Umgang mit Forschungsdaten eingegangen sowie verschiedene Hilfsangebote aufgezeigt.

Ab dem Wintersemester 2020/2021 können Interessierte in Weimar den neuen Bachelor-Studiengang »Informatik« mit den Schwerpunkten »Medieninformatik« oder »Security and Data Science« studieren. Damit nimmt der Fachbereich Medieninformatik an der Bauhaus-Universität Weimar noch stärker Bezug auf die aktuellen Anforderungen des Arbeitsmarktes und qualifiziert für die Berufsbilder der Zukunft sowie für forschungsorientierte Masterstudiengänge.

Der Karrieretag der Bauhaus-Universität Weimar findet am Mittwoch, 24. Juni 2020, erstmals komplett digital statt. Zwischen 14 und 17 Uhr können Studierende und Alumni verschiedene Unternehmen kennenlernen und neue Kontakte knüpfen. Bereits ab 10 Uhr startet eine Vortragsreihe zu Fragen rund um das Thema Bewerbung.

Immersing yourself in a new culture, improving your language skills, understanding your study subject from a new perspective, and last but not least, meeting new people and having a good time. This is what most people who decide to spend a semester abroad have in mind. But students’ plans of studying abroad have been altered by the coronavirus.

As a result of the coronavirus pandemic, many Bauhaus-Universität Weimar students and doctoral candidates have fallen into financial difficulties. To help those in need of financial support, the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar Freundeskreis e.V. launched a fundraising campaign.

Mit »Corona-Finanzhilfe« besser durch die Krise / Tiefensee: Land lässt Studierende nicht im Regen stehen – Thüringer Studierende, die aufgrund der Corona-Krise in finanzielle Schwierigkeiten geraten sind, können seit Anfang April ein zinsloses »Sozialdarlehen« erhalten. Nachdem der Thüringer Landtag in der letzten Woche die entsprechenden Gelder freigegeben hat, soll diese Unterstützung nun noch einmal deutlich verbessert werden: Das Land wird künftig die Hälfte der Kreditsumme übernehmen, um so die Studierenden finanziell zu entlasten. Von maximal 800 Euro Darlehen müssen also höchstens noch 400 Euro zurückgezahlt werden. Diese Umwandlung des bisherigen »Sozialdarlehens« in die »Corona-Finanzhilfe« für Studierende soll rückwirkend auch für alle bereits ab Anfang April abgeschlossenen Sozialdarlehen gelten. Zur Finanzierung dieser Leistung hatte das Wissenschaftsministerium 250.000 Euro für das Corona-Sondervermögen der Landesregierung angemeldet.

Since March, measures have been put into place in response to the coronavirus pandemic. These measures have drastically altered university life: classroom teaching came to a halt, the library and other facilities were closed – university life as we knew it came to a virtual standstill. Nothing is as it was, but what are the best reflections of these changes? The Modernist Archive (Archiv der Moderne) is on the lookout for contemporary testimonies in their endeavour of documenting the course of the pandemic and how it has influenced university life. They are calling upon all members of the university to share their experiences.

Das deutsch-israelische Filmprojekt »Bauhaus Remains«, das in Koproduktion zwischen der Tel Aviv University und der Bauhaus-Universität Weimar entstanden ist, wird im Rahmen des Programms des renommierten London Festival of Architecture erstmal online präsentiert. In vier Filmen wird das Bauhaus von seinen Wurzeln in Weimar bis hin zum »White City of Tel Aviv« künstlerisch reflektiert und filmisch-experimentell begleitet.

Das deutsch-israelische Filmprojekt »Bauhaus Remains«, das in Koproduktion zwischen der Tel Aviv University und der Bauhaus-Universität Weimar entstanden ist, wird im Rahmen des Programms des renommierten London Festival of Architecture erstmal online präsentiert. In vier Filmen wird das Bauhaus von seinen Wurzeln in Weimar bis hin zum »White City of Tel Aviv« künstlerisch reflektiert und filmisch-experimentell begleitet.

The project-based course of study is a unique feature of the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar: Together in small groups, students tackle current issues, not only in their own disciplines, but also – in the Bauhaus tradition – interdisciplinary topics. Each semester begins with the search for suitable semester projects. The digital summer semester 2020 means reorganising this as well.

Universities are sites of social interaction, where different perspectives are discussed, opposing positions debated, and inter-faculty decisions negotiated. They are places where democracy is a living entity. But how can academic self-governance and their board meetings be successful if COVID protection measures are still imposed throughout university life?

The Kontor&Stift shop is currently slumbering like Sleeping Beauty, the Tonraum is producing regular live streams and the Maschinenraum is overhauling decommissioned laptops. How are Weimar’s student initiatives reacting to the current situation? By inventing new formats, of course! Or, in some cases, waiting until they can finally resume operations.

The Bauhaus-Universität Weimar began its digital semester on 4 May, and after many weeks of intensive preparation, modules and projects are available for digital remote study in all of our study programmes. The semester has become a testbed, with the university testing new digital formats for the very first time. However, in addition to the classes themselves, studying and student life also includes aspects like a well-stocked library, modern computers and printers, and the opportunity to learn languages or take part in university sports. How will the summer semester affect this part of the student experience?

In the media industry, »remote work« is a popular, much researched phenomenon. Scientists are interested in different aspects of this new way of working: how do media change our living and working environments? What are the consequences for companies when digital nomads are largely able to work anytime and anywhere thanks to modern technology?

Preparations for a rather extraordinary summer semester 2020 are currently under way in the Faculty of Art and Design. It is particularly difficult to imagine how artistic and creative project-based courses with a practical emphasis can be run under the current conditions. So how are the academic staff and workshop employees preparing to teach without face-to-face sessions?

First, the good news: »Almost all teaching content from the Faculty of Civil Engineering can be converted into digital offerings«, reported Prof. Conrad Völker, Dean of Studies. In record time, the teaching staff has begun developing a wide range of e-learning formats in order to make the 2020 summer semester as attractive as possible. These have already been tested within the framework of the advanced degree programmes "elBau" and "nuBau".

»The main focus of architectural studies is the research-based design and project study, in which actual design tasks and experiments make up the elementary basis« – the Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism promotes the architectural studies at the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar. But how to begin and provide such teaching without accessing libraries or workshops, or without conducting personal consultations, team meetings or excursions?

»Digital teaching« has long been practised at the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar. However, until now, digital tools have mainly been integrated into classroom teaching and used as a supplement. Digital teaching is currently being implemented throughout the country in the shortest possible time since it is currently not to rely on our traditional teaching and learning methods. Within a few weeks, the usual and planned teaching content must be digitally prepared, adapted, and new solutions must be found.