RWTH Orientation Week for First-Semester Students Takes Place October 4 to 8, 2021

Virtual formats and face-to-face sessions will help introduce students to university life.

 

This year, RWTH is once again expecting thousands of new students to start in winter semester 2021/22. As they start their studies, they are entering a new phase of their lives and often do not know the City of Aachen, the University, or their fellow students. RWTH Orientation Week, which takes place from October 4 to 8, under the slogan "You Can't Study Alone", aims to change this situation.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the traditional concept that has been tried and tested for years cannot be implemented this year either. Therefore, the student councils, faculties, and the First Semester (ESA) team have jointly developed a pandemic-compliant program with virtual formats and face-to-face events. "Orientation Week is important for our new students, so we have planned it with different formats that ensure we stay safe. As in the previous year, we are again expecting to see many new enrollments, anticipating around 6,900 first-semester students and 3,200 new Master's students," explains Professor Aloys Krieg, Vice-Rector for Teaching and Learning.

For example, some of the usual features of Orientation Week – Rector Ulrich Rüdiger’s welcome speech, the rallies, and game nights – are now virtual events. Indoor in-person sessions can only take place in small groups. In order for the groups to be divided into tutorials, students will gather in the Talbot parking lot and in the courtyard of the Kármán Auditorium. The groups will come at different times, ensuring that no more than 200 people gather in the outdoor area at the same time.

"Unfortunately, the traditional first-semester rally cannot take place again this year. We are sure that our new offering will, however, let new students get to know each other as well as life at the University," says Andreas Mimberg from the ESA team.