Deutsch
English
School is over and the very first semester has begun. All of a sudden you have to take care of everything on your own, perhaps living in a shared flat or your own apartment in a completely new city for the first time. During the Welcome Weeks - also known as "Bear Week" - a lot of things will be explained to you and you will get to know the most important places in Clausthal. But because you might not be able to memorize so much input straight away, here are a few tips to help you during your first time at Clausthal University of Technology.
You've just moved to Clausthal-Zellerfeld and are living on your own for the first time. What should you do first?
You still have a few days until the first lectures start and the moving boxes are almost all unpacked. But before you can enjoy the days off before the start of your studies, the first thing you should do is report to the town hall. The reason for this is that you have to register in the town of Clausthal-Zellerfeld. The address on your ID card will be updated and only then will you officially live in Clausthal-Zellerfeld. As a rule, you have 14 days to register. You can contact the staff by email or phone to find out what you need to do.
You can find the contact information here: www.clausthal-zellerfeld.de/
Now let's move on to a more interesting topic: Where is what here, please?
Your cell phone with Google Maps in one hand and your bag packed with the important things for your first day at university in the other. But where is the Audimax? Or the canteen? Most places are relatively easy to find. The university provides a campus map (here: www.tu-clausthal.de/universitaet/kontakt-service/campuskarte) on which all the important places are marked. But if you don't always have it to hand, you can of course ask your fellow students.
If you want to go further afield than the university, you can also take the bus here. You can travel to Goslar or St. Andreasberg, for example. You can find the bus routes here: www.harzbus-goslar.de/fahrplaene/linienfahrplaene/ From Goslar, you can also travel by train to other cities such as Braunschweig, Hanover, Göttingen or Magdeburg.
Make contacts and take advantage of as many offers as possible!
In your first semester, especially during the Welcome Weeks at TU Clausthal, you have the best chance of meeting new people. You can meet your future fellow students in the "bear groups" and make your first friends. There are now numerous offers that you can take advantage of.
One date you should definitely remember is the first semester welcome (04.10., 10 am) of your department. This is where you will get to know your deans of studies, advisors, the student councils (your student representatives) and your bear guides. Also take part in the information events of the university library and the computer center and use the campus rally to explore the university and the city. At the TUC Start Fair (22.11., 3-6 p.m., Aula Academica), you can also find out about clubs, associations and initiatives that you can get involved in. Here you have the opportunity to find out about leisure activities in and around Clausthal. Maybe you'll even find a new hobby there?
The Welcome Weeks** schedule provides an overview of all the dates.
Keep your eyes open during the semester to see what's on offer. The university sports department has numerous sports courses in its semester program, from basketball and climbing to martial arts and yoga. If you prefer music, you can join the university choir, the big band ensembles or the symphony orchestra. You can also take a look at the pages of the TUC StudiBlog. There are also some ideas here on how you can pass the time.
New foreign words?!
Your studies have started and you've finally managed to draw up your semester plan. Your head is slowly spinning because you've read a lot of foreign terms in the meantime. Here is a small selection of terms that you will come across more frequently during your studies:
"ct", "st", "SWS", "LP" and "ECTS": what do they mean?
"Ct" stands for cum tempore, which means that your course starts a quarter past full. So if you have a lecture that takes place at eight o'clock "ct", you don't have to be there until 8:15. However, if there is an "st"(sine tempore) after the time, you can sleep a quarter of an hour less and have to be there at eight o'clock.
"SWS" is easy to explain: the abbreviation stands for semester hours per week, i.e. the number of hours of attendance a course requires per week. One semester hour per week lasts 45 minutes. So if one of your courses has 2 SWS according to the timetable, it is taught for one and a half hours per week.
"CP" and "ECTS": Credit points ("CP") are awarded for successfully completed coursework and examinations. As credit points are awarded according to the European Credit Transfer System ("ECTS"), they are sometimes also referred to as "credit points". One credit point corresponds to 30 hours of work. The number of CPs for a module measures the workload of the students and is determined on the basis of the required working hours in the semester (including SWS, preparation and follow-up work as well as the final examination).
And "StuZ", "AStA" and "Stud.IP"?
The "STuZ" is the student center of TU Clausthal. There you will find the offices of the psychosocial counseling (PSB), the social counseling, the cultural office and the basement club in the StuZ.
The "AStA" can also be found here: The General Students' Committee is the executive body of the student body. It is elected by the student parliament, which in turn is elected by all students in the annual university elections. The AStA members are students themselves and represent the interests of the student body in the university committees. The AStA also offers a number of services such as legal advice and binding work.
"Stud.IP" is a service platform where you can put together your semester schedule. Here you can find the course catalog and register for and withdraw from courses. Stud.IP also offers you the opportunity to view advertisements for leisure activities, job vacancies or other news or to post them yourself. You can easily log in with your access data, which you will receive from the Computer Center before you start your studies.
You can also find many other terms from everyday university life from A to Z in the glossary.
Welcome to TU Clausthal
Hopefully this article can help you on your first days at our beautiful university. If you have any questions about studying at the TU, you can contact the Central Student Advisory Service at any time. Subject-specific questions can also be answered by the student council of your degree program. You can find an overview of the student councils here: www.asta.tu-clausthal.de/hochschulpolitik/fachschaftsraete-und-fachschaftszentralrat/
I wish you all the best for the start of your studies and every success in your first semester. Welcome to TU Clausthal!
Sofia
Questions, feedback or further comments? Then write me an e-mail: blog@tu-clausthal.de
