Information on the Pre-course Inter-Culturalism and Campus Life
The course takes place on the weekend before the first week of the semester. The course brings together our new student cohort in a block seminar. Primarily it shall
a) enable students to get to know their fellow students and their lecturers,
b) prepare the students for an intercultural experience in an ”international classroom”,
c) familiarize students with the academic structure and standards of the University of Jena,
d) provide an introduction to German politics, society and culture, and
e) promote networking among students and their integration by introducing mentors.
The course contains mainly the following elements: It provides an overview of the structure, organization and goals of the IOCM, including an introduction of the teaching staff. It offers an introduction to good scientific practice in line with German academic standards and the guidelines of the Institute of Political Science. The most important contact points for students on campus are presented. Beyond the campus, students are to be introduced to the political and cultural life in Jena and Thuringia. Finally, differences and similarities of academic and social cultures among the participants are reflected, thus stimulating sensitivity for the challenges of an internationally recruited degree programme. Mentoring of the participants by students from the last cohort as well as the selection process of two student representatives from the group will be organized.
The course might include visits to places of remembrance (such as the former concentration camp Buchenwald or the Zeitgeschichtliches Forum in Leipzig) and discussions with Jena and Thuringian representatives from politics and society.
At the end of the semester, a colloquium with the directors of the study programme will be organized. Here, students can give the teachers personal feedback on their impressions of the first semester, the knowledge and skills they acquired, and their further goals for their studies and professional life.
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