Varied programme makes it easier for first-year students to start their studies

Bremerhaven University of Applied Sciences welcomed its new students at a festive welcome event. "Studying is not a list of questions that have to be answered. Education is an experience and studying is a journey. It means freedom and self-responsibility and the opportunity to broaden your horizons. We are really looking forward to having you with us in the coming years." With these words, Rector Prof. Dr. Dr. Alexis Papathanassis welcomed the new students. 

Prof. Dr. Patrick Frohberg, Vice-Rector for Studies and Student Services, provided important information about the start of studies. He advised the new students to network well with each other, to familiarise themselves with the infrastructure of the university and to take the opportunity to get to know all the important contact persons at the service point fair. Self-responsibility plays a very important role during one's studies. Therefore, it is also important to know one's own rights and obligations as a student.

In his function as the first chairperson of the General Students' Committee (AStA), Fabian Lignitz presented the work of the student body and called on interested students to apply for one of the vacant positions in the AStA. Currently, four positions need to be filled.

Offers from students for students were presented by Shirin Hasan from the project "StudiTalk" as well as Mika Rissiek and Maike Umlauft from the Queer Feminist Committee. StudiTalk" supports students in networking with each other. Various groups have been set up for this purpose, for example on the topics of mental health, studying with disabilities or language tandems. The Queer Feminist Committee supports people who have experienced discrimination and is a contact point for people who feel they belong to the queer community.

Ulf Abbes from the Association for the Promotion of the Bremerhaven University of Applied Sciences (Verein zur Förderung der Hochschule Bremerhaven e.V.) also spoke. The event was moderated by Quality Manager Christine Renske Müller. 

As of 06 October, 543 students have enrolled for the winter semester 2023/24. This means that the numbers are at a similar level to the previous year. Further enrolments are still possible. However, the hoped-for increase in first-semester numbers failed to materialise. "We fight for every student who enrols at our university. This is paying off: other universities are recording a significant drop in enrolments this year. If we don't follow the downward trend, but continue to have stable numbers, that's very good. It means a great effort for everyone involved to achieve this. I am very grateful to all colleagues for how much they do for the university," says Rector Prof. Dr. Dr. Alexis Papathanassis.

Digital Media Production and the Physician Assistant and Social Work degree programmes, which have been offered since last year, were particularly popular among the degree programmes with restricted admission. Among the Bachelor's degree programmes with open admissions, Business Administration, Biotechnology of Marine Resources and Computer Science recorded the most enrolments. The first positive changes can be seen in the Transport/Logistics degree programme and the restructured International Tourism Management degree programme. There, the number of first-year students has risen slightly. "Every reaccreditation brings with it the opportunity to restructure and thus modernise the degree programme. This allows us to make our degree programmes more attractive to young people. This is a great opportunity for the university," says Prof. Papathanassis.

The week before classes begin is traditionally reserved for arriving and getting oriented at Bremerhaven as a place to study. A ten-member planning team from teaching, administration and the student body has been working for around four months to organise a varied welcome programme to make it easier for first-year students to start their studies. At this year's orientation week, students will find a wide range of information, such as a service point fair, an English-language library presentation and tutorials on the digital infrastructure. The students themselves will provide their own orientation in the degree programme. And there's no shortage of fun either: in addition to the popular AStA parties, highlights include a tour of a cruise ship, the cinema premiere of the film "3 Uhr 8 Grad Ost" and a free visit to the play "Der zerbrochene Krug" (The Broken Pitcher) at the Bremerhaven City Theatre, followed by a meet & greet with the actors. 

Further information on the programme at www.hs-bremerhaven.de/moin-erstis-en.