Digital start of the summer semester

Lectures, courses and introductory events taking place online at Landshut University of Applied Sciences

The 2020 summer semester lectures have been officially running at Landshut University of Applied Sciences since Monday – but in purely digital mode. In just a few weeks, professors, lecturers and the administration shown unparalleled commitment in creating the conditions to successfully implement the digital semester.

The switch has not only affected seminars, courses and lectures but also introductory events for first-year students on the Master's courses of study. "These dates are particularly important for students who have not previously studied at Landshut University of Applied Sciences," explains University President Prof. Dr. Fritz Pörnbacher. "I am therefore really delighted that our colleagues have also found ways to get their students on board here and inform them about their studies in the best possible way."

As student-friendly as possible

One of these introductions, to the Master's in Clinical Social Work, took place on Tuesday. The course directors Prof. Dr. Johannes Lohner and Prof. Dr. Ralph Viehhauser were able to welcome more than 40 students on their screens at home. The two professors outlined the course of study and went into the specific contents of the Master's programme. The work experience representatives Manuela Ziegler and Johanna Ackermann also talked about the framework conditions for the practical part of the course.

Even if the master's students could not be on site themselves, there was the possibility to communicate with the lecturers by video chat and immediately clarify any questions they had as a result. The focus was mainly on the special features of digital teaching due to the corona situation.

"We have worked hard in the faculties to cover all the teaching content online so students are not disadvantaged in terms of their academic success despite the corona crisis," emphasises Prof. Dr. Johannes Lohner. Like many of his colleagues, he hopes that the 2020 summer semester will remain an exception. The effects of the Corona crisis will nevertheless be clearly felt beyond the year, said Lohner. "The future will show whether we will be able to draw positive conclusions from the current situation, for example, by further expanding the online teaching area in a meaningful way, while at the same time learning to appreciate classroom teaching more in the future."

Other faculties at Landshut University of Applied Sciences also made use of online introductory events, including Business Administration for the Master's course of study in International Business, which always starts in the summer semester.

Photo: Landshut University of Applied Sciences

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