Starting your mechanical engineering studies? Congratulations! To ensure you arrive well-prepared, we offer our Orientation Unit (OE) – your perfect introduction to university life. Here, you will get to know the university, the city, and your new fellow students. We have also planned several events for you.
You can find all the information below.
Make this semester the best time of your studies - as a tutor for the first-year students
The training of bachelor students as first-year tutors has been conducted in cooperation with the Institute of Psychology for many years. Since 2018, tutors for master's first-year students have also been trained. Together with the future tutors and a research assistant, we travel to a youth hostel where the tutors are trained for four days by team leaders, who are members of the student council.
The main goal of the weekend is to form a team from a large group of students who barely know each other. Getting-to-know-you activities are emphasized during the four days. After all, the tutors should not only get to know each other but also learn the tools of the trade on how to introduce first-year students well into their new phase of life. The psychological component plays an important role in this. Thus, the tutors are trained to think about people's behaviors rather than forming a premature opinion. Furthermore, a good tutor must not only learn how to deal with criticism but also how to give feedback. To acquire these soft skills, role-playing games are helpful, which are repeatedly used during the tutor training.
After the last plenary session of the day, the evening transitions into the "cozy" part. During this social gathering, with games and music, it becomes possible to engage in conversations with the tutors of the cohort. Then, the team leaders also mix among the tutors. It is at this point that it becomes clear that the student council members are not just giving directives but are part of the team, with whom you can have a lot of fun.
Each morning, the program starts at 9:00 AM. In addition to psychological and team-building measures, the weekend also provides knowledge about the university, its institutions, and committees. Moreover, "acting confidently despite complete cluelessness" is practiced. However, the highlight of the four-day trip is the last seminar of the weekend. This is where it becomes apparent whether the learned knowledge can be applied. At the end of the weekend, many positive experiences remain, newly learned social skills, new friendships, a team that cannot be easily shaken, and, of course, the anticipation for the orientation unit - the best time of the studies.