Come In

It’s that time of year again—the university opened its doors to new students in Zittau on September 10, 2018. From September 10–28, 2018—three weeks before the start of the semester—the annual “Come In” Weeks take place. After finishing high school, vocational training, or a year abroad, starting college marks the beginning of a whole new chapter in life for many.

As part of the “Come In” Weeks, new students can attend various preparatory courses. The options include math, electrical engineering, physics, and chemistry. All of these sessions share a common goal: to refresh high school-level knowledge in the respective subjects and bring students’ knowledge up to the necessary starting level to avoid difficulties right from the start of the semester.

7:00 a.m. Peter-Dierich-Building

Staff from the academic success project “Diversity as a Strength,” our building technicians, and student assistants are making final preparations for the opening of the “Come In” Weeks. More and more young people are gathering along the campus axis with each passing minute, peering curiously through the glass window into Building IV until the doors are finally opened to welcome them.

7:45 a.m.

As a welcome gift, all course participants receive a pre-course folder for the upcoming three weeks. In addition to the timetabling schedules, the first-year students find some helpful materials inside, such as a notepad, a pen, and campus maps for the Zittau and Görlitz campuses. Once everyone has received their folders and the first small discussion groups have formed, it’s off to the lecture hall for the first class / course.

8:30 a.m.

The first preparatory course begins with math. For many of our new students, this is their first lecture. As in previous years, the session is led by Professor Goldmann. After 90 minutes of focused listening, the participants have earned their first break.

10:00 a.m.

As they leave the lecture hall, the future students are greeted by a buffet with delicious cake, cookies, coffee, and a variety of cold drinks. During this “sweet break,” many of the course participants strike up conversations with one another. Members of the Student Advisory Service are on hand to offer tips for a successful start to college. There’s plenty of chatting and joking—a relaxed start to student life. After the break, two more sessions are on the schedule for the first day of the orientation week: the pre-calculation session and the practice seminar.

In addition to studying, there are also numerous recreational activities during the “Come In” weeks, organized by the Student Council (StuRa). This allows newcomers to make their first connections and explore the region together during varied and exciting excursions. Whether at a social barbecue, a hike through the mountains, an escape room challenge, or on a student pub crawl, any looming homesickness is quickly forgotten. In Görlitz, too, people are eagerly awaiting the new students. On September 24, 2018, participants in the local math prep course will receive a warm welcome. In addition to academic instruction, they’ll have the opportunity to get to know one another better during a group barbecue or a hike to the Landeskrone. To conclude this article, we’d like to thank all the hard-working volunteers and participants who made everything run so smoothly.

We wish all prep course participants a pleasant “Come In” week and a successful start to their studies!