“We were prepared for the city of Zittau to take in even more refugees. Now it’s official: the district will set up additional housing for asylum seekers in Zittau. The University’s staff have, of course, been following the events of the past few weeks and are aware of the pressure on the Free State, its districts, and municipalities to take action regarding refugee housing. The situation is urgent and requires our support and cooperation,” said Rector Prof. Friedrich Albrecht.
At the University’s Görlitz campus, collaboration between the University and the Welcome Alliance is already going quite well, for example through the involvement of a project group from
the Faculty of Social Sciences at
.
At the Zittau campus, cooperation between the University and the city is being strengthened. This should be good, as the key players know each other very well.
“The University Executive Board and several staff members have developed ideas on what measures the University can take to provide support and how to build on the existing commitment among faculty and students,” said Rector Albrecht. A Refugee Aid Working Group has now been established, whose initial task is to explore and coordinate efforts—for example, to determine which services are already available and which are particularly needed, as well as to coordinate with the welcome alliances and the authorities.
The University’s contact person in Görlitz is Prof. Michael Kaspar (m.kaspar(at)hszg.de); in Zittau, it is Antje Pfitzner (a.pfitzner(at)hszg.de). In Zittau, it has already been agreed that she will participate in all important consultations regarding support for asylum seekers. Initially, specific measures will focus on language courses, as there is a great need in this area. The Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences, the
International University Institute
Adult Education Center
Furthermore, both campuses will focus on integrating refugees who are willing and able to study into the University’s degree programmes or 'Studienkolleg' (preparatory college).
Contact:
Hella Trillenberg
Advisor to the Rector / Press Office
Zittau/Görlitz University
Tel. 03583/ 61 1403
Fax: 03583/ 61 1402
Email: h.trillenberg(at)hszg.de