The Question!

Digital teaching: How does studying work in Corona times?

The Corona pandemic has posed enormous challenges not only for the university, but also for its students. How did they experience the completely new situation and master it? What has worked particularly well with purely digital studies and where might there have been problems? We asked six students about this.

Sophie Werthen, 22

Bachelor's programme in Applied Media Science

The online events went very well, my regular university events generally didn't change much. My media project, the Ilmpressions film production, changed significantly. All department head meetings were held online, the hygiene concept of FeM e. V. had to be strictly adhered to and the get-to-know-you meeting of the members was also held online. Through online marketing we tried to draw attention to the project. We succeeded in doing this very well. Since the situation is new for all of us, we get to know working under special circumstances. We never thought we would have to clear a kissing scene with the health department. Despite everything, all challenges have been overcome, even under difficult conditions due to Corona.

Henrik Hossbach, 28

Master's programme in industrial engineering

I was really satisfied with the online offer of the university. I liked the lecture of the module Business Ethics the most, because it was very interactive. Unfortunately, there were no online lectures for some modules, but there was the possibility to work on assignments and then have the lecturers comment on them. I was not restricted in my exam preparation, I was able to prepare well for the exams as usual. For some modules I would have liked to have the possibility to watch the lecture at a later time. As I work as a student trainee alongside my studies, I could study more flexibly in this way.

Kevin Tekam, 23

Bachelor study Biotechnical Chemistry

At the beginning of online teaching, I had to get used to concentrating on the lectures from home. But after some time, I was able to prepare for my exams optimally. I was even able to watch some of the videos of the lectures at flexible times. Even the lab practicals were possible again under Corona conditions after a few weeks. Of course, "real" lectures in presence are better, but I still think it's great that the university has set up a well-functioning alternative offer. It is also very helpful that you get another try for the exams.

Nina Reckleben, 26

Master's programme in industrial engineering

In general, I can say that I found the e-learning well organized. Some lecturers prepared their lectures online in exactly the same way as in the presence time, which was optimal. In some subjects, exercises were conducted as a live event via Webex. I found that very good. Most of my lecturers put a lot of effort into the online teaching, some of them only put a script with the solutions online. I would have liked more help with that. The internet connection was also problematic in some cases. I think the online teaching has advantages and disadvantages. In any case, I'm looking forward to the classroom teaching again.

Dominik Keller, 27

Research assistant

I am a research assistant in the field of audiovisual technology and work on a third-party funded project in which products are evaluated in terms of media quality. For this, people have to test devices live in a lab. During the Corona period it was a bit difficult to find enough test persons and to strictly follow the infection control concept of the university. Additionally, I was involved in planning a module of practical projects, lectures and seminars. Thus, original group projects had to be changed into individual projects, which increased the workload for us staff members considerably. Fortunately, our online offerings were very well received overall.

Sascha Römhild, 22

Diploma program mechanical engineering

At the beginning of the online teaching, I had a little trouble finding out which lecturers were offering their courses on which tools. Most lectures were held live, which also worked well. For the subject physics, especially many videos were uploaded, which I liked very much. The only thing I missed was the face-to-face study sessions with friends. Financially, I fortunately had no problems through Corona, as I was able to work from my home office as a student assistant in the student advisory service. In the future, it would be helpful to basically inform on which platforms which materials are provided. That way you have an overview from the beginning and don't miss any online events.