UdK Berlin is part of the Berlin COIL network for international online teaching

For the first time, eight International Offices of Berlin universities were able to submit a successful network application in the Berlin Quality and Innovation Initiative (QIO). The aim is to promote international virtual cooperation between universities worldwide. The project benefits from the diversity and quality of Berlin's universities: the eight participating universities HWR Berlin (initiator), UdK Berlin, HU Berlin, FU Berlin, TU Berlin, Beuth HS, HTW Berlin and ASH Berlin are setting out together as a network to expand their digital international teaching offer.

In cooperation with its international partner universities, UdK Berlin plans to implement digital international teaching formats (so-called Virtual Global Classrooms/COIL - Collaborative Online International Learning) with its network partners in order to promote the digital and intercultural competence of its students and teachers and to anchor an understanding of diversity and multi-perspectivity through the experience of other cultures. Students for whom an exchange semester abroad is difficult to implement will have the opportunity to gain intercultural competences as part of their studies. Students with children or with financial limitations as well as students with disabilities and first-generation students can thus acquire international competences through COILs.

The COIL network at UdK Berlin started in January 2023 with its first meetings and will dedicate itself to the project of international online teaching until the end of 2024 with QIO funding.

Contact persons and project management:
Regina Werner, Head of International Office
Jennifer Bartelheim, International Office
N.N.
Contact: coil_ @udk-berlin.de

Strategic development: International Online Teaching at UdK Berlin?

With the start of the pandemic at the beginning of 2020, many new teaching formats have emerged at UdK Berlin - as in almost all universities. As a university of the arts, UdK Berlin has a particular interest in evaluating and strategically developing its digital offerings, some of which were created at short notice and under great time pressure. In the emergency situation during the first months of the pandemic, positive and challenging examples of digital teaching in the arts and design have emerged. As part of a strategy process with external participation of the HFD (German Forum for Higher Education in the Digital Age), discussions are being held in the winter semester of 2022/23 to gather and pool the experiences of lecturers, students and administrators. UdK Berlin was selected as one of eight German universities by the German Forum for Higher Education in the Digital Age to participate in a strategy consultation in a peer-to-peer format.

The goals are to promote broader internationalisation through digital or hybrid offerings and to increase the diversity of the student body by opening up UdK teaching formats virtually. Interviews and workshops with internal UdK groups at all levels as well as with external experts will be conducted during the first half of 2023 in order to jointly design an international digital teaching strategy.

Contact persons and project management:
Susanne Hamelberg, Personal Representative of the President - Digital Strategy and Online Teaching
Anne Renner, Advisor to the President - Strategy and Project Development
Regina Werner, Head of the International Office

Contact: digitalinternational_ @udk-berlin.de

Morten Østerlund Larsen will be awarded the DAAD Prize of UdK Berlin in 2022: our warmest congratulations for this!

Morten comes from Kolding, Denmark. He has been studying double bass at the Jazz Institute Berlin (JIB) since autumn 2019. Although he studies jazz, he listens to and plays many other types of music: early music, classical and renaissance music. At the Jazz Institute, he works as a student representative, is a member of the board commission and part of the student council (Fachschaftsrat) of the JIB. There he campaigns for more social activities and better structures.

In addition to his work at the JIB, he plays in several bands of the institute: in a duo with Zuzanna Jasinska, in Matthias Meyer's "Niemandsland", in Liv Sindler's quintet and as part of the trio "Morphlid" with David Soyza and Florian Fischer. He is currently preparing his bachelor project, a fusion of a string quartet and jazz trio.

He receives the DAAD Prize for his artistic work and his political and social commitment at the Berlin University of the Arts.

The Berlin University of the Arts awards ERASMUS+ special grants for students of all nationalities who had to flee from Ukraine and are therefore not able to continue their studies at their Ukrainian home unversity.

The scholarship holders will be enrolled at UdK Berlin as incoming exchange students for one semester. They will receive a monthly financial support of 1100 € (850 € monthly grant + 250 € social top-up) for up to 6 months. A degree cannot be awarded during the time of scholarship. A continous connection to the Ukrainian home university is required.

More information about the requirements and the application can be found here:
https://www.udk-berlin.de/en/service/international-office/grants/translate-to-english-stipendien-fuer-vom-ukraine-krieg-betroffene-studierende/

Good news: The International Office and Studium Generale have been awarded DAAD funding of over 100,000 euros for 2022 for the initiatives Common Ground, Fit für die Künste and Beyond UdK.

We all know: the increased number of refugees also demands more attention, better services and new projects from UdK Berlin. Since the introduction of the DAAD programmes* for prospective students with refugee backgrounds in 2016, UdK Berlin has been one of the few artistic universities to participate. Every year, new budgets are acquired from the DAAD programmes WELCOME and INTEGRA, which are available for projects with international and refugee students.

The student network COMMON GROUND, founded by AStA and GWK, has been active here since 2015 and can thus continue to be funded in 2022. The funding commitment from the DAAD on 11.11.2021 has caused great joy. One of the information and support formats created is the Common Ground Studio: here UdK students advise young artists who have fled or emigrated to Germany. And they open up access to the College of Fine Arts at UdK Berlin to prospective students who have fled or emigrated. This gives them an insight into the specialist classes and enables them to develop their artistic practice and prepare their own portfolio for a university application.

The INTEGRA programme will continue in 2022 with two thematic strands under the direction of Studium Generale: the "Fit für die Künste" programme offers free study preparation courses for international and refugee students. "Beyond UdK", on the other hand, focuses on the transition from studies to the job market and supports international students in professionalising their own artistic practice in Germany. The funding commitment that the International Office and Studium Generale have jointly raised for 2022 amounts to over 100,000 EUR for all three initiatives: Common Ground, Fit für die Künste and Beyond UdK.

* INTEGRA and WELCOME / Common Ground are funded by the DAAD and the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF).

Regina Werner

Dalís Pacheco Salcedo was recently awarded the DAAD Prize: congratulations! Dalís grew up in Lima, Peru and has been based in Berlin since 2015, where she works as an interdisciplinary artist and cultural organiser. She started her studies at the Arts Faculty of the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Peru, followed by her BA in Visual Communication and currently her MA in Art and Media, both at UdK Berlin.

She has been actively involved with Interflugs at UdK since 2018. From 2019 to 2021, she has been a member of the Student Parliament and worked in the Intercultural Diversity, Antidiscrimination and Empowerment Committee, which led to the founding of the AG Intersectional Antidiscrimination. She is currently also a member of the KfC (Equal Opportunities Commission).

She receives the DAAD Prize for her diverse artistic work as well as for her exceptional commitment to higher education politics and her social engagement outside of university.

New international Master's students will receive even better support in future thanks to a new peer programme at our university. In the winter semester 2021/22, the subject-specific peer programme MyMATE will be launched in all Master's programmes. UdK students from higher semesters will be matched with new international Master's students in the same study programme and support them in their first months in Berlin and at the university. The MATEs provide the first-semester students with useful information and tips on studying and they act as the first contact person in their study programme. The International Office supports the MyMATE pairs with an accompanying workshop programme on intercultural and diversity skills. The peer programme is run by the International Office and supported by the Intercultural Mentoring programme of the Studium Generale.

Project coordinator and contact person is Sandra Bayer: sandra.bayer_ @intra.udk-berlin.de.

After almost two years in the pandemic, the numbers of UdK students who have finally started or already successfully completed their exchange semester are now on the rise again. We in the International Office are very pleased that a little more normality is slowly becoming possible for students, such as studying on campus, semesters abroad or internships abroad.

Since 2021, there has been a new ERASMUS+ programme. With this, the International Office of UdK Berlin will support hundreds of UdK students on their way abroad over the next few years. One of the five topics on which the new programme focuses is "Environment and Climate Change Mitigation".

Students who go abroad with ERASMUS+ should use ecological travel routes as much as possible; this is promoted by new travel allowances and top-ups for the use of sustainable means of transport. In addition, equal opportunities, inclusion, diversity and fairness play a greater role in all areas. There are special funds for students with disabilities as well as parents with children to make exchanges more feasible. Students with chronic illnesses can also receive additional funding.

Take a look at the testimonials to read what other UdK students have experienced at our partner universities in recent years. For GWK students who are interested in Spain, there is even a great testimonial video from Granada!

Are you interested in spending a semester abroad? In addition to the European ERASMUS scholarships, you can also apply for our non-European partner universities, e.g. in Israel, Latin America, the USA, Canada, Taiwan, Japan or Australia.

We look forward to seeing you!