Newsletter from the Welcome Centre

Dear international academics,

We hope that your winter was nice and cozy. As it is now the middle of March, we would like to prepare you for the summer semester! From academic opportunities to activities during leisure time, we have selected many interesting news for you. We hope you enjoy the upcoming springtime!

Warm regards,

Your Welcome Centre Team

Pub Quiz

Join us for our Semester-Opening-Event! While enjoying cold drinks and good talks, we will participate in the Pub Quiz, which starts at 21:00 and enjoy the lively atmosphere of an Irish Pub. Your friends are also welcome to participate.

The quiz will be in English.

Please register for this event by sending an e-mail to researchmobility@uni-passau.de by Tuesday, 8 April 2025, so we can make a reservation.

Date: Thursday, 10 April 2025

Time: 20:00

Location: Shamrock Irish Pub (Roßtränke 5, Passau)

Easter Egg Hunt

We would like to invite families with children and all international researchers young at heart to a traditional German Easter Egg Hunt on campus!

Please register for this event by sending an e-mail to researchmobility@uni-passau.de by Tuesday, 22 April 2025, and let us know how many of you will actively participate in the egg hunt.

Date: Thursday, 24 April 2025

Time: 14:30

Meeting Point: Administration Building (Innstraße 41, 94032 Passau)

Campus Tour

This semester, we're excited to offer another campus tour! If you're unfamiliar with the campus or its buildings, join us for an hour filled with interesting facts about the University's history, tips on key locations you'll need to know during your time here, and for a short coffee break at the end of the tour in the NK Cafeteria.

Date: Tuesday, 13 May 2025

Time: 13:00 – 15:00

Meeting Point: Innstraße 41 (In front of the Administration building entrance facing the Sports Centre)

If you'd like to join, please register via researchmobility@uni-passau.de.

There are many ways to learn German. We have curated a list of options where you can start or continue your learning journey. You can also choose between them based on your way of learning.

Goethe Institute

The Goethe Institute offers a variety of courses. To determine how you would like to learn German—whether in-person, online, or by taking exams—and to find the best course for you, please see here.

If you want to practice German for free, there is an online platform where you can improve your skills at no cost.

VHS (Volkshochschule) Passau

Situated in the city centre, VHS offers many courses ranging from beginner to advanced. The courses are offered in different time slots to fit your weekly schedule. For more information on the prices and the type of course you'd like to sign up for, see here.

VHB (Bavarian Virtual University)

VHB offers many different types of courses that are easily accessible:

OPEN: Free courses available to everyone, with no ECTS credits awarded. For more information, see here.

CLASSIC: Free for students (including registered doctoral students), with ECTS credits awarded for these courses. Others can register as external users and attend the courses at very reasonable prices. For more information, see here.

To view the course program of summer semester 2025, see here.

Register here: VHB Portal Registration

ESG Passau

If you're a beginner and unsure where to start, we have the perfect course for you in Passau! ESG Passau offers beginner classes ranging from A1.1 to A2.2 in the upcoming summer semester. For more information and to register, see here.

DAAD Academy: German for international (early career) researchers 

This course is designed for international academics and researchers at German universities who wish to improve their German language skills to levels B1/B2 and enhance their knowledge through practical exercises. The focus is on teaching relevant specialised vocabulary related to academic careers and labour market integration.

For more information on the course and to register, see here.

Sprachcafés

To practice conversing in German in an informal setting away from language courses, there are two regular language cafés in Passau.

Café Deutsch takes place every second Thursday from 17:00 to 19:00 in the common room of the Gemeinsam Leben und Lernen in Europa Association (Lederergasse 1). The exact dates are always published one month in advance in the flyer on the website.

There is also a language café every Thursday from 20:00 at RIO (Lederergasse 50). Various tables are opened there for several languages.

Feel free to try out the offers, alone or with friends and family. Everyone is welcome, regardless of their language level!

Thinking ahead in teaching – under this motto, Lehre+ cordially invites you to an inspiring day full of new impulses and fruitful exchanges. You can look forward to a keynote speech, practical workshops on teaching, examining and counselling as well as an exciting panel discussion on current issues in university didactics.

Date: 30 June 2025

Time: 13:00 – 19:00

More information will follow soon!

Registration is already open via Stud.IP (No. 68906, summer semester 2025).

The PICAIS Coffee Talk is a regularly held networking event that not only brings together all PICAIS Fellows currently completing their scholarships in Passau but also provides a platform for interested researchers from the University of Passau to exchange ideas in a relaxed setting. Fellows will briefly present their research projects; after that, you will have the opportunity to ask questions and to network.

Date: Tuesday, 1 July 2025

Time: 12:00 – 14:00

Location: Professor’s Lounge (Cafeteria Building, 1st Floor, Room 254)

Please register via picais-office@uni-passau.de until 20 June 2025.

Our colleagues from KSL (Executive Support Unit for Competency Development in Study and Teaching) & LEHRE+ have put together a highly interesting and varied programme for International Lecturers for the summer semester 2025. For the full programme, please check the flyer below.

The workshops take place in person, hybrid or online. All events are either held in English. The courses are free of charge.

Here are the upcoming courses:

68878 Introduction to teaching for international lecturers (in English)

This seminar shows how to orient yourself in the organisational structure of the University of Passau. Who are your contact persons for the organisation of teaching and examinations? Which regulations, processes and deadlines apply, which systems are used? Who can help if questions or problems arise?

It will help you reflect on your role as a teacher and receive an introduction to the design of learning processes in the context of university didactic learning environments. Initial insights into competence-orientated course planning, practical exercises and a method kit from which you can put together your own ‘tools of the trade’ for the first few weeks should make it easier for you to get started in teaching. Do you have specific questions about organising your courses?
You have the option of making an appointment for didactic counselling before the start of the semester.
Learning outcomes:
• Get to know the organisation, systems, contact persons of the teaching and examination organisation as well as counselling

• Reflecting on your (new) role as a teacher or lecturer
• Reflect on your own course planning
• Get to know methods from university didactics

Date: Monday, 7 April - Tuesday, 8 April 2025

Time: 09:00 – 12:15

Location: IG SR 107

Registration via StudIP: 68878

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68879 Clear from the start - Preventing discrimination in research and teaching (in English)

In heterogeneous working groups such as in seminars and meetings at university, conflicts often arise unintentionally which, if left unaddressed, can put a strain on the working atmosphere and can become harassment. This workshop gives participants the opportunity to develop strategies for avoiding sexual harassment and different forms of discrimination in a team and in teaching and how to react if discriminatory behaviour does occur.

This seminar is part of the certificate "Diversity & Gender".
Learning outcomes:
• Recognizing sexism and discrimination
• Preventing sexist and discriminatory behaviour
• Dealing with and avoiding sexism and discrimination in the sciences

Date: Thursday, 10 April 2025

Time: 17:30 – 19:00

Location: Zoom

Registration via StudIP: 68879

If you are a member of the University of Passau and do not yet have a ZIM ID/access data for StudIP, please contact the Welcome Centre.

If you are not a member of the University of Passau, please let us know your date of birth 14 days in advance and we will be happy to set up a guest account.

A science slam offers the unique opportunity to present your own research area or project to the audience in a lively and entertaining way within a short space of time. Creativity in the presentation is expressly encouraged—because science can also be fun!

All participants will have 10 minutes to present their research topic and, above all, to convince the audience.

Are you currently researching an exciting topic and would like to give a broad audience an insight into it? No matter the scope of the research - from a term paper to a habilitation or an international research project—as long as it is related to diversity, all contributions are welcome! Presentations can be given in either German or English.

Application Deadline: 31 March 2025

Date: 27 May 2025

Time: 18:00

For more information, please see here.

Are you a doctoral candidate at the University of Passau? Join the get together event for doctoral students from all fields and faculties at the University of Passau. Whether you’re employed, on a scholarship, not yet registered, or have just submitted your thesis—everyone is welcome!

Get togethers are announced via Stud.IP. To sign up, see here.

The Bavarian Equal Opportunity Fund offers scholarships and prizes to promote equal opportunities for women in research and teaching. These funds are used to award doctoral scholarships and scholarships for postdoctoral and habilitation candidates. The deadline for applications is 7 April. For more information and to apply, see here.

The University of Passau's Caritas Forest kindergarten in Ingling will open in September 2025. Children of university employees and students will be given priority.

The regular opening hours: Monday to Friday from 07:30 - 14:00.

For enquiries and to reserve a place, please contact the manager Karin Eibl, via email at Kita.waldkita-uni.ingling@caritas-passau.de or phone +49 175 4920273.

Please also pass this on in your respective areas of work to others who are currently on maternity or parental leave. The Family Services team at the Diversity and Equal Opportunities Office will be happy to answer any questions you may have.

This conference aims to explore the multifaceted portrayals of academia and academics in films and TV series, in both fictional and documentary modes, across diverse cultural contexts. These multimodal media not only capture societal perspectives and moods but also play a pivotal role in shaping public perceptions. They can serve as catalysts for reflection on academic practice and societal discourse, fostering a deeper understanding of cultural imprints and trends, highlighting differences and similarities across cultures, raising critical awareness, challenging stereotypes, and promoting inclusivity.

Date: Thursday, 20 March 2025

Time: 09:00 – 17:00

Location: Innstraße 43, IT-Zentrum (ITZ), Multifunktionsraum 017

For more information, see here.

The Passau Data Summit is a conference for everyone who is keen on driving innovation using data. Since 2016, data experts from business and science have gathered in Passau once a year to discuss latest trends and innovations in data science and AI.

With each year we have reached more and more participants, welcomed many top-class speakers, and optimized the event further and further, to make sure your journey to Passau is more than worthwhile. We assure you—once you’ve been there, you’ll always want to come back every year. Because PasDaS is about more than talks and lectures. It’s about a unique community of data enthusiasts from all industries, about common interests, about innovation.

Date: Monday, 3 April 2025 and Tuesday, 4 April 2025

Time: 09:00 – 18:00, 09:30 – 15:00

Location: Entire Audimax building

For more information and registration, see here.

With a five-part training programme for doctoral candidates, the University Library offers support in all phases of the doctorate. In the 90-minute training courses, you will receive specific information on literature research and management, the visibility of research results, the publication process and research data management.

The courses will be held in German:

1. Effizient Recherchieren Doktorarbeit

2. Literaturverwaltung Promovierende

3. Sichtbarkeit in der Wissenschaft

4. Publikation der Dissertation

5. Forschungsdatenmanagement

2. Literaturverwaltung Promovierende

Literaturverwaltungsprogramme können beim wissenschaftlichen Arbeiten eine große Hilfe sein. Lernen Sie in diesem Kurs, wie Sie das Literaturverwaltungsprogramm Citavi gewinnbringend für Ihre Dissertation einsetzen.

Der Besuch des Moduls wird während der Einstiegsphase der Promotion empfohlen.

Inhalt:

• Literaturnachweise sammeln (z. B. mit dem Citavi Picker)
• Dokumente auswerten und Zitate sammeln
• Literaturlisten und Skripte erstellen
• Texte mit Word schreiben
• Zitationsstile finden und anpassen

Vorkenntnisse: Grundkenntnisse des Programms sind notwendig!

Datum: Montag, 24 März 2025

Zeit: 18:00 - 20:00 Uhr

Ort: ZOOM

For more information on all the courses, see here.

The EURAXESS Smart Talks podcast for talents is your personal guide to Research Careers, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship. They are excited to announce that a new episode on the evolving role of research managers is now live!

To listen to the episode, click here.

More information on EURAXESS, a highly recommended information and advice point for internationally mobile researchers can be found here and here.

AStA team is happy to invite you to the plant swap event! It is a perfect opportunity to bring your plants, cuttings and herbs to find a new home and swap them with other plant lovers. Be they houseplants or plants for the garden, every plant will find a new home here.

Date: Monday, 28 April 2025

Time: 14:00 – 18:00

Location: Kulturtransport (Innstraße 45a)

The summer semester in Passau is a truly unforgettable experience, one that words can’t fully capture but can only be truly appreciated through experience. What makes it even more special are the numerous annual events that bring the entire community together. Here are this summer’s biggest events you won’t want to miss:

Passauer Maidult

The Maidult offers everything a folk festival fan could wish for. Thousands of seats in the famous Dultstadl and the wonderfully decorated beer tents, fairground rides and amusements are available to the visitors. Every year, the latest attractions as well as the classics pay a visit to Passau. Don't miss out on reserving a place in good time.

Date: 30 April – 11 May 2025

For more information, see here.

Nacht der Musik (Music Night)

On Music Night, live music for every taste will be offered at 11 selected venues in the city from around 19:00. You can stroll around the city centre and enjoy the live music while getting drinks and snacks from the local cafes. Music Night is a yearly event that everyone enjoys.

Date: 24 May 2025

Kunstnacht (Art Night)

Once again, this year, countless studios, museums and event venues in Passau's historic city centre will open their doors. In a romantic, summery atmosphere, visitors are offered an impressive night consisting of colourful art displays, lively artistic performances and music.

Date: 11 July 2025

For more information, see here.

Traditional Bridge Festival

A festival for the whole family and for all the senses. The Prinzregent-Luitpold Bridge, popularly known as the “Hängebrücke” (suspension bridge), closes to road traffic and invites you to celebrate, socialise and stroll around. Guests on the Hängebrücke in the Altstadt (old town) can expect not only various small stages for music, but also delicious and traditional food and refreshing drinks. The surrounding catering establishments also offer culinary delights and cool drinks.

Date: 6 - 7 June 2025

Eulenspiegel Zeltfestival

The Eulenspiegel Tent Festival, featuring concerts, cabaret, comedy events, and a cosy beer garden, has become an integral part of Passau's summer months. The Eulenspiegel Zeltfestival takes place at the Ortspitze in Passau’s Altstadt, where the three rivers meet.

Date: 9 - 27 July 2025.

For more information, see here.

7. Oide Dult Passau

The Oide Dult is smaller than the big Maidult but maintains a traditional folk festival character. Complete with unamplified traditional brass band music, beer benches under the trees, a variety of dishes and the swinging boat ride provide a nostalgic flair. This year, Oide Dult takes place from 16 to 22 June 2025 at Klostergarden in the middle of the city centre.

Date: 16 - 22 June 2025

Landesgartenschau Schärding (in Austria)

An enchanting celebration of nature and creativity: step inside and spend unforgettable moments in the four gardens. Be inspired by the creative concepts of the landscape gardeners, spend entertaining hours with art & culture and expand your knowledge at one of the numerous lectures.

Situated just 13 minutes by train from Passau, Schärding offers a wonderful opportunity to discover this charming town while immersing yourself in its beautifully curated gardens and more. A must-visit for nature enthusiasts!

Date: 25 April – 5 October 2025

For more information, see here.

V.i.S.d.P.: Universität Passau, Innstraße 41, 94032 Passau
Welcome Centre, Tel.:0851/509 -1169
Contact for any queries: researchmobility@uni-passau.de