Coronavirus: information for students

On this page you will find all important information about studies, teaching and university life in the current situation. Please check this website regularly.

Content:

• Winter semester 2020/2021: Online teaching since December
• Cross-border study - quarantine regulation
• Extension of the standard period of study
• Events, consultation hours and committee meetings on site
• Information on your degree programme
• Information for newly arriving international students
• Examinations, term papers and theses
• Access to university buildings
• University library
• Financial support
• Information and advice centres
• Hygiene measures at the Viadrina
• Correct behaviour in case of disease symptoms and suspected cases
• Useful links
  
  

Until the end of the lecture period of the winter semester 2020/21, courses will be held exclusively online. Please refer to Moodle for details on the digital format of your course.

On the website of the Center for key competences and research-oriented learning (ZSFL) you will find important information and tips on (online) teaching in the winter semester (in German).

Up-to-date information on the individual courses can always be found in the respective Moodle course.

The lecture period in the winter semester 2020/21 began on 2 November 2020 and ends on 19 February 2021.

Special workstations for online teaching and rental equipment (notebooks)

Student workstations are available in the university library for participation in online teaching.

It is now possible to borrow a notebook including headset for a limited time. Please contact coworking@europa-uni.de for this purpose.

Students resident in Brandenburg or Poland who regularly have to cross the border between Poland and Brandenburg for compulsory study purposes (border commuters) are exempt from the quarantine obligation in accordance with the Brandenburg quarantine regulations.In Poland there is no quarantine obligation for EU travellers.

For students residing in Berlin who commute for study purposes between their place of residence in Berlin and their place of study in Poland, the analogous exemption regulation of the Berlin infection protection ordinance applies.

This means: Students who live in Poland can travel to Brandenburg for compelling reasons (e.g. examination on-site) to their place of study in Frankfurt (Oder) without having to go into quarantine.

The exemption from the quarantine obligation also applies if students have to commute for study purposes between their place of study in Poland (Collegium Polonicum) and their place of residence in Berlin or Brandenburg.

Please note: Due to the current containment measures in Poland, the Collegium Polonicum in Słubice (Poland) will, until further notice, not offer any courses. Only in exceptional cases, examinations will take place on-site.

Please note that in other federal states other quarantine regulations may apply. If you have any questions, please contact praevention@europa-uni.de.

In order to mitigate the negative consequences of the corona pandemic on the course of studies, the state of Brandenburg has decided to extend the standard period of study. For students who were enrolled in the 2020 summer semester, the standard period of study is extended by one semester for each individual student.

BAföG recipients whose maximum funding period (standard period of study) ended with the 2020 summer semester can receive training support until the end of the 2020/21 winter semester. Those who have not yet applied should do so immediately. The submission of the certificate of achievement is also postponed by one semester.

Essential working meetings, committee meetings and consultation hours with students and invited external participants are possible by prior individual appointment, subject to the hygiene and distance regulations on site. To do so, please contact praevention@europa-uni.de.

Until further notice, no (public) events and meetings can be held in presence at Viadrina. Events aimed at the interested public can only be carried out online.

If you have any questions regarding the content or subject matter of the respective study program (here directly to our study program), please contact the program coordination or the student advisory service. Contacts can be found on the corresponding websites:

• Faculty of Social and Cultural Sciences (in German)
• Faculty of Business Administration and Economics
• Faculty of Law (in German)
• European New School of Digital Studies 
  
  

You are coming to Frankfurt (Oder) soon to start your studies or your semester abroad at Viadrina?
Please note the important hints and information regarding the arrival from risk areas, quarantine regulations and support offers of the Studentenwerk and Viadrina.

If you have further questions, please contact the team of the International Office.

Written and oral exams are carried out in compliance with the rules of distance and hygiene.

During a written attendance examination, it is compulsory to wear a mouth-nose covering. The following applies to oral examinations: Persons directly involved in the oral examination are exempt from the obligation to wear the mouth-nose covering. We recommend to remove the mouth-nose covering only during speeches.

Under certain conditions, oral examinations can be held at the Collegium Polonicum in individual cases. Please contact the administrative director of the Collegium Polonicum for this purpose.

On the linked pages you will also find information about submitting written assignments and theses for your degree programme:

• Faculty of Law (in German)
• Hinweise zum ersten juristischen Staatsexamen (in German)
• Faculty of Social and Cultural Sciences (in German)
• Faculty of Business Administration and Economics
• Master of European Studies (in German)

• Master of Mediation and Conflict Management (in German)

• Language Centre (in German)

Please inform yourself about the regulations for handing in written work at your faculty or at the responsible examination office. Written papers are usually handed in by post or by dropping them in the letterbox at the main building (Große Scharrnstraße 59).

The main building (Hauptgebäude) is open from Monday to Friday from 9 am to 8 pm, all other Viadrina buildings from 9 am to 6 pm.

The refectory in the GD offers a daily a warm dish to take away. The meal can be purchased from Monday to Friday from 12 noon to 2pm in the bistro at Europaplatz 1.

The following opening hours of the University Library apply until the end of January:

• from Monday, 18.01., weekdays from 9.00 am to 7.00 pm
• the Opening hours of the University Library: Mondays to Fridays 11 am to 7 pm and Saturdays and Sundays 11 am to 6 pm.

Due to the current regulations on contact minimisation, the use of the reading room is primarily reserved for students who are preparing for exams or writing exams, term papers and theses. Extended lending conditions apply, please inform yourself on the University Library page.

Due to the current situation, the Logenhaus is only accessible with a key or door card.

Events and meetings with external guests are also possible if the distance and hygiene regulations are observed. If external guests take part in work meetings or committee meetings, the contact details must be recorded in a form for the purpose of tracing infection chains.

Until further notice public events cannot take place in the Viadrina buildings until further notice. If possible, online alternatives will be made available to the interested public.

Please consider to organize your public events as online events.

Access to Viadrina buildings is prohibited for persons who are infected or suspected of being infected with the virus.

The Collegium Polonicum is accessible following special rules of residence (in German).

Use of the reading room
Please refer to the library website for current opening hours.

When visiting the library, please observe the rules of distance and hygiene. Wearing a mouth and nose protector at the workstations in the reading room is compulsory.

An electronic registration procedure is used to register user data in order to be able to trace infection chains in the event of proven infection. Therefore, please make sure you bring your user ID with you.

Information:
For general requests please contact ub_ausk@europa-uni.de, for requests regarding interlibrary loan please contact ub_fernl@europa-uni.de.

Library of the Collegium Polonicum
Lending and return of media during the closing of the reading room (in German and Polish)
Ordering electronic copies from the stocks (in German and Polish)

Depending on your personal situation, you can take advantage of the following support:

• Students in acute financial need can apply for an interim financial aid funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) or a interest free hardship loan (information in German). 
  
  
• Longer-term support is provided by BAföG (information in German) or a student loan from the Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW).

In all cases please contact the Studentenwerk Frankfurt (Oder). Further information and your direct contact can be found at www.studentenwerkfrankfurt.de.

If you have any questions, comments or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact the service points by telephone or e-mail:

• The Service Point for students is open Monday to Thursday from 9.00 to 14.00 (closed on Fridays) and can be reached by telephone on 0335 5534 4747 and e-mail. Assignments and theses can be handed in there during opening hours.
  
  
• Psychological counselling and pastoral care
  
  
• Pandemic, BAföG, part-time job, rental contract: FAQs for students.
  
  

To reduce the risk of infection for employees or students in the Viadrina buildings, the following hygiene measures apply:

• Please keep a minimum distance of 1.5 metres. 
  
  
• Wearing a mouth-and-nose protector is mandatory in all Viadrina buildings. This also applies at a fixed seat during examinations.
  
  
• Regular hand washing with soap for at least 20 seconds is one of the most important hygiene measures.
  
  
• The ventilation systems in all Viadrina buildings are operated in accordance with current infection protection standards
  
  
• In all offices and seminar rooms, lecture halls, sanitary areas and corridors, door handles and light switches are disinfected once a day, as are handrails in all stairways, lifts and public photocopiers.
  
  
• Separate rules (available in German) apply to the University Library. Outside the workplace, the obligation to wear a mouth-nose cover applies in the reading room.
  
  
• Separate cleaning of the rooms takes place before examinations. Students who write exams will receive detailed information about hygiene and behavioral measures in a confirmation e-mail before their exam.
  
  
• We kindly ask you to use the Corona Warning App of the Federal Government. The app helps to identify chains of infection and supports the health authorities in containing the pandemic.

Information on barrier-free implementation of infection control measures.

We kindly ask you to observe the current instructions of the Federal Centre for Health Education (in German).

Please stay at home if symptoms of illness occur and contact your family doctor.

Primary contact:
In the case of direct contact with a person who has been proven to be infected with the corona virus (i.e. a positive test has been performed), the guidelines of the Federal Ministry of Health apply: You must stay at home and report immediately to the responsible health authority (Health Office Frankfurt (Oder), Health Authorities Berlin). The Health Office will inform you about all necessary steps.

If you, as a Viadrina student, are affected, please send a short message to praevention@europa-uni.de.

Secondary contact:
In the case of indirect contact, i.e. in cases where no direct contact has taken place but where, for example, a family member is the primary contact person or a suspected case due to acute symptoms, the public health department does not normally impose quarantine.

If there are no compelling reasons that require your presence on campus, e.g. an important meeting at a seminar or an examination, we recommend that you stay at home until a test result is available. If the primary and secondary contact person is symptom-free and no test is carried out, up to five days of precautionary staying at home can serve as a guideline.

Quarantine regulations of the state of Brandenburg
Please inform yourself about the current quarantine regulations of the state of Brandenburg ( in German).

If you have any questions or are looking for support, please do not hesitate to contact us: praevention@europa-uni.de.

Useful links:

• Federal Centre for Health Education
• Coronavirus information for International Students in Germany
• Answers of the Robert Koch Institute to FAQs (in German)
• News from the Federal Ministry of Health (in German)
• Federal Centre for Health Education (BZgA)
• Current containment regulations of the State of Brandenburg ("Eindämmungsverordnung"; in German)
• Information about Corona from the State Ministry of Health (in German)
• Informationen about Corona from the Frankfurt (Oder) city administration (in German)

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