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Coronavirus: information for students

Last Update: April 13th 2021:

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:

Digital start of lectures in the summer semester 2021

The lecture period of the summer semester 2021 has started on 12 April 2021. All courses will be held exclusively digitally at least until the end of April.

You will be informed about the exact format in the course catalogue in ViaCampus and in the respective Moodle course for your courses.

In individual courses, a switch to the face-to-face format is planned in the course of the semester, should the pandemic situation and the containment regulations allow this.

On the website of the Center for Teaching and Learning (ZLL) you will find further important information on online learning.

Special workstations for online teaching and rental equipment (notebooks)

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

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

Examinations, term papers and theses

Written and oral exams may take place in person in compliance with the rules of distance and hygiene.

During a written attendance examination, it is compulsory to wear a medical mask (OP mask or FFP2 mask). The following applies to oral examinations: Persons directly involved in the oral examination are exempt from the obligation to wear a medical mask. We recommend to remove the mask only during speeches.

On the linked pages you will find the regulations on processing times and deadlines as well as information on the submission of written assignments and theses for your degree programme:

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).

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.

Cross-border study - quarantine regulation

>> Attention: The rules for entry change very frequently at the moment. Information from the Lord Mayor of the City of Frankfurt (Oder) and the State of Brandenburg.

Student residents in Brandenburg or Poland who regularly have to cross the border between Poland and Brandenburg for compelling study purposes (border commuters) are exempt from the quarantine obligation according to the Brandenburg quarantine regulations, provided they can prove a negative Corona test. Please always carry your student ID and further proof (e.g. your examination registration/boarding pass, confirmation of registration for university library) with you. As a border commuter, please note the obligation to register at www.einreiseanmeldung.de.

Additional test points have been set up at the German-Polish border crossing for people commuting across the border. Here you can find an overview of all test centres in Frankfurt (Oder) and in Słubice (as of April 2021). Please inform yourself about the exact modalities at www.brandenburg-testet.de or directly at the respective testing centre.

Especially for students living Poland who have to travel to Germany for compelling study purposes (esp. presence exam) and for whom the test costs represent a financial burden can apply for financial support from the Viadrina Emergency Fund. For this purpose, a short, informal application must be sent by e-mail to stip@europa-uni.de, stating the financial hardship, the compelling necessity of crossing the border (confirmation of registration for the presence examination) as well as the place of residence in Poland. Applications for the assumption of test costs for students who have to take attendance examinations will be decided on at short notice.

Further information from the State of Brandenburg on entering Brandenburg (information in German).

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.

Please note that other federal states may have different quarantine regulations and that the rules for exemption from testing may change at short notice. If you have any questions, please contact praevention@europa-uni.de.

Corona test centres in Frankfurt (Oder), Słubice and Berlin

Please inform yourself about the exact modalities at www.brandenburg-testet.de (Brandenburg) or at www.test-to-go.berlin (Berlin) or directly at the respective test centre. In principle, students residing in Germany are entitled to one free test per week.

Overview of the test centres in Frankfurt (Oder) and in Słubice
At www.brandenburg-testet.de you will find an overview of free Corona rapid tests in Brandenburg.

Test centres in Berlin:
All test sites and centres in Berlin can be found on the website www.test-to-go.berlin.
A prior online appointment booking is usually required.

Information on your degree programme

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:

Information for newly arriving international students

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.

Events, consultation hours and committee meetings on site

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.

Access to university buildings

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

The dining hall in the GD is open from Monday to Friday, from 11.30 am to 2.30 pm.

The following opening hours of the University Library apply:

  • weekdays from 9.00 am to 7.00 pm
  • the library ist closed on Saturdays and Sundays

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.

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). Here you can find the opening hours of the Collegium Polonicum library.

University library

Use of the reading room
Due to the current regulations on minimising contact, the use of the reading room is primarily reserved for students who are writing exams, term papers and theses or who are preparing for exams.

The number of users who may be in the reading room at the same time is limited. The electronic registration system can be used to order borrowable media from the reading room as well as to book workstations in the library. Extended lending conditions apply, please inform yourself on the pages of the University Library.

When visiting the library, please observe the rules of distance and hygiene. Wearing a medical mask (surgical mask or FFP2 mask) is compulsory both at the workstations and outside the fixed workstation in the reading room. 

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

The Collegium Polonicum Library is open on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 9 am to 4 om, and on Wednesdays from 12 noon to 7 opm.

Extension of the standard period of study

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 individual standard period of study. For students who were enrolled in the 2020 summer semester or the winter semester 2020/2021, the standard period of study is extended by one semester for each individual student. For students who were enrolled in both, the summer semester 2020 and the winter semester 2020/21, an individual standard period of study extended by two semesters applies.The extension also applies to students who have exceeded the standard period of study with the summer semester 2020 or winter semester 2020/21. 

BAföG recipients whose maximum funding period (standard period of study) ended with the 2020 summer semester or in the winter semester 2020/21 can receive support for a correspondingly longer period. Those who have not yet applied should do so immediately. 

Financial support

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

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

Information and advice centres

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

Hygiene measures at the Viadrina

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 medical mask (OP mask or FFP2 mask) is compulsory in all Viadrina buildings. This also applies at the 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 medical mask 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).

Correct behaviour in case of disease symptoms and suspected cases

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:

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Contact

For all questions and concerns
about the coronavirus
please contact us:
praevention@europa-uni.de

Important contacts at a glance:

Faculty of Social and Cultural Sciences
matthiessen@europa-uni.de

Faculty of Business Administration and Economics
+49 335 5534 2544
rudovsky@europa-uni.de

Faculty of Law
+49 335 5534 2386
dek-rewi@europa-uni.de

Central Student Advisory Service
+49 335 5534 4444
study@europa-uni.de

Service-Point
+49 335 5534 4747
service-point@europa-uni.de

International Affairs
+49 335 5534 2485
head-office@europa-uni.de

Family Affairs Office
+49 335-5534 2568
familie@europa-uni.de

Writing Center
+49 335 5534 2540
schreibzentrum@europa-uni.de

University Library
+49 335 5534 3366
unibibl@europa-uni.de

Language Centre
vogel@europa-uni.de

Collegium Polonicum
+49 335 5534 16 6800
colpol@europa-uni.de