Virtual Mobility at Freie Universität Berlin in the winter term 2021/22

OpenU-Logo (source: Beau Nijsten/EADTU)

OpenU-Logo (source: Beau Nijsten/EADTU)

Are you a student at one of our Una partner universities and interested in participating digitally in an online course at Freie Universität Berlin in the upcoming winter term 2021/22?

Then apply for our courses by 15th August 2021 at the latest.

On this website, you will find a list of the offered online courses and instructions on how to apply for them.


Background

As part of the newly founded European university alliance "Una Europa", which has set itself the goal of intensifying cooperation in the area of study and teaching, Freie Universität Berlin (FUB) is participating in the joint project "Online Pedagogical Resources for European Universities" (OpenU). In the OpenU pilot project, "Virtual student journeys", we would like to give the opportunity to students of Una Europa universities to participate digitally in the following online courses, offered at the Freie Universität Berlin in the upcoming winter semester 2021/22.

Courses on offer

Creative Writing (No more places available!)
Instructor: Dr. Gregor Wolfgang Hens
Course number: 16908
Language of instruction: English
Course type: Online subject course
Contact hours: The coursework corresponds to an on-site course amounting to 90 contact hours.
Course days: Monday
Time: 12 am - 2 pm CEST
ECTS credits: 5
Further information and syllabus: Topic: The world is changing rapidly, forcing us all to adapt. As you are preparing to enter the workforce, economic uncertainty, the effects of the pandemic, climate change and even the prospect of life extension technology are shaping your expectations about the life you will live and the world your children will inherit. One productive way of dealing with the complexity of the situation in which you are finding yourself is to write about it. Narrative, poetic and otherwise creative writing can help us to center ourselves in an evolving present, and to sort through seemingly intractable problems and complex social or psychological issues. This course is designed to guide you as you transform your ideas about the contemporary world into a well-considered piece of literary writing. The resulting text may be fictional or non-fictional. It could take the form of a short story set in Berlin, a literary reportage, a creative essay, a series of poems or even the beginning chapter of a novel. Program: The workshop-style course will be conducted entirely online. We will meet weekly in various formats – full class sessions, smaller groups and individual consultations. You will work on your own text throughout the semester, and share and discuss it with your fellow students and the instructor. In addition, we will conduct short writing exercises and discuss assigned texts about the process of writing. Can I take this course? Yes – if you are interested in literature and wish to try your hand at creative writing. You should be open-minded toward your fellow students, and willing to share and discuss your work with them. You should be prepared to accept and dispense constructive criticism, and to establish a regular daily writing practice: a few minutes of notetaking after breakfast or a half hour of writing before you go to sleep. – Your English may not be perfect, but you are willing to own your mistakes and work on your grammar, vocabulary and style. Requirements and Grading: In order to earn 5 ECTS credits you will have to: attend online classes/meetings regularly (at least 80% of the time); engage with the reading materials and respond to a selection of them; post all writing assignments by the indicated due dates; respond to your fellow students' work online and in discussion. The final project, due on the last day of class, will be about ten pages in length.
Integration in Germany: Policy and Debate
Instructor: Daniel Nethery
Course number: 16911
Language of instruction: English
Course type: Online subject course
Contact hours: The coursework corresponds to an on-site course amounting to 90 contact hours.
Course days: Thursday
Time: 10 am - 12 am CEST
ECTS credits: 5
Further information and syllabus: In January of this year a commission appointed by the federal government released an extensive report on the integration of people with a migrationshintergrund or migration background in Germany. The report set out a concept of integration, discussed integration with regard to a wide range of policy areas, including health and housing, education and employment, and raised issues like religion and language. Also included in the report were the dissenting positions of several commission members, which underline the extent to which integration remains a contested and controversial idea. Program: We will use the report as the starting point for an analysis of the concept of integration. We will consider the economic, social, political and cultural aspects of the concept developed in the report, and compare it with terms like cosmopolitanism and multiculturalism. We will also discuss the implications of integration for employment and education policy. By the end of the semester you will understand some of the policy implications of integration, and be in a position to engage in debates over integration in Germany today. Is this course for me? This course is open to students in the humanities, social sciences and cultural studies. There are no prerequisites. Workload and assessment: To qualify for 5 ECTS points you will need to attend the course regularly, engage with the course materials, and pass the final written examination.
The United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development
Instructor: Dr. Berthold Kuhn
Course number: 15261
Language of instruction: English
Course type: Online subject course
Contact hours: The coursework corresponds to an on-site course amounting to 90 contact hours.
Course days: Wednesday
Time: 10 am - 12 am CEST
ECTS credits: 3 (participation only) / 7 (participation + term paper)
Further information: This course will introduce the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development with focus on global governance mechanisms, key drivers/stakeholders, processes of broadening and deepening global dialogue on SDGs, and implementation of the 17 SDGs across different countries and regions. Students will prepare presentations on different SDGs and elaborate on various political opportunities, risks, and implementation challenges.

Course information

Start of the lecture period: October 18, 2021
End of the lecture period: February 19, 2022

The courses take place once a week (online). You can receive ECTS credits for each course. To do so, you must participate regularly and actively in the courses and pass the final examination. Details can be found in the course information or obtained from the instructors.

If you wish to have the ECTS credits recognised, please contact the responsible person for the recognition of credits earned abroad at your home university directly. In some cases, you should check with the person responsible at your university whether the selected course(s) can be considered in your programme.

Admission requirements

2-3 students can participate tuition-free in each course. Your expressions of interest in an offered course will be allocated on a "first-come, first-served" basis if you meet the respective admission requirements:

  • Enrollment as BA student in one of the participating Una partner universities (min. 3rd semester):

    • Katholieke Universiteit Leuven
    • Universidad Complutense de Madrid
    • Università di Bologna
    • Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne
    • Uniwersytet Jagielloński w Krakowie
    • University of Edinburgh
    • Helsingin Yliopisto/ Helsingfors universitet
  • English language proficiency on an advanced intermediate level (GER B2, IELTS 5.0-6.5, TOEFL 72-94) in order to be able to follow the course content and participate in the final examination (no official proof needed)

How to apply?

If you are interested in attending one or more courses, please write an email to rene.perfoelz@cedis.fu-berlin.de by 15th of August 2021 at the latest with your:

  • Name

  • Surname

  • Date of birth

  • E-Mail Address

  • Name of your partner university

  • Name of the Online Course(s), you wish to attend

  • a scanned copy of a current enrolment certificate (for the academic year 2021/22) from your university

If there are still places available, you will receive an email from us with further steps for the course enrolment.

Contact person:
René Perfölz
Universitätsbibliothek | Center for Digital Systems (CeDiS)
Freie Universität Berlin
Ihnestr. 24
14195 Berlin (Germany)
Tel: +49(0)30/838-68855
E-Mail: rene.perfoelz@cedis.fu-berlin.de

Schlagwörter

  • virtual mobility, virtual student journey, individual exchange virtual mobility, OpenU, Una Europa, online learning, E-Learning

Consulting & Support

Consulting
Vom CeDiS Consulting erhalten Sie individuelle Beratung und Unterstützung bei der Konzeption Ihrer digitalen Lehr- und Forschungsvorhaben. 
Kontakt: consulting@cedis.fu-berlin.de

Support
Der CeDiS Support beantwortet Ihre Nutzeranfragen zur Bedienung der folgenden zentralen Systeme der Freien Universität: Blackboard, CMS, FU-Wikis, FU-Blogs.
Kontakt: support@cedis.fu-berlin.de