Greeting from the Rectorate for the first semester of attendance in the Corona pandemic

Dear Students, Instructors and Staff,

I would like to welcome you to the start of a very special semester. After one and a half years of the pandemic, the University of Freiburg has once again become a lively place: students, instructors, researchers, staff and guests are able to meet each other in person on a much more frequent basis. Even though the pandemic isn’t over yet and continues to shape our work and the way we interact with one another, we are finally able to offer a comprehensive classroom attendance program once again.

Prof Dr Michael Schwarze. Photo: Sandra Meyndt

Lectures, seminars and internships are once again able to be a space for direct exchange. And this is precisely what makes our scientific spirit and our social interaction thrive. The measures currently required for this - such as 3G verification and controls, as well as masks and clearance procedures - continue to demand special commitment from everyone involved. But they are worth it. And we are grateful if we are able to follow this common thread to ensure the smoothest possible processes at all events.

Our goal will continue to be to do everything we can to keep research, teaching and administration alive and to provide access for everyone. The 3G regulation that the Baden-Württemberg State government has put in place provides a good framework for this. And we want to apply it to the best of our ability for the benefit of all, such as with the model for 3G verification that we have developed for classroom instruction, tailored to the conditions at the University of Freiburg. We will also continue to offer digital or hybrid events where it makes the most sense and is feasible.

In this context, it is also important to note that since October 11, the State of Baden-Württemberg has generally no longer provided funding for testing, and the University is not in a position to cover these costs either. As an exception, only students and employees who cannot be vaccinated for health reasons can still be tested free of charge, including those who have been vaccinated with a vaccine that is not approved by the Paul Ehrlich Institute.

As a central scientific institution, we would like to take this opportunity to underscore the special role the University of Freiburg has played in the pandemic: Through research and knowledge transfer, we are helping to identify evidence-based ways out of it.

For this reason, it is also important for us once again to convey a central scientific consensus on the pandemic: Namely, that we as a society can overcome it, especially through vaccination.

On behalf of the Rectorate, I wish you all a pleasant and successful first semester of attendance under the conditions of a Corona pandemic that will hopefully continue to subside!

Prof Dr Michael Schwarze
Vice Rector for Studies and Teaching