At the start of the winter semester, the Host Family Programme of the European Campus Rottal-Inn (ECRI) enters the next round. The programme brings locals and students together to promote cultural exchange. Students and host families arrange to meet as often as they like within the framework of the programme for joint excursions, coffee and cake, games evenings or similar. Interested students can register now.

The Host Family Programme enables international students to make contacts outside the campus and to get to know the Bavarian culture and way of life better. Andrea Ebertseder from the Centre for International Affairs at the Deggendorf Institute of Technology (DIT) establishes contact between students and host families. Previous experiences, such as that of Hashem Alshawabkeh, show that the programme is a complete success for both sides. He is an international student at ECRI and took part in the Host Family Programme last semester. The programme exceeded all his expectations and made the last few months as exciting and enjoyable as possible, he says. Through his host family, he not only learned about important cultural differences between Bavaria and his home country, but also visited some of the highlights of the region, such as the Whitsun race at the harness racing track or the jazz festival in Burghausen.

But not only the international students benefit from the exchange. The programme also offers many advantages to the host families. All the students speak English, but many can also speak German very well. This offers the perfect opportunity to speak English casually and thus deepen their vocabulary. In addition, they get to know the respective country of the students, its inhabitants and their culture. Last but not least, friendships are made and togetherness is enriched.

Further information and the application form for the Host Family Programme can be found at www.th-deg.de/hostfamily. If you have any questions, please contact Andrea Ebertseder (andrea.ebertseder@th-deg.de) from the Centre for International Affairs at DIT/ECRI by email.

The Host Family Programme is a non-profit organisation at DIT that is dedicated to the integration of foreign students. At ECRI in Pfarrkirchen, the programme started for the first time in the winter semester 2019/20 with six host families and ten students.

After three semesters of distance learning, the start of the winter semester 2021/22 on Monday, 4 October was a welcome occasion for the students of the European Campus Rottal-Inn (ECRI) to come back to campus. A comprehensive programme was offered on site for the students present, while everyone else was able to attend the opening of the semester via live stream.

About 40 students came to be welcomed by Campus Director Prof. Dr. Horst Kunhardt and Dean Prof. Dr. Georg Christian Steckenbauer. The rest were connected online. Afterwards, the service facilities of the university were presented, the organisation of the courses was explained and the students were given techniques for self-management during their studies. Finally, the student association RESP e.V. took the attendees on a tour of the campus and showed them the labs, refectory, library and all the stations at ECRI that are relevant for the students.

In the afternoon, the students had the opportunity to exchange ideas with the heads of the degree programmes and to clarify important questions about the respective degree programmes at the World Café. At the end of the day, the students were invited to a small Welcome Back Party in front of the campus building. With music and free drinks, they had the opportunity to get to know their fellow students in a relaxed atmosphere and to exchange ideas before the start of lectures.

The International Office of the university had already made all the arrangements in advance to make the arrival in Germany and the start of the semester as pleasant as possible for the international students. For example, they receive intensive support in finding accommodation or with administrative tasks such as dealing with the authorities. For international students who first have to go into quarantine after arriving in Pfarrkirchen, there is a shopping service offered by the International Office. To support students, there are also international tutors who answer questions, help students and also organise events. Just in time for the start of the semester, they organised a get-together on Tuesday, 5 October to get to know each other. For students who have not yet made it to ECRI, this was also offered virtually.

In total, over 330 new students started their studies at ECRI at the start of the winter semester 2021/22. This brings the campus to over 1,050 students.

Lectures began at the Deggendorf Institute of Technology (DIT) on 4 October. Since the outbreak of the pandemic, the university was filled with life again for the first time on Monday. The new start on the Deggendorf campus was open and cheerful. The semester is planned with face-to-face classes for all students. The 3G rule and mandatory masks apply.

The picture on campus was dominated by the welcome programme for first-semester students. They gathered information from student clubs and departments of the university and got into conversation with each other. Interacting with them were first-semester mentors and students from higher semesters. The beautiful weather invited them to make use of the beach chairs that will acompany the campus for another two weeks. A big attraction was "Deggster", the university's new mascot, whom students showered with high fives and photo requests.

The new students were welcomed outdoors by Science Minister Bernd Sibler and University President Peter Sperber, among others. Sibler emphasised: "As Bavarian Minister of Science, I am very pleased to welcome you here at the Deggendorf Institute of Technology Institute of Technology on your Freshers' Day as you start a new and exciting phase of your lives. You have made an excellent choice with the Deggendorf Institute of Technology, because here the megatopics of the future - digitalisation, AI, care and computer science - are being tackled in a cleverly developed range of courses and with remarkable research projects. With our High-Tech Agenda Bavaria, we are making our universities throughout Bavaria fit for the future so that they can further expand their leading position in research and teaching. I am particularly pleased that you can start your studies in presence, because direct contact on site and personal exchange are indispensable, especially for you as first-year students."

To ensure that this face-to-face teaching remains, DIT currently applies the 3G rule and masks are compulsory in buildings and lecture halls. President Peter Sperber did not rule out the possibility of having to switch to a 2G rule in the course of the semester. He suggested taking advantage of the vaccination offer on campus. Those who wanted to could also get vaccinated directly. A vaccination bus came to the university for this purpose. The inspection service has also started work. Random samples are taken to check the 3G certificates.