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University Library: 1st Prize in Best Practice Competition

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© Michael Ihle/Universität Bremen

The State and University Library Bremen has come first place in the Best-Practice Competition of the German Library Association and Association of German Librarians. The motto was The Self-Explanatory Library – Becoming Information-Competent in Passing by Using Services.

The SuUB’s contribution titled “You are my hero of the day” (“Sie sind meine Heldin des Tages”) – a quote from a thank you email – describes the direct aid given when users cannot open an online publication from the library. All required information is passed onto a SuUB service team with one click. The team then directly deals with the problem, initiates corrections, and sends quick, individual replies with solution suggestions. In this way it is possible to directly communicate with users, further research recommendations can be made, and mistakes in the catalogue can be erased. In April 2020, 406 inquiries were answered.

The positive feedback from users as well as from the vocational associations pleases the service team and all SuUB staff members. “I am amazed by the innovative ideas and the dedication of our team,” says Maria Elisabeth Müller, SuUB director. A further expansion of the function with regards to other services is planned.

Prize Honors Exemplary Concepts

The Best Practice Competition in Information Competency has been held annually since 2014 by the joint Information Competence Commission from the German Library Association (dbv) and Association of German Librarians (“Verein Deutscher Bibliothekarinnen und Bibliothekare” – VDB). Libraries across the country can present their innovative services in said competition.

The competition honors particularly exemplary concepts that are suitable to be used in other libraries. This year, a special focus was placed on the promotion of information competence outside of traditional courses.

Further information can be found here:

https://www.suub.uni-bremen.de/home-english/

https://www.bibliotheksverband.de/sites/default/files/2021-02/Bremen_Poster_Best_Practice_2020_0.pdf 

https://www.uni-bremen.de/hospo/news/detailansicht/universitaetsbibliothek-ausgezeichnet-1-preis-im-best-practice-wettbewerb

Press release by Sarah Batelka, Universität Bremen

Sad Good-Bye in Corona Times

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Janine Ludwig

Despite the rapid developments in the Covid-19 crisis and although some students had already left Bremen, we still had a small farewell dinner in the prestigious Bremer Ratskeller to say good-bye in a proper fashion.

Besides, we are still working flat out to get everyone home safely and to insure academic conintuity, t.i. to help each student to still make the most of this very unusual semster. Preparations for online courses are underway!

Nature Ranking: University of Bremen among the best worldwide

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© University of Bremen

International top spot for the University of Bremen in natural sciences – Their scientists are among the best from young universities worldwide. The renowned Nature Index ranks them 18th of 175 universities under the age of 50. The Nature Index 2019 Annual Tables highlights the institutions and countries which dominated research in the natural sciences in 2018. The ranking provides important criteria for benchmarking universities and research facilities, and therefore indicates the international research quality.

“I am delighted that the University of Bremen has achieved such a good ranking worldwide and at the same time holds the top position among the young German universities,” says Professor Bernd Scholz-Reiter, Rector of the University of Bremen. “This shows how strong our scientists are in research.”

Top-quality research output in Earth and environmental sciences 

In the special field Earth and environmental sciences the University of Bremen takes the 3rd place, leading the group of the 14 young universities from Germany. Professor Michael Schulz, director of MARUM – center for Marine and Environmental sciences of the University of Bremen, is pleased by the top spot: “The research with focus on ocean, polar, and climate sciences is top notch in Europe.”

More information under:

https://www.natureindex.com/supplements/nature-index-2019-young-universities/tables/overall

https://www.natureindex.com/supplements/nature-index-2019-young-universities/tables/earth-and-environmental-sciences

https://www.butenunbinnen.de/nachrichten/gesellschaft/ranking-uni-bremen-weltweit-fuehrend-100.html

Finding a WG

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by Liam Pauli ’21

In deciding to come to Bremen for the fall semester, I thought a lot about the chance to live in a Wohngemeinschaft (WG), a shared flat with other German students. It was an opportunity that I felt I could not refuse, but I assumed that since I was leaving Germany in January, it would be hard to make that living situation work. It was not until this past June when Ms. Mertz, our Dickinson-in-Bremen program coordinator, emailed us recommending that we try to live in a WG. I thought it would be a good idea, so I pursued it.

From the links she provided us (here below), I chose to apply through wg-gesucht.de. From approximately 15 WG applications, I got six replies, with one being my final choice. And it was probably the best decision I have made in Bremen so far. My WG is near the University of Bremen in the Studentenwohnheim on Vorstraße, which is a great location to commute from by bike to the university (and my bike was left to me by the former occupant of my room). The guy who used to live in my room is studying abroad as well, which made it very easy for me to live in his room while he is away (these types of rooms are called “zur Zwischenmiete”). The 6 tram line is a 5 minute walk from my WG, which gets me directly downtown in approximately 15 minutes.

I have five flatmates, four of which are German, and they speak German with me every day and correct me when needed. It’s great to have other people around too, but it’s also really nice to have my own furnished (möbliert) room and space. Our WG gets along really well and we have a chore list that we rotate through each week. Every week on Sundays, a different person cooks for everyone to have a Sunday “family” dinner. WG life really gets you immersed in the German culture by seeing how Germans, and specifically German students, live, eat, speak, and go about their daily lives. I would highly recommend living in a WG to anyone considering living in one.

https://www.wg-gesucht.de/wg-zimmer-in-Bremen.17.0.1.0.html

https://www.studenten-wg.de/angebote_lesen.html?detailsuche=aus&stadt=Bremen&fuer=Zimmer+in+WG

http://bremen.homecompany.de/

http://schwarzesbrett.bremen.de/verkauf-angebote/rubrik/wohngemeinschaftsangebote-verkauf.html

https://www.stw-bremen.de/de/wohnanlagen-bremen/wohnanlage-horn-lehe (scroll to the end to find free rooms)

https://www.stw-bremen.de/de/wohnanlagen-bremen/wohnanlage-weidedamm (scroll to the end to find free rooms)

https://www.stw-bremen.de/de/wohnanlagen-bremen/wohnpark-am-fleetspittaler-stra%C3%9Fe (scroll to the end to find free rooms)

https://www.stw-bremen.de/de/wohnanlagen-bremen/wohnpark-am-fleetvorstra%C3%9Fe (scroll to the end to find free rooms)

https://www.stw-bremen.de/de/wohnanlagen-bremen/wohnpark-luisental-28-29 (scroll to the end to find free rooms)

THE ranking: University of Bremen once again among the 50 best young universities worldwide

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© University of Bremen

The University of Bremen is once again confirmed to be among the world’s top 50 young universities. This is the result of the latest “Times Higher Education (THE) Young University Ranking 2018”. Bremen is ranked on place 34 among the 250 listed universities.

Especially good in research

Various indicators are measured in the categories of teaching, research, the frequency of scientific citations, third-party funding from industry and the internationality of students and staff. The indicators evaluate key statistics in these categories. In the case of quality measurement, statistical ratios such as staff per student or the number of completed doctoral theses are also compared. The University of Bremen was able to improve its results in most categories. Particularly noteworthy is the result in the category research. Here, the University of Bremen was able to improve by 11.5 points on the previous year.

The President of the University of Bremen, Professor Bernd Scholz-Reiter, is naturally pleased with the result: “It is very encouraging to see that we moved forward in 2018 as well. This shows that the University of Bremen conducts teaching and research at a high level.”

More information under:

https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/2018/young-university-rankings#!/page/1/length/25/sort_by/rank/sort_order/asc/cols/stats

 

 

Cooking Workshop

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by Megan Kropf ’20

Along with many other changes you face when you study abroad, food is something that you have to consider when moving to a completely new country. At Dickinson, we have many different on-campus food options that are included in our meal plan and most of them are open all day, every day. It is not difficult at all to find prepared meals that are basically already paid for with swipes or flex points. At Uni Bremen, however, we have the Mensa, or main cafeteria, (in addition to some smaller on-campus cafes) that offers lunch from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm Monday-Friday and there is no pre-paid swipe system like Dickinson’s meal plans. So what do you do for breakfast, dinner, and weekend meals? You cook! It depends on the person, but some students prefer to cook most of their meals, while others enjoy cooking some and eating out at restaurants for others. But while it’s nice to go to restaurants and eat delicious German food, it’s not exactly realistic to rely on that for every meal.

Luckily, Dickinson arranged a cooking workshop where we learned how to cook easy and cheap, yet healthy recipes. Together we made smoothies, pasta salads, chicken curry, and quinoa dishes. I personally love cooking and trying out new recipes, so this workshop gave me new ideas of dishes to prepare. It was also helpful to talk about shopping for ingredients and how to get the most out of your groceries. Produce and fresh food is relatively inexpensive in Germany and it’s easy to make meals using organic fruits and vegetables. In addition to learning how to cook in Germany during this workshop, we all had a great time cooking and eating together!