We are committed to…
We, the “Liste eurer Fachschaften (LitFaS)”, do not only deal with specific We, the “Liste eurer Fachschaften (LitFaS)”, do not only deal with specific topics, but we are committed to tackling all problems that affect students in any way – we cover topics from appointments of professors, study statutes and the general quality of teaching, to the allocation of study grants and communication with the student union (Studentenwerk, which is responsible for the canteens, for example), to the establishment of space for studying and the improvement of student mobility.
Sustainability – anchored on all levels
As an institution that sees itself as innovative and future-oriented, TUM not only has a great deal of scope, but also a responsibility to promote sustainability. We demand that our university takes this responsibility seriously and takes action now to respond adequately to the climate crisis. We have already pointed out the importance of vegetarian and vegan food in the canteens as well as the importance of public transport and cycling. We also want to promote strict waste separation and the reduction of paper towel consumption.
At the same time, teaching must also be adapted. Courses that address sustainable development must be included in all study programs, not only in the courses offered by the Munich Center for Technology in Society – there still is a lot of catching up to be done, especially in the application-oriented faculties. We support projects in which students themselves can develop environmentally friendly solutions for their campus, as it is already happening in the construction project of photovoltaic systems at the Garching campus. Especially as part of a thesis or university internships, these projects are a great possibility for students to delve into that topic. We also demand that TUM evaluates the extent to which the university is contributing to climate change and where we can effectively make a difference – and therefore demand a sustainability report in style of the ETH Zurich as a working basis for concrete action. We would like to see more consideration given to sustainability in the construction of new TUM buildings as well as in TUM’s resource management. Last but not least, we demand that ecological sustainability be anchored in the personnel structure. This is the only way to ensure that TUM does not just pursue individual projects, but a long-term sustainability strategy.
Extracurricular activities – for life outside the lecture hall
In addition to the studying of professional subject manners, the extracurricular activities offered also have to be attractive and varied. Further education opportunities e.g. at the Munich Center for Technology in Society or language courses at the Language Center must be expanded. This not only requires an increase in capacity but also an expansion of the existing offers.
In order to be energized for the next lecture, the food in the canteens on the TUM campuses must improve and vary more. The range of vegetarian as well as vegan and sustainable dishes must be expanded. We explicitly advocate the preservation of the 1€ meal so that all students can afford a proper lunch. We will resolutely oppose further price increases and support price reductions in the canteens.
With the opening of the Galileo and the associated, unfortunately already decided, prompt move of the food trucks, it is important to ensure a varied and affordable food supply. This does not only apply to the Garching campus but also to the WZW, where this standard must be maintained beyond 2021.
In order to bring more life to the Garching campus, a student residence hall must be built in immediate proximity. There are three suitable locations: the so-called communication zone in Garching which is currently being planned, the area west of the B13 and Dietersheim.
Equality and inclusivity – for equal opportunities in all aspects
Accessibility of all buildings and rooms on campus is a basic necessity and a prerequisite for a serious implementation of the human right to accessibility. Access to all areas must be possible without major detours.The diversity principle of TUM must be anchored in the personnel structure. Disadvantaged people should be given preference if they are equally qualified.
The compatibility of studies and family is particularly important to us. It must be possible for parents to carry on studying without disadvantages. Consequently, possibilities must be created and expanded to enable mothers and fathers who are not able to study full-time to still be able to pursue their studies.
Mentoring programmes and career support, especially for previously underrepresented groups, should be strengthened, expanded and better advertised.
Mental health of the students
We support TUM4Health!
Especially during the digital semesters, psychological problems are a huge challenge. We want to promote offers against loneliness and the consequences of social distancing.
#movement #zhs #WorkLifeSleepBalance
Mobility – by bus, by train or by bicycle
TUM now has six different locations. These are not all easily accessible. In Garching, we want to promote the 5-minute interval of the U6 underground line at peak times and better bus connections between Garching and Freising. In addition, we want to extend the bus at night to Garching, which currently terminates at Kieferngarten, in cooperation with the MVG. The new campus in Ottobrunn must also be connected to the city of Munich and TUM now has six different locations. These are not all easily accessible. In Garching, we want to promote the preservation of the 5-minute interval of the U6 underground line at peak times and better bus connections between Garching and Freising. In addition, we want to extend the nightline bus to Garching, which currently terminates at Kieferngarten, in cooperation with the MVG. The new campus in Ottobrunn must also be connected to the city of Munich and to the campus in Garching in particular. In the short term, we are calling for an increased frequency of bus services to Ottobrunn and, in the medium term, we would like an extension of the underground to the new campus. We also demand a direct bus connection between the Garching and Ottobrunn campuses.
The semester ticket must remain affordable. We welcome the introduction of the 365€ ticket for pupils and trainees and demand this also for students.
At the same time, emission-free mobility must be promoted. We therefore want to bring more MVG bicycles to locations such as Freising and Ottobrunn and encourage the expansion of bicycle parking spaces on all campuses.
Study conditions – a university that is a construction site is definitely not a university
Overcrowded libraries, falling blackboards (see. https://youtu.be/NOtLb34Osl0) or missing sockets. If infrastructural deficits make our studies unnecessarily difficult, then we must act quickly. This is why we are committed to improving study conditions, for example by fighting the lack of learning space with the StudiTUM houses.
However, the houses on the main campus, in Garching and in Weihenstephan, as well as at the Klinikum rechts der Isar, do not fully solve the problem. In order to further increase the number of learning places, we demand that unused seminar rooms be opened to all students. All learning rooms should be registered with the IRIS room management system so that they can be found easily. In addition, we want to advocate extending the opening hours of the libraries, especially on weekends and during examination periods.
In addition to learning places, the lecture halls, must also be better equipped. We demand more power sockets in lecture halls, especially if they are being renovated anyway. This applies to the renovation of the Carl-von-Linde lecture hall in particular as well as the construction of a new ZHG in Weihenstephan, as well as renovations in several other lecture halls. In order for students to be able to understand the lecturers, the quality of the microphones must also be improved and the expansion of induction loops for hearing aids must be considered.
The state of sanitary facilities at our university is a sad deplorable state of affairs. It should be part of the general standard that bins are provided in alle toilet cabins. There must be a possibility to purchase sanitary products in the sanitary rooms, especially if shopping facilities are not available close to the university.
In our opinion, this is a basic supply. We do not want to continue to accept this state and are working towards changing it.
Broadening your own horizon
In some cases, freely selectable ECTS cannot be truly chosen freely: This is the case, for example, with offers from the Language Centre, where not all language courses can be selected without problems at all faculties. The portfolio of our graduates is rounded off by these interdisciplinary abilities and we cannot tolerate any obstacles being put in our way. Such modules must be easily accessible and recognized accordingly.
High quality study programs – for more digitalisation and attractive teaching
Every study program depends on the quality of its courses. To make our lectures more interesting and thrilling, we want to work together with ProLehre to promote new, more interactive teaching formats and training for lecturers. We also want to use teaching evaluations as a mean of improving teaching. We also want teaching evaluations to be made available to students.
The courses of study must be designed to be accessible, flexible and barrier-free. We especially want to focus on an appropriate amount of work and examinations, and want to question whether students’ opinions have been taken into account sufficiently.
In the 21st century, teaching at TUM must be designed to be future-oriented. E-Learning must not stop at Moodle. We want to encourage and demand the use of future-oriented teaching formats such as “Inverted Classroom”, video FAQs and voting concepts such as Tweedback, Pingo or Slido in exemplary, target group-oriented courses.
Additionally, we must learn from the digital semesters and continue successful concepts in the future. Although the transition to digital teaching was somewhat bumpy, there are still a few points that can sustainably improve teaching even after Corona. For example, the uncomplicated provision of lecture recordings and other on-demand offerings enrich teaching and give students more flexibility. In addition, the learning content of a course can be divided into smaller, thematically logical sub-parts, allowing students to learn at their own pace and capacity. The expanded offer of question time or the opportunities for self-monitoring of one’s learning progress, such as Moodle Quizzes, which have been offered in some modules in recent semesters, is to be maintained in the future. This will provide more options for recapitulating and, if necessary, deepening the material learned.
In summary, we demand that all technical conditions should be (also) used in the future to improve teaching and make it more interactive.
As misunderstandings and differences in the insights of exams have often occurred in the past, we demand clear and binding regulations that are adhered to by all lecturers. The “Recommendation on Insights of exams”, which already exists as a document, should be emphasised once again. This means, for example, that a sample solution and a grading scale will be available for your next exams.
In order to give you enough time and the necessary tools to understand your mistakes, we demand the introduction of online exam reviews at TUM.
Equal opportunities – for fair and transparent admission conditions.
Studying at TUM must be open to everyone! In contrast to other lists of candidates, we demand that (apart from the semester fee) it remains free for all students to study at TUM, no matter where they come from.
In order to find out who is suitable for studying at TUM, we demand fair In order to find out who is suitable for studying at TUM, we demand fair admission conditions in subject-related aptitude assessment procedures. An appropriate number of students must be admitted in a transparent manner. In addition to the appropriate qualification, criteria such as professional and social commitment and interest must also be taken into account. Under no circumstances must the number of students exceed the infrastructural limits, as it is currently the case in information technology.
Higher Education Innovation Law – for a transparent process towards a student-friendly law
We welcome the fact that after 14 years the current Bavarian Higher Education Law is being amended . For us, it has both advantages and disadvantages. For example, the redefinition of how teaching is credited to professors has long been necessary in order to enable new and innovative teaching methods. However, some points that are of great relevance to us are not sufficiently addressed. Topics such as sustainability, equality and democracy, especially in the context of student participation, are not addressed at all, or are addressed poorly or out of time. We are committed to improving this in a direction that is good for the years ahead.