Student portraits

Jonathan is studying Environmental Sciences and Digital Media. He was very interested in this unusual combination of subjects. He also finds the interdisciplinary orientation of the degree programme at Leuphana exciting.

You study the major Environmental Sciences and the minor Digital Media / Cultural Informatics. Why did you decide on this combination?

At the beginning of my studies, I applied for the combination of Environmental Sciences and Business Psychology, but I changed the minor to Digital Media before my second semester, as this is more in my field of interest. I had heard from testimonials that the Digital Media minor also includes some practical modules, an important aspect for me. In addition, I am very interested in the field of digital media and I found the, at first somewhat unusual, combination of environmental sciences and digital media exciting.

What interfaces are there, what synergies and how can content from the studies of the two disciplines be combined?
Since the environmental science programme also deals with interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary work and research, it was easy to combine my major and minor. Now I'm even writing my Bachelor's thesis in precisely this interface area, the visualisation of sustainability research.

Were you able to tie in topics/aspects/focal points from the major in the minor and/or vice versa?

During my first semesters, it was difficult for me to build a bridge between my minor in Digital Media and my major in Environmental Sciences. At the beginning, I was very busy getting to know both disciplines and absorbing and internalising new content. In the meantime, I even dealt more intensively with the topics of my minor than with those of my major, because I couldn't find an interface that linked my study contents in an appealing way. Through the work with my fellow students in the film and video sector, however, the first exciting synergies arose; for example, we shot the first image films for the sustainable fashion start-up Melawear, which was founded at Leuphana University. I learned a lot about the fashion industry and the sustainable orientation of the company and was able to use my interest in film and photography in practice.

However, I was only able to intensively link the topics and aspects of my major and minor through my work in a research project at the university, which is about communicating sustainability research and solutions. Here I can put my interest in digital media to practical use and support the project in the task of visualisation. At the same time, I can use my knowledge from my environmental science studies to better understand the project and the research that has been done - linking my knowledge of digital media and sustainability research provides the perfect understanding for this work.

Which topics / aspects / focal points did you deal with during your studies?

My studies were characterised by a great diversity of different topics and focal points. At the beginning of my studies, I worked strictly according to my module plan and was able to quickly gather a lot of knowledge in environmental sciences and dealt with sustainability management, environmental chemistry and sustainability economics - the basics that are taught in environmental science studies. However, already in the first semester I started to get to know other contents, at the beginning through the complementary studies and my involvement in the organisation of the conference week. Even then I realised that the complementary studies were a great opportunity to get to know new content and topics that could complement the major or even open up completely new paths. In the complementary studies, I also met fellow students who shared my interest in film, photography and video, and we began to try out short film projects alongside our studies. Every semester we took on new projects and were able to discover the field of digital media on our own - our minor was a good starting point, but we organised the really exciting projects on our own alongside our studies. It was important for us that we received a lot of support from the university, in the form of equipment but also in terms of content. Another focus of my studies was my involvement in the student-organised lunatic festival for art, culture and music. This takes place annually on the university campus and allows students to experience and try out cultural organisation for two semesters. I was involved there for two years, was able to put into practice what I had learned and gain a lot of new knowledge; from the organisational aspects of the festival organisation in the area of production and logistics to working in the graphics team and creating a uniform design for the festival year 2017/2018. After having dealt with topics that had less to do with environmental sciences in the meantime, I am currently finding exciting new interfaces between digital media and my major and am dealing with inter- and transdisciplinary research and the visualisation of sustainability research.
In the course of my studies, I was thus able to get to know and try out a variety of topics and focuses. I was not limited to my studies and the aspects there in my major or minor, but was able to open up many other topics and discover them for myself. It was precisely this mixture that made my studies so exciting.
 

What are the advantages / disadvantages of studying at Leuphana College?

In my experience, studying at Leuphana College offers many advantages. The interdisciplinary orientation allows students to try out many subject areas and create their own study profile. Major and minor can create exciting perspectives despite strange combinations at first glance. Complementary studies take this idea further and offer the opportunity to gain practical experience, acquire methodological knowledge or set new focal points. Furthermore, the studies at Leuphana College are very well organised, so that you don't feel alone at the beginning of your studies. There are a variety of offers for first-semester students to ensure a good start to study life. The Leuphana Semester is also a particularly exciting start, so you start your studies together with all first-semester students and learn exactly what scientific work means, how to write a term paper and other important basics for further studies. While the Leuphana Semester is exciting - especially in retrospect - and I consider the time when all students sit together in seminars to be special, the first semester can also be exhausting and overwhelming at the beginning; a lot of new content, which is not only related to the chosen major, and getting used to self-determined learning. You also have to be aware that the study model at Leuphana offers more and possibly demands more than a pure business administration, cultural studies or psychology degree. Dealing with content that goes beyond one's own discipline can offer many opportunities, but is not right for all students.

What are your experiences with the Bachelor's programme at the College so far?

The Bachelor's programme at the College offers a variety of opportunities to try things out and pursue diverse interests. However, this also requires a sometimes more intensive examination of the degree programme and one's own wishes and goals for the same. For me, studying at college is exactly the right thing, because I didn't have to decide on a course of study, but could pursue various interests during my studies and also get to know new topics. The degree programme gave me a lot of freedom and still supported me with help in many areas.

Studying at the College is recommended for all those who would like to get more out of their studies than just dealing with one discipline. Leuphana and studying at the College offer many opportunities to think outside the box, discover new things and consolidate your own study profile. In addition, the university and life in Lüneburg offer many opportunities to get involved and discover new things independently of your studies.

Have you already completed internships during your studies?

The interdisciplinary orientation of the Leuphana Bachelor's programme, and especially the environmental science programme, offers many opportunities, but can also lead to confusion. What do I actually want to do with my degree? Where can I work? What job opportunities are there? For this reason, I think it is helpful to do an internship and get an insight into the world of work and the possible applications of the degree programme. I myself did an internship at B.A.U.M., the Federal Working Group for Environmentally Conscious Management.

Are you a scholarship holder?

No

Do you work alongside your studies?

Since my second semester, I have been working alongside my studies. This is not only good to relieve my parents financially and to begin to stand on my own two feet, but also to gain initial work experience. Jobs at the university in particular are a good way to learn new things while studying and to gain insights into research work, for example. In the meantime, I have worked in various positions as a student assistant and for about two years now I have been working independently as a cameraman, author, director and photographer.Are you involved in a student initiative, a student council or an association on a voluntary basis alongside your studies?While I was helping to organise the lunatic festival, I was also involved in the association on which it was based. In the meantime, I am no longer part of the festival organisation team, but I am still involved in the association structures of lunatic e.V. from time to time.

What do you think of the admission process at the College?

I found the admission process at the college to be fair and innovative. For the Environmental Sciences degree programme, I was invited to the admission test, as well as an individual and group interview. I found this to be a great opportunity to evaluate applicants not only on the basis of their A-levels, but also to give them the chance to convince others of their merits through the admission test and individual interviews. In addition, there is the opportunity to spend the night on campus during the test days and thus get to know the first people with whom you might later study. And finally, it's a good opportunity to take a look at the campus, because it definitely convinced me at the time.

How do you like Lüneburg as a place to study?

When I looked at different places to study, it quickly became clear to me that I didn't want to move to a big city. I found it difficult to start my studies with as many people as some universities have students. For this reason, I find Lüneburg a very nice place to study. The city itself is quite small, but it has a lot to offer because of the very active students, and if you feel like you're losing your mind, you can quickly go to Hamburg. Lüneburg may be less sunny than Munich, but it is cosy and you can get from A to B quickly. In addition, campus life is simply beautiful, so you meet fellow students and friends by chance and the campus becomes very lively, especially in the summer. And the north simply has charm!

Future prospects - what's next for you after graduating from college?

After my studies, I'm aiming for a Master's degree. However, I don't know yet whether I will start this directly after my studies. Further practical experience and the use of my acquired knowledge are also important to me, so I might want to work or do internships first. I don't know exactly where I'll end up in the next few years, so it's still exciting. Through my studies and my first practical experiences, however, I know that I can use my knowledge of environmental sciences, digital media and event and cultural organisation in a variety of ways and thus have a special application profile. Now I just have to find out where exactly I want to use my knowledge.

Mario has been studying Environmental Science and Digital Media / Cultural Informatics since the winter semester 2013/14. In his complementary studies, he works together with students from Arizona State University. He appreciates the high density of pubs in Lüneburg and plays football for the Lüneburg Razorbacks.

I also chose Environmental Sciences per se at Leuphana because I have the feeling that Leuphana has a very open degree programme. We also have quite a high density of professors here, which gives you a relatively personal relationship with your professors and tutors.

My major is Environmental Sciences, my minor is Digital Media / Cultural Informatics. My choice of study is very much influenced by my personal interests. On the one hand, my interest in processes in the environment. I am also interested in everything that has to do with media, but I knew relatively little about computers and digitalisation, which I would like to change with my minor.

At the moment, I'm focusing a lot on chemistry. Last semester we had inorganic chemistry, now organic chemistry. In the fourth semester, we can also delve further into environmental chemistry and the movement and degradation of chemicals in the environment, which will probably be my main area. I will focus less on theoretical approaches, even though it is important to know the theories, I am one who believes that you understand much more through practical training and practical application.

I went through the admission procedure consisting of a test, interview and group discussion. The selection interview was interesting, they asked a lot of questions about the degree programme, but also about how you are as a person, what kind of attitude you have. The discussion was a bit confusing for me, the test was a typical ability test: text comprehension, logical thinking and so on.

I found it very pleasant compared to other universities, where it was practically all about Abitur grades. During the admissions process, I also spent the night here at Leuphana and was looked after. That gave me a chance to get to know the university a bit. That was definitely a lot of fun, and I also got to know some of my current fellow students.

I found the starting week very interesting and the topic of "sustainable urban development" was also quite relevant for me as an environmental scientist. We were asked to think about what we could do in the fictitious city of Leinwig in 2050 and then we also developed a short film in our group. I also found all the guest lecturers very exciting. What I would question, however, is the amount of money that is spent on something like this within a week.

There was a lecture series that I listened to in English. It was much more interesting than the German equivalent. Then I had two seminars: In one of them, we developed a "food justice label" that was supposed to be a combination of fair trade and organic. We got on so well in my project group that now, two semesters later, we still meet regularly. I was also lucky in my second seminar, which was about theatre studies. We also had maths and statistics, which I think everyone needs, and the topics were taught absolutely appropriately for the first semester.

In my complementary studies, I am in a special course called Global Classroom, which was also one of the reasons for going to Leuphana. The Global Classroom is an international research project where students from Leuphana work together with students from ASU and work on a problem area of sustainable urban development. You have your own project on which you work independently and apply theories. This active learning is very inspiring.

With the Global Classroom we were in the USA, in Arizona, and visited Arizona State University. I'm also going to the University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences in Vienna in the fifth and sixth semesters.

I dance standard Latin at the university sports club and play American football for the Lüneburg Razorbacks. I also go to the gym at the university. You can just take your sports gear with you and go to the gym between lectures.

I am mainly financed by my parents. I also work for ProZubi, a start-up company, but I do that because I enjoy my work.

I think Lüneburg is very beautiful, it has a nice little old town and a high density of bars. If you really want to party, you can also go to Hamburg to the Kiez. For me personally, Lüneburg is perfectly adequate. I also love the weekly market. You can actually get everywhere in Lüneburg by bike, but the bus situation is not so great.

I will probably add a Master's degree, probably in chemistry and possibly dual (if that is possible). However, I have been thinking about going straight into working life, but I don't really know what exactly yet.

I would recommend studying here to someone who is really interested and passionate about environmental science. Someone who is open-minded and also likes to talk to their professors instead of being one of 500 students sitting in a lecture. You also need your own motivation to get through some things, not everything is always great. However, if you have that and put together the right things, studying at Leuphana is absolutely recommendable. You get to know a lot, you're at an open university with a beautiful campus.

Esther has been studying Environmental and Sustainability Studies since the 2011/12 winter semester. She really likes the relaxed and open atmosphere on the Lüneburg campus and went to Barcelona for a year as part of her studies, where she experienced a different atmosphere and gained different impressions.

I knew that I wanted to go in the direction of nature and the environment. I then started researching, came across the University of Lüneburg and was thrilled from the first moment. I really liked the content and the way the degree programme was presented on the homepage. I also liked the structure with major and minor, the Leuphana semester and complementary studies. The atmosphere on campus is also very nice, very relaxed and open. With the greenery everywhere and these brick buildings, it's a bit idyllic. The library is also very nice.

I started with Environmental Sciences as my major and then changed to Environmental and Sustainability Studies in the third semester because I liked the opportunity to go abroad for a year. My minor is Political Science and I am very happy with the combination. I chose PoWi because I was interested in politics but never really had a clue about it, so I thought: a little theoretical understanding or scientifically sound knowledge would be quite good. My focus on sustainability policy in particular is complemented quite well by political science.

I took the admission test, which was also a good opportunity to take a look at Lüneburg. The test consisted of a presentation followed by an interview. I was allowed to choose my own topic and talked about nuclear power. Then there was a group discussion and a written test with lots of different questions. I found the test very pleasant overall, it was very well organised and we also had a guided tour of the campus in between. The people were all very nice and also very accommodating and gave me the feeling that they were listening to me and were well-disposed towards me.

At the beginning, I found it totally great and was very enthusiastic, also about the kick-off event. You saw how many people start with you in the first semester and I thought that was totally cool. But as the week went on, the feeling wore off a bit. We were on the road for 8-10 hours a day, which made me very tired at times. In any case, the organisers and tutors made a lot of effort, but it was a bit too much for me.

The seminar I took in the responsibility module has remained in my memory in a positive way. It was about "Environmental Justice", a topic that also influenced my further studies. In maths and statistics, we had a really funny professor and the lecture hall was always full. And the conference week with the gallery walk was also great!

In the complementary studies, I was able to take language courses and modules in English. I find this choice very good, but also that you get together with people from different semesters. I think that creates a very good learning atmosphere.

I spent a year in Barcelona as part of the Environmental and Sustainability Studies programme. I really, really enjoyed my stay abroad, especially because I became more open-minded and gained a better cultural understanding. I met people from all kinds of countries and experienced different teaching methods and study content. I also saw that Germany is on a completely different level than Spain or Barcelona in terms of environmental protection and recycling or waste separation. A particularly important aspect is that I have developed and matured a lot personally.

I have been with Amnesty International since my second semester. We have fluctuating numbers of members in the university group, but the hard core has always remained. I find being part of a university group a good complement to my studies.

I had savings until the 6th semester and was supported by my mother. Since the 7th semester, I have taken out a student loan. I also have a SHK job at the university.

I find the city of Lüneburg itself very beautiful, also for studying, because it is not as huge as Berlin, for example. Nevertheless, you have everything, the campus and the city centre are not far from each other and everything is very easy to reach by bike.

I had been considering whether I wanted to gain practical experience or do a Master's degree. Now I have decided on the Master's and would prefer to stay on this sustainability track.