Opening Week

On 6 October, Leuphana warmly welcomed 1300 first-semester students to the start of their studies.

The Opening Week 2022 is over. 1,400 students and numerous guests made this week a very special one, as can be seen in the after movie. You can find all the highlights from the programme of Opening Week 2022 in our media library.

Opening Week is an opportunity to get into conversation with guests from all over Germany and beyond. All shows, talks and impulses revolve around one big theme: TURNING POINTS.

A detailed overview of all guests can be found here, while more information about the hosting professors as well as the academic advisors and Leuphana speakers can be found here.

During the Opening Week, you can expect 7 days packed with programmes. On the one hand, there is the interdisciplinary work in the project groups and, on the other hand, numerous opportunities to talk to personalities from politics, science and society.

Please click here for the detailed programme schedule with all individual programme points and additional information.

You don't know when and where a certain event is? You need to get to a room and have no idea what the cryptic abbreviations at Leuphana mean? You have problems with the WLAN, with myStudy or are looking for the bus timetables? No problem, just have a look at the FAQ.

How do we deal with the multiple crises that have kept society in a permanent state of emergency since the financial crisis of 2008 and the upheavals surrounding migration policy since 2015? The Russian war of aggression against Ukraine is breaking into an epochal turn, challenged by global health crisis, global warming, digital revolution and authoritarian temptations. The pandemic wounds have hardly been dealt with before the energy crisis and enormous price increases herald a recession that could call Europe's model of prosperity into question. How does the political community gain an overview and power to act in this acute situation?

The 2022 Opening Week is themed TURNING POINTS and invites you to explore the possibilities for social progress together with your fellow students in 28 projects. When it comes to finding new paths, it is also always about the starting point. What is our perspective on the world? Who are the central actors of the future? What could ideas for an open, fair and grandchild-friendly society look like that learn from the constellation of crises? In the Opening Week, you can choose from four different perspectives:

1. Europe and the Global Community

2. Villages & Cities

3. Artists & Entrepreneurs

4. Activists & Researchers

Right at the beginning of the semester, your ideas are in demand during the Opening Week: Together with about 1,400 first-year students, you will design contributions in the form of visionary videos and journalistic commentaries for a digital collage. This will give rise to a pool of ideas that will be filled throughout the Leuphana semester until the Conference Week at the end of the semester.  
The Opening Week is framed by special guest speakers and instigators. A modular programme will enable you to engage in exchange with international guests from politics, academia and social practice and at the same time to work in student project groups - finally back on campus.

We are looking forward to the Opening Week 2022 with you.

Anyone who wants to know who put Opening Week 2022 together can meet the team here.

Every year in autumn, around 1400 people start their studies at Leuphana University with the Opening Week. The sophisticated concept of the Opening Week is one of the trademarks of our university. In the archive you can travel back in time and revisite Opening Weeks from years ago.

Click here to go to the archive.