“Getting involved has made my university experience so much richer”

FORUM: Why is it important for the university that students get involved in the various areas?

Thomas Puhl: We’d like to know the students’ perspective on almost all decisions that are made at the university. In official bodies like the Senate, student representation is even required by law. But it is also important to include the students’ voice in other issues. Consider the Sustainability Working Group, for example: If we want to create a sustainable campus, we need to be aware of areas for improvement. This is where students offer a second point of view. And our student organizations depend on student involvement, of course. 

Clara Schünemann: It’s great for us to be able to contribute to the development of the university alongside our academic pursuits. This ensures that our concerns remain relevant. And it helps the university to continuously improve and remain responsive to students’ needs.

FORUM: Mr. Puhl, you will be stepping down as President in October after six years in office. What has impressed you most about student engagement during this time?

Puhl: We currently have around 45 accredited student organizations on campus – that’s something to be proud of. I’m not aware of everything that’s been going on, of course, but a few activities repeatedly caught my attention. There’s the Leselernhelfer organization, for example, or Enactus, an organization committed to social projects. I also love VISUM, which recruits buddies for international students to help them get started in Mannheim. Or Infinity, which promotes sustainability in a very practical way on campus. This diversity of organizations is very special, it’s driven by an extraordinary spirit. 

FORUM: Do you also feel this spirit, Ms. Schünemann?

Schünemann: Absolutely. That’s what motivates me to go to the office and put things back on the agenda: because I know that I can achieve something for a lot of people. At the same time, I’m in touch with a lot of other students who are just as committed to making our student life better. It’s a spirit that I really appreciate and wouldn’t want to be without. 

FORUM: What are the projects that students and the President’s Office pushed for together in recent years?

Schünemann: One major success is the laptop checkout program we organized together.  We used financial reserves of the Student Body Representative Committee to purchase seven devices that were added to the existing university pool of laptops available for checkout on a temporary basis.

Puhl: We also work closely together on how to allocate quality assurance funds – the money that is earmarked for students.

Schünemann: Yes, that’s always a big event when we come together to discuss where adding another accompanying class to a lecture might make sense, for example. We also work closely with the university administration on sustainability. We get regular support from the President’s Office for the AStA sustainability lecture series, which takes place every fall/winter semester. They also support us with the elections to the Student Body Representative Committee: That was done online for the first time this year, and we were allowed to use the university administration’s voting system. This saves us a lot of time and produces much less paper waste. Moreover, the cafeteria now offers a regular vegan menu for three euros. Many student groups have been campaigning for this for a long time.

FORUM: The university has achieved a lot in terms of sustainability in recent years. What other issues are currently on the agenda?

Schünemann: One issue that moved up on the agenda because of Covid and is still relevant today is digitalization. For us, digital written exams are the most important issue, and the student representative council is taking the lead on this. We think it’s great that the university is willing to work with us to develop this exam format further.

Puhl: If I’m not mistaken, we are well ahead of other universities in Baden-Württemberg on this issue. But promoting digitalization is also essential in terms of our international outlook: Some courses can only be delivered online because traveling would be too much of a hassle.

FORUM: Have you faced any challenges during your term of office?

Puhl: The coronavirus pandemic was certainly the biggest challenge, because the conditions for working and studying at the university changed completely overnight. In this situation, collaborating with the student committees turned out to be particularly valuable, because they helped to disseminate information to the student body and collected feedback for us regarding its effects and any other needs that may exist. What I admire about the Student Body Representative Committee, but also the departmental student committees and organizations, is that they managed to survive this period at all. Because back then there were hardly any opportunities to get other students involved and to recruit new members. 

Schünemann: I started my degree in the fall/winter semester of 2021, when courses were still taking place almost exclusively online. At that time, I immediately joined the departmental student committee for linguistics and literary studies, whose meetings were also held digitally. Accordingly, attendance was pretty low. Fortunately, student involvement is now back to pre-pandemic levels. But it’s still painfully clear that one generation is missing.

FORUM: Do you ever have conflicts in your work together?

Puhl: Yes, of course. Unfortunately, things don’t always go as quickly as you’d like. Implementing administrative processes, such as anonymizing written exams, involves a lot of work that outsiders are not aware of. I can understand that people not involved in this might say: just do it. But often that’s not possible.

Schünemann: It’s true, sometimes we can’t understand why certain things take so long. And we also get questions from students who wonder why things aren’t making any progress. That’s why we try to follow up with the responsible stakeholders on a regular basis. However, most conflicts can be resolved quickly.

FORUM: What is your message to students, especially the new first-year students?

Schünemann: Please get involved! Find something that interests and inspires you, whatever that may be. Try things out and become an advocate for the issues that matter to you. As for me, I can say that getting involved has made my university experience so much richer.

Puhl: I couldn’t agree more.