Overview
Here you'll find answers to frequently asked questions.
All About the Student Association
About Office Hours
All About the Orientation Phase
Other
Questions about the student association and its work
Why does the Chemistry and Life Sciences Student Association even exist?
If you compare the School of Chemistry and Life Sciences to a company, then the student association would be the school's union. Among other things, we represent the views and interests of all students of our faculty in various committees alongside the faculty members. In this context, we strive to help shape the day-to-day structure of the program as much as possible and, in doing so, to make it easier for students. We serve as a point of contact for almost any questions you may have regarding your studies. In addition, we also fulfill other responsibilities; we’ve listed and briefly described a few of them here:
Contacts with other university departments:
The student association maintains contacts with other student councils and universities. These help us obtain information about general higher education policy or overarching activities.
Advocacy:
If there are issues with internship supervisors, instructors, or other individuals or institutions, the student association will attempt to negotiate with them and find solutions in the students’ best interests.
Drop-off point:
The student association welcomes suggestions for improvement, criticism, praise, and complaints of all kinds, and forwards them to the appropriate departments (including ourselves). In general, we are responsible for representing the interests of all students in the faculty, so we’re always here for you if you have any questions or problems. We look forward to seeing you!
How can I get involved?
It's simple—just come to a student association meeting. They're held every Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. during the semester (and on the first Wednesday of every month during the break). If you'd like to find out more about what we do beforehand, feel free to stop by during office hours, send us an email (fschembio@lists.kit.edu), or just message us directly at Discord.
How does a meeting work?
Our regular meetings always start at 7 p.m.; we usually meet a little earlier to chat in the student association room. The purpose of the meeting—known as the “base group” (BG)—is to discuss reports and topics submitted in advance. These topics can cover a wide variety of aspects of university life, and any faculty member can submit them, even if they’ve never been involved with the student association before. The submitted topics are announced before the meeting via email and on the Discord news channel.
General assemblies are occasionally held, announced in advance, to which all students in the faculty are explicitly invited. At these assemblies, fundamental decisions can be made, such as approving our budget or nominating candidates for election.
What committees are there?
We provide members for the following bodies: academic committees, examination committees, appointment committees, the Student association, the Faculty Council, and, where applicable, Senate committees. This is done, among other things, to ensure student participation in matters of faculty and university policy, the drafting of examination and academic regulations, the appointment of professors, and other personnel decisions.
Questions about our office hours and services
What are office hours?
These are available daily during the semester from Monday through Friday (and every Wednesday during the break between semesters). You can find the hours posted on our door or at the bottom of our website. We’re here to advise current and prospective students on class schedules, internships, lectures, degree programs, exams, and any other issues or questions. We also answer phone calls, respond to mail and emails, handle administrative tasks, and distribute meeting minutes and exams.
Where can I get exam transcripts and exams?
Exam transcripts and past exams from previous semesters are available. These can be printed for 0.05€ per double page. This makes exam preparation much easier, but it only works if the transcripts and exams are turned in to the student association!
We do not have any lecture notes, scripts, worksheets, lab reports, or solutions.
Questions about orientation week and starting college
What is the “Orientation Week”?
The Orientation Phase (O-Phase) is a multi-day introductory event for our first-year students designed to help them get started with their studies. For this event, we’re always looking for tutors from all our degree programs to help approximately 300 first-year students each year take their first steps in college and show them what student life is all about. We’d love for you to join us! You can find more information here.
What are “Uni for Beginners,” “Girls' Day,” “Campus Day,” etc.?
Events are regularly planned to showcase the faculty and the university, with the goal of informing and recruiting prospective students. Some of these events—particularly Campus Day—are organized and carried out by the student association. The work involved ranges from making coffee to leading campus tours.
Other Questions
Can we post notices at your place?
We post job listings and event announcements on the bulletin board on our website. In addition, all kinds of notices can be posted there, subject to approval: sales of lab supplies and textbooks, apartment listings, student assistant positions, thesis and dissertation projects, sports and cultural events, trade shows, tutoring, study groups, and much more.