AStA Welcome Days
To give the new students at the university a proper welcome, the AStA is once again organizing the Welcome Days this year, thus extending the O-Week. Of course, we also invite everyone who is no longer a freshman but still wants to meet new people.
Speedfriending
At the Speedfriending on 14.11. from 7 pm in the Grill|Café you have the opportunity to meet new people regardless of your field of study and make friends for study and life!
Pub quiz
Do you have an answer to every question? Do you know things that nobody needs? Prove your knowledge at the pub quiz on november 22 at 8 pm in a team of 2-5 people. You can register for free here. The pub will be announced shortly.
Party games & karaoke
Would you prefer beer pong or Rage Cage? Would you prefer Mariah Carey or Taylor Swift? At Partygames & Karaoke on november 23 at 7pm in the AStA Stadtcampus you can expect an offer with something for every taste! It doesn't matter whether you come alone or in a group, the focus is on having fun, with or without alcohol!
We look forward to seeing you!
University elections
From June 5-12, you will once again have the opportunity to help determine the future of your university in the online university elections by voting for who will represent you in the following bodies:
- The Student Parliament (StuPa) is the highest decision-making body of the student body and elects and controls the General Student Committee (AStA), which is your direct representation. The StuPa decides on issues that affect the entire student body.
- The Fachschaftsräte (FSR) and Fachschaftsvertretungen (FSV) are your direct contacts when it comes to your courses of study. They work on making them better and more student-friendly and advise you on problems concerning your studies.
- In the Senate, students work together with professors, academic and non-academic staff, and the University President on the direction of the University.
- In the faculty councils, students work with the dean’s office on the direction of the faculty.
In all of these bodies, a strong student voice is important. Therefore, it is even more important that you vote. Therefore, we will raffle off an iPad Air with stylus and GoodNotes among all voters. If there is a turnout of 15%, we will also give away 100 liters of free beer and other drinks at the Grill|Café on the evening of the last election day!
The StuPa-O-Mat and our panel discussion on YouTube (in German) will help you decide.
Click here to go to the ServicePortal where you can cast your vote.
Help the campus forest grow!
The beginning has been made: In recent months, numerous trees have been planted in the Haxtergrund forest park in the south of Paderborn. This is where our campus forest will be created in the coming years. In order for the plants to thrive, constant care of the area is necessary.
Now it's your turn: Help the campus forest grow and take part in our forest maintenance campaign. We remove overgrown blackberries as well as climbing raspberries and give space to the young trees. We are also preparing new areas for the next planting event.
We will meet on site on Action Thursdays (April 27, May 11, May 25, June 22, and July 6) and keep the campus forest tidy from 10 a.m. to noon each day.
Remember to wear sturdy shoes and appropriate clothing for the weather. We will provide the necessary tools.
Recipes from students for the canteen
Dear students,
the AStA and the Studierendenwerk Paderborn are looking for your favorite recipes!
Whether vegan, vegetarian or with meat/fish - we collect and share the best dishes and let you decide what might end up in our Mensa Academica!
Submit your favorite recipes here by March 31.
At the beginning of April, together with Studierendenwerk, we will look through the recipes and make a preselection. Four to five recipes per category (vegan, vegetarian, meat/fish) will be selected.
You can then vote on Instagram for what you like best from each category, so that we have a more concentrated opinion on each category.
The winning dishes will then be announced on Instagram and, if possible, cooked in the Mensa very soon.
We look forward to receiving delicious entries!
Semester fees at paderborn university (2023)
Dear students,
in the last article, we informed you about the current situation regarding the 49 € – ticket in relation to the semester ticket. Today we want to talk about the total semester fees, because many of you will certainly have noticed: With 348,54 € for the upcoming summer semester, we are significantly above the previous fee of 327,34 €. So where does the money go?
Of the nearly € 350, € 12.50 is the so-called general AStA fee. This has remained constant over the last few semesters and finances the entire student self-administration, e.g. the student councils, the AStA staff, cultural AStA events and generally everything that the AStA does.
A further € 2.15 of the contribution is earmarked in the summer semester for the AStA Kulturticket, which was introduced in this winter semester. With this culture ticket all students of the University of Paderborn can visit various cultural institutions in the district of Paderborn for free, for example all museums and theaters, but also the SC Paderborn or the Uni Baskets Paderborn. Here you can find out exactly which institutions are included and which conditions apply.
Now we come to the biggest contributor to the semester fees: the semester ticket. In principle, the semester ticket is divided into two parts: There is a distinction between the regional and the NRW semester ticket. The regional semester ticket includes all routes and transport companies in and around Paderborn, for example the VPH for the buses in Paderborn or the NWB for some regional trains. In total, we have contracts with 7 transport companies for the regional semester ticket, which takes a total of €176,49 of the semester fees. This regional semester ticket is the prerequisite for the NRW semester ticket, i.e. the upgrade to the whole of NRW, which costs an additional €59.40. This is why the semester ticket costs differently at each university: the prices of the regional semester ticket vary greatly.
In Paderborn, we have a total price of €235.89 for the semester ticket for the coming summer semester, which is €3.22 more expensive than this winter semester. We are of course aware that there is still room for improvement here: Taking bicycles or people on the weekend, discounting the ticket or possibly upgrading to the 49 € – ticket. We have been negotiating with the transport companies for a long time in this regard, but unfortunately the whole thing is a very long process. Furthermore, we even cancelled the semester ticket once to be able to negotiate better. Rest assured: We will always work for the best conditions!
You can find information about the scope here.
Last but not least, we have the social contribution of the Studierendenwerk. This is the biggest price driver this semester, because it will increase from €81.43 to €98.00 in the coming summer semester and includes the operation of the dining halls and dormitories, the subsidy of the courts and much more. What exactly and why the contribution increases for the summer semester, you can find out on the Instagram channel of the Studierendenwerk.
Hopefully this post was able to give you a little insight into the pricing structure of the semester fee here at UPB. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact us by mail!
The semester ticket and the 49-Euro-Ticket (as of 02.02.2023)
Dear students,
With the third relief package, the German government has also decided on the 49-Euro-Ticket (or the Deutschlandticket). Justifiably, all students are now asking themselves what will happen to their semester tickets. This semester, our semester ticket costs the equivalent of about € 38.50 per month, so the 49-Euro-Ticket is not far off. According to the Deutsche Bahn, an upgrade model of the semester ticket to the 49-Euro-Ticket and a nationwide solidarity model are currently being discussed, but the design and implementation is still completely open. One thing is clear: We as AStA continue to advocate for the best possible conditions for students and have thus demanded a 129 € education ticket together with all other ASten in NRW.
Unfortunately, we do not have more information ourselves at the moment, but we will of course inform you as soon as there is any progress.
Tree planting campaign Campuswald in Haxtergrund
The first trees for the campus forest in the Haxtergrund forest park have been planted. Regular care is needed to ensure that they grow and thrive. In addition, more tree plants are waiting to be brought into the forest soil. Therefore, the initiators of the Healthy University at the University of Paderborn, the University Sports and the AStA Paderborn invite to four tree planting mornings. Previous knowledge is not necessary.
The tree planting activities take place in small groups with a maximum of 20 people. Planting will take place on February 9 and 23, as well as on March 9 and 23 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., weather permitting.
Meeting place is the Café Waldklang Haxtergrund. Shortly before the event, all registered participants will receive an email with all information, as the event is highly weather dependent.
If you want to participate, please register here.
We are looking forward to you and your support!
"Abo-Aktion" also applies to the semester ticket
The nationwide 9-Euro-Ticket campaign ended by the end of august, but even after that Deutsche Bahn wants to make it easier to use local transport.
On certain days each semester ticket allows you to take
➡️ one additional person (adult or child) and up to three children
or
➡️ one person (adult or child) and up to two bicycles with you throughout NRW for the whole day and at no extra charge.
This transportation regulation with your semester ticket is valid in the whole of NRW at the following times:
🔻On all weekends during the promotion period, from 3 a.m. Saturdays to 3 a.m. Mondays (Nov. 5-6, Nov. 12-13, Nov. 19-20, Nov. 26-27, Dec. 3-4, Dec. 10-11, Dec. 17-18, Dec. 24-25, Dec. 31).
🔻On public holidays: Boxing Day (December 26).
🔻During the entire NRW Christmas vacations until the end of the year (December 23 to 31).
❗During the remaining Christmas holidays in January 2023, the promotion will no longer apply❗.
During the above-mentioned periods, the special offer is valid the whole day on all buses, trains and 2nd class local trains (RegionalExpress, RegionalBahn and S-Bahn lines) throughout NRW.
Please note that this promotion does not apply to our route extensions to Kassel, Göttingen and Hannover. The exact area of validity can be viewed here.
You can find more information about the special promotion here.
We wish you a safe journey! 🚂
P.S.: Unfortunately, the employees of the Deutsche Bahn are not all sufficiently informed and sometimes impose penalties if you take advantage of this action with your semester ticket. In such a case, please show this document that we received from Deutsche Bahn.
We have also asked you to inform the staff again so that you can use the promotion without any problems.
If you have been/will be fined, please send us an email with a photo of the fine receipt and your semester ticket as a PDF. We will then take care that the fee is dropped. Basically you should always appeal and not pay!
University Elections 2022
From July 4-7, you will once again have the opportunity to help determine the future of your university in the online university elections by voting for who will represent you in the following bodies:
The Student Parliament (StuPa) is the highest decision-making body of the student body and elects and controls the General Student Committee (AStA), which is your direct representation. The StuPa decides on issues that affect the entire student body.
The Fachschaftsräte and Fachschaftsvertretungen are your direct representatives when it comes to the courses of study. They work to make them better and more student-friendly.
In the Senate, students work with professors, academic and non-academic staff, and the University President on the direction of the University. In the Faculty Councils, students work with the Dean's Office on the direction of the faculty.
In all of these bodies, a strong student voice is important. Therefore, it is even more important that you vote. All voters will have the opportunity to win a raffle with ten 20 € vouchers for the Mensa. If a voter turnout of 20% is reached, we would like to celebrate this with you and donate 200 liters of free beer in the Grill|Café on the evening of the last election day!
The StuPa-O-Mat and our panel discussion will help you to decide.
Click here for the election.
Information about the 9-Euro-Ticket for students
As part of the relief package, the German government has announced the 9-Euro-Ticket, which will make it possible to use public transportation throughout Germany at a price of 9 euros in the months of June, July and August 2022.
The good news is that the 9-euro rule also applies to the semester ticket. In the months mentioned, the price of the semester ticket will therefore be adjusted to 9 euros per calendar month and can be used throughout Germany on local public transport in 2nd class from June to August. The ticket is not valid on long-distance trains (e.g. IC, EC, ICE) and long-distance buses.
Please note that the existing rules for taking people with you (see semester ticket FAQ: “Can I take an extra person with me without them paying for a ticket?” and “Can I take my bicycle on public transit with the semester ticket?”) do not apply beyond the usual regional area.
Important for you: You do not have to apply for or buy an extra ticket, but you can use the semester ticket throughout Germany.
After close and intensive coordination with the transportation companies and the university, we are therefore pleased to inform you that the difference of 88,17 € will be refunded to you. The reimbursement by the university began at the end of August and will be made to the account from which the semester fee for the summer semester 2022 was paid. If an automatic refund is not possible in individual cases, the university will contact you for manual processing without being asked. Since this manual processing will take some time, we ask for your patience again.
General information about the 9-Euro-Ticket can be found at https://www.bahn.com/en/offers/regional/9-euro-ticket-en.