Index

Instagram

Images of the University are available on FAU’s Instagram page. Photos of the University and various aspects of student life are posted several times a week. The University also reposts images from other Instagram users. You can find FAU under the name uni_fau and all images include the hashtags #unifau and #fau_germany.

Library

If a student talks about the library, he normally means the university library.

Academic work also includes reading other academic texts. The necessary media to do so (books, journals, etc.) can be found in the University Library (abbreviated as UB or Uni-Bib in German) and all branch libraries.

For further information visit their homepage.

HiWi

„HiWi” is another word for student assistants.

Students who are employed for a few hours per week at an institute or in administration. Tasks can be quite different and range from media support during lectures, the preparation of tutorials and placements, to lab work, work in libraries and photocopying documents. These jobs are preferable to those in industry because students do not lose sight of their studies and gain a deeper insight into academic life.

Course achievement certificate

A Course achievement certificate is also called “Schein” at FAU.

A ‘Schein’ is a certificate or official confirmation that you have successfully participated in a tutorial, a placement/internship or seminar. It is up to the lecturer to decide whether successful participation has to be demonstrated by a written examination, a presentation, a protocol or some other kind of achievement. In the modular degree programmes, ‘Scheine’ have mostly been replaced by module examinations.

Credits

Credits are also called ECTS-credits (European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System).

In the past, the workload of a class was expressed in weekly hours or semester hours (SWS), irrespective of whether the class was a lecture or a seminar. Today, the amount of time you spend preparing for a class is also taken into account. This means that the overall workload can be calculated which is much higher for a seminar than a lecture. The units for measuring the workload are called ECTS credits. Study achievements can be compared and transferred to another university or even to another country using ECTS credits. A Bachelor’s degree is worth 180 ECTS credits. In the calculation of the workload, 1 ECTS credit is equivalent to about 25 to 30 hours of work.

RRZE (Regionales Rechenzentrum Erlangen/Regional Computer Centre)

RRZE provide IT services and support at FAU. Abbreviation for ‘Regionales Rechenzentrum Erlangen’ (Regional Computer Centre Erlangen) at FAU. RRZE is FAU’s internal IT service and manages free student user accounts and official e-mail addresses which are used by the University to contact students. RRZE also offers programming and other IT courses (software training) for students. Many of them are free of charge and even count as core skills which means that you can gain credits which count towards your degree.

www.rrze.fau.de (German only)

Sports

Students and staff at FAU may participate in the University sports programme (Allgemeiner Hochschulsport). The University sports centre offers a broad programme at both Erlangen and Nuremberg. The programme is divided into sports classes and competitive sports with regular participation in university championships. Important note for all sports classes: please sign up online at an early point in time.

https://www.hochschulsport.fau.de/

Student assistants

Students who are employed for a few hours per week at an institute or in administration. Tasks can be quite different and range from media support during lectures, the preparation of tutorials and placements, to lab work, work in libraries and photocopying documents. These jobs are preferable to those in industry because students do not lose sight of their studies and gain a deeper insight into academic life.

Student ID card

The student ID card provides evidence that you are enrolled as a student to the University and external organisations. In museums, theatres, cinemas, etc. you will often get tickets at a reduced price when you show your student ID. However, the FAUcard, FAU’s student ID, is a multifunction chip card and offers a lot more. The FAUcard can also be used for payment in the University restaurants and cafeterias, as a library card, a copy card and for electronic access control. In addition, you can obtain an International Student ID card (ISIC) for a fee at one of the student travel agencies or at Student Services Erlangen-Nürnberg. To do so, you need a passport photo and your student ID card. With the ISIC, you can also benefit from discounts abroad.

www.fau.eu/faucard

Student survey

The student survey is also called FAU-Panel.

Each year in January, students at the University of Erlangen-Nürnberg are asked to participate in an online student survey. It is worthwhile to participate since the results are taken seriously and have a direct impact on University policy. The panel aims to improve studying conditions at FAU in the long run.