Dr. Valeri Goldberg © Lassig

Dr. Valeri Goldberg

Senior Lecturer at the Chair of Meteorology at TU Dresden

The dream of Christmas with plenty of snow is no phenomenon of modern times. Numerous historical motifs on postcards and Advent calendars and many Christmas carols bear witness to this longing of the people. But does this desire match reality? And has the weather around Christmas changed in our region, and will it continue to change? Dr. Goldberg's essay provides answers to these questions.

© Unsplash/Mitya Ivanov

DIE BÜHNE presents a Christmas special

So much mystery at Christmas time... It's unbearable. And that's why DIE BÜHNE - the theater of TU Dresden has come up with something to brighten up the Advent season: Due to popular demand - the Christmas special is back! Every Advent Sunday DIE BÜHNE performs a different, sweet delicacy from the Christmas smorgasbord. Amusing and by no means over-rehearsed theater scenes will be presented, filled with a pinch of cinnamon and a drop of chaos. Expect the unexpected and be ready for a pandemonium!

Kino im Kasten is located on August-Bebel-Straße. © KiK

Kino im Kasten (cinema in the box) celebrates its 30th anniversary

Time to celebrate: Students and alumni of TUD have been running the Kino im Kasten (KiK) as volunteers since 1993. A highlight week is planned in January 2023 to mark the 30th anniversary, including the movie "Grand Budapest Hotel" and a film quiz. The highlight of the anniversary week will be on January 14, with the classic movie "Once Upon a Time in the West". Also in December, the KiK will feature many more movies worth seeing in its program.

© C.-I. Mokry

Workshop to promote the TUD International Campus

How can we establish welcoming spaces for international exchange on our TUD campus? The workshop “Places - Making (International) Campus” invites everyone who wants to get involved and is interested in fostering our international campus culture. The workshop will take place on December 16 from 11 am to 3 pm in the SLUB Makerspace. Prof. Fatina Kourdi and students of architecture and urban planning will also share their ideas. Please register until December 12.

© Fabian List

Collections at Lunch: Guided tour of the Color Research and Theory Collection on December 8

Starting this semester, the Office for Academic Heritage, Scientific and Art Collections has been offering a guided tour of one of the more than 40 university collections every 2nd Thursday of the month at noon: on Thursday, December 8, 12 noon, staff and students as well as interested members of the public are invited to get to know the Color Research and Theory Collection. You will be able to admire optical devices, measuring instruments and color standards, color collections, color cards, color models, so-called color organs and various design tools.

© Michael Kretzschmar

"System and Revision" - Third inventory exhibition of TUD's art collections

In addition to classical teaching and research collections, TUD also has an exceptional art collection. In the latest exhibition "System and Revision”. The art collections of TU Dresden. #3 Acquisitions and commissioned works from the 1970s and 1980s, paintings, prints, and photographs, as well as art-on-a-building works, will be presented in the gallery of the Office for Academic Heritage, Scientific and Art Collections in the Görges Building. In addition to commissioned works of Dresden-based artists who were close to the political system in the GDR, works by painters, graphic artists and sculptors were also purchased outside of the officially required art production. The exhibition will be open until January 20.

Marion Schmidt, Chief Communication Officer (on the right), and Franziska Schneider, Family Friendliness Coordinator (on the left), present the signed charter. © Universität der Bundeswehr München/Siebold

Next level of Family Friendliness

The TUD has joined the "Family in Higher Education" association. "We want to set important signals for more family orientation in exchange with other universities," says Marion Schmidt, Chief Communication Officer at TUD. She signed the charter in Munich on behalf of Prof. Roswitha Böhm, Prorector of University Culture. "As a university of excellence, we see how critical a family-friendly environment is for success in appointment negotiations with top international scientists," says Schmidt.

© PantherMedia / Westend61 Premium

Exchanging practical experience among individuals who currently have care responsibilities

The presentations on care were very well received and due to popular demand will be offered again in 2023. The topics will include: Care leave - relief for relatives, care assessment and options for care at home, emergency folder, emergency box etc., health care proxy and living will, home care, and dementia in the family. There are also plans to tailor opportunities for sharing experiences among TUD students and employees who currently have caregiving responsibilities so that they are even more personalized and hands-on. Therefore, in addition to the presentations, a basic nursing course will start in January 2023.

© PantherMedia/AndreyPopov

TUD’s new action plan for implementing the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) 2.0 to be published

TUD’s new action plan for implementing the UN CRPD has been adopted and will be published in early 2023. Under the leadership of the Advisory Council on Inclusion, the existing services at TUD in the field of inclusion and in particular with regard to people with disabilities and chronic illnesses have been outlined. Moreover, (new) needs for action, goals and measures have been identified allowing TUD to consistently and successfully continue on its path to becoming an inclusive university.

© Lukas Günther

Results of the largest European survey on gender-based violence in academia

The month of November was dedicated to combating gender-based violence. A multifaceted program at TU Dresden raised awareness of this global phenomenon. The results of the online survey conducted as part of the UniSAFE research project were also published. With more than 42,000 responses, this was the largest survey ever conducted in the European research area. Overall, the results show that 62% of respondents have experienced at least one form of gender-based violence since working or studying at their institution.
As one of 46 European academic institutions, TUD is participating in the research project, which aims to support academic institutions and policy makers in eliminating gender-based violence.

© TUD

Celebrating 10 years of Diversity Management: Anniversary with a fresh attitude

This year, TUD is celebrating 10 years of diversity management. To mark the occasion, 20 postcards were created depicting diversity initiatives at our university. These are available with and without braille printing and, thanks to the new diversity design language, can be assigned to themes via different colors. For example, multicolored stands for diversity in general and green for inclusion. The design language is intended to further increase the visibility of the issue of diversity at TUD. Postcards are available through the Diversity Management team.

© Pixabay/Jerzy Gorecki

Keeping fit through the winter

The popular nutrition campaign is continuing this winter. In December, the University Health Management will present a “slightly different” Advent calendar as well as a lecture on healthy yet cost-effective nutrition. For more detailed information and to register, visit the Health Services’ homepage and Instagram account.

© Gesundheitsdienst TUD

Elective occupational health care

Are you already familiar with the service of elective occupational health care offered by the TUD Occupational Health Services? It supplements the mandatory and optional health care and helps to prevent work-related illnesses and detect them at an early stage. Elective health care comes into consideration in cases such as psycho-social issues like stress caused by time pressure and performance pressure. Your individual consultation is our utmost priority. Please do not hesitate to make an appointment, which is of course subject to medical confidentiality!

The team of conflict navigators consists of eight colleagues. Vice-Rector University Culture, Prof. Roswitha Böhm (4th from left), and Coordinator, Maxi Paulus (2nd from right), are delighted about the voluntary commitment of Philip Grünauer, Alexander Götze, Johannes Strohhäcker, Dr. Grit Krause-Jüttler, Nicole Strauss, Dr. Ingmar Glauche and Prof. Andreas Thom (from left to right) as well as Dr. Katja Ziesche (not in the picture). © Rektorat

Facing conflicts together - the team of conflict navigators consists of eight staff members

Sometimes conflicts at work cannot be avoided. A team of now eight volunteer conflict navigators advises and supports TUD employees in cases of conflict. The conflict navigators are a first point of contact. They actively listen, mediate between the parties involved, and know other points of contact if necessary. They are impartial and are not subject to any direction or instructions, and are bound by professional secrecy. Their service is highly sought after: This year, the conflict navigators have been involved in as many as 14 cases. They often mediated between employees at different hierarchical levels and also offered advice in English. If you are interested in conflict navigation, you can contact the team by email.

© Stefanie Wiedmer

Bird protection stickers on the glass facade of the Biology building

The campus features many buildings with large glass surfaces – a continual cause of avian death. Together, Environmental Management and researchers at TUD have worked on solutions that can be applied on our campus and elsewhere. The south side of the Biology building on Zellescher Weg has now received bird protection stickers in the design of stylized trees to prevent harm to birds.

© PantherMedia/garagestock

Wanted: Volunteers for the RepairCafé on campus!

Since May, the RepairCafé has taken place on campus every month. At a RepairCafé, you can repair broken everyday objects and items with expert assistance in a kind of temporarily set-up self-help workshop. Since the repair requests are constantly increasing, the Green Office along with the initiative RepairCafé Dresden/Freital is looking for interested people who would like to help with repairing or with sewing. If you are interested, please contact the Green Office and help out, especially at the scheduled dates on campus.

© Nils Eisfeld

Review of TUD's environmental management

Environmental protection plays a central role at TUD not only in research, but also in all operations of the university. TUD introduced a validated environmental management system in accordance with EMAS as early as 2003 in order to provide targeted impetus, to continually put environmental protection at TUD to the test, and to identify and address opportunities for improvement. The annual review of the EMAS environmental management system takes place in December. The environmental report is the core element of the environmental management system, containing the current key figures on resource consumption, activities in the field of environmental protection and sustainability, and the so-called environmental program for 2023, which defines precise and measurable objectives and measures.

© Crispin-Iven Mokry

Towards more sustainability – climate networking between Saxon universities

At the beginning of November, representatives from TUD, Leipzig University and Chemnitz University of Technology met for an initial meeting to share ideas. They discussed the status of sustainability efforts, necessary resources, and mutual support. The meeting marks the starting point for joint endeavors towards more sustainability at Saxon universities.

If you want to make a difference in terms of sustainability at universities, the Green Office will be delighted to welcome you to the group. The next meeting is scheduled for December.

The “Human-Animal Relations” lecture series which is funded by “TUD in Dialogue” will run until the end of January. The next topics will include “Animals at the workplace” and “Health-promoting human-pet relationships during the pandemic.” © Julia Borlinghaus

TUD in Dialogue: It’s time to descend from the ivory tower

In January, the new “TUD in Dialogue” projects will commence. The projects address a wide range of topics, including the Ore Mountains, migration in eastern Germany, the climate crisis and critical questions to medicine. Though the projects are quite diverse, they all have in common that they approach science communication in an innovative way, address societal needs and facilitate the dialogue between science and society.

© Unsplash/Sabri Tuzcu

The science behind lullabies: Early-bird booking for Sound & Science

Why do lullabies make us feel sleepy? Researchers from the neurosciences, psychology, musicology and computer sciences are investigating this question in the “Lullabyte” research project. The researchers will give an insight into their work at “Sound & Science”, the joint event of the Dresden Music Festival and TUD, on June 1, 2023. Directly afterwards, the audience will be able to convince themselves of the sleep-promoting effect of music during an eight-hour sleep concert. Advance booking is open.

© Christin Nitzsche

Science for children: Checker-Shows in Dresden and Weißwasser

An afternoon full of exciting questions and fascinating explanations took place on November 30 on the Red Stage at Kulturpalast Dresden. The show "What you want to know" as part of the "POP-UP KNOWLEDGE" project for the Science Year 2022 - Participate! attracted many children. Four TUD scientists answered the children's questions. Can Mansuroglu, also known as "Checker Can" from children's television, hosted the show. Another Checker Question Time will take place on December 12 - this time in Weißwasser with Checker Julian.

© M. Kretzschmar

Silvia Hentschel

Head of the service desk at the Center for Information Services and High-Performance Computing (ZIH)