Dear students,

the summer semester 2020 in the IfA of TU Berlin will take place online until further notice.
Digital teaching and learning will require flexibility and creativity from each one of us, since the shift to an online format demands a different structure and didactic than the one face-to-face learning implies. Some essential formats in our institute, like group work, excursions and model-making will unfortunately not take place as usual during the next summer semester. Therefore, we will need to creatively adapt to new ways of interaction and communication, and direct our efforts towards finding new creative potentials in the final results of our courses and studios.

A great team of students, teachers and staff members is working together to prepare everything for our semester start. We would like to thank all those involved who are helping to make the best out of this next summer semester!

Important Dates:

9 April 2020: The KVV (our commented course catalogue) is accessible since today (see below).

16 April 2020: By then, your selection of courses must be completed and registered. So you have one full week to get this done.

22 April 2020: One week later, the online lecture period starts! 

Important Info:
The courses listed in the course catalog do not include any information regarding locations and fixed dates. Detailed information on the contents of the courses and organizational issues are provided by the departments on their websites. For this purpose, each listed course is equipped with a link to the website of the departments. The procedure for selecting and attending courses will not be as usual. First of all, we ask you to inform yourself about the courses listed in the course catalog. Make sure to make your selection until April 16, 2020! To do this, please follow the description in the KVV (see below). The procedure for the thesis is also described in detail there.

Important Links:
KVV (BA Architektur): www.architektur.tu-berlin.de/KVV_BA_A_SOSE2020.pdf

KVV (MA Architektur): www.architektur.tu-berlin.de/KVV_MA SOSE2020.pdf

KVV (MA Urban Design): www.architektur.tu-berlin.de/KVV_UDMA SOSE2020.pdf

(30.3.2020)
Dear students,

this is a sign of life from the Institute of Architecture to inform you that we are eagerly working on a solution for the upcoming summer semester 2020. We are all facing this challenge together. Let‘s see it as an opportunity to test new and especially digital teaching formats. Together we will see where this journey will take us. We ask you to please inform yourself regularly on the online-pages of the TU crisis group or on the online page of the Faculty VI (in German only).

On this website you will find tips and advice on how to set up your distance studies during this period.

Structure and planning
-is vital when carrying out your studies on distance. Set up a schedule of when and what to read each day and each week. Maintaining a routine is especially important when studying at home. Decide the day before what time to get up in the morning and what to do the following day. Don’t forget to take a break from time to time and go outside for a while. Use an analogue calendar or a calendar available in your computer or phone. They will help you keeping track of what to do for the coming weeks.
Check out EkhartYoga’s free yoga and meditation classes, designed to relieve stress and anxiety.

Setting up goals
Working towards set goals is important in order to know what to do. A clear goal ensures that focus is put on the right activities. Without a goal, there is great risk that the result is determined by coincidence. Set a goal that is desirable and worth the effort. When setting up a goal it is important that it is your own and not somebody else’s, and also that it is achievable

S- Specific
M- Measurable
A- Accepted
R- Realistic
T- Timed

Finding a good study place
If possible, reserve a separate place for your studies. Make your study place as pleasant and functional as possible. Avoid sitting on a couch or bed, as this is not an ergonomic posture. Determine times when, for example, you do not use social media since this may distract your focus. Be honest with yourself and avoid the things that easily distracts you: friends, e-mail, social media, Youtube, TV shows, laundry and dishes.

Prioritize your time
Follow the study plan of your programme or course. You will be working more on the computer than you normally do. Remember to take breaks during the day. Call your friends and study together with your study buddies using digital tools. Help each other and discuss the assignments that you’ve got.

Schedule deadlines
Try to stick to your schedule; otherwise, it is easy to fall into the trap of postponing your studies. This will lead to a higher workload and a risk of getting behind in your planning. In the following video you will get tips on how to avoid procrastination: The Pomodoro Technique - Study And Productivity Technique

Tips! Set up a fictitious deadline the day before the actual deadline. That way you will have an extra day to review the work and will be able to relax and enjoy the good work that you have done!

Devide the workload
Often there are projects that are carried out together with your classmates. In these cases, it is important to be clear and to delegate the tasks among each other in order to reach the goal.

Different learning styles
Make sure your learning takes place in different ways: read, listen, write or combine all of these. People have different learning styles and collects information differently. Try to find what works best for you!
Film on effective studies on distance: How to Effectively Study with Online Courses
Film on study skills: Study Skills & Effective Note taking for Online Students

That's it for now. Further information will follow as soon as possible! Good luck preparing yourself. It's a challenge, together we can do it! 

All the best, 
Elisabeth, Team Digital Learning

1. Organizer of the photo competition

Technical University Berlin

Institute for Architecture

Straße des 17. Juni 135

10623 Berlin

2. Time frame of the photo competition

You can take part in the photo competition from 14th November 2019, 9:00 until 11th January 2020, 23:59.

3. Stages of the photo competition

1. Submit your photo by 11th January 2020, see 5 for submission options.

2. The jury selects the three most beautiful photos. 

3. The winners are informed by comment, private message or email (depending on how the entry was submitted).

4. Eligibility

Anyone over 18 is eligible. Participation using false identities or the identities of third persons is not permitted. The TU Berlin reserves the right to exclude participants from the photo competition who infringe the conditions of participation.

TU staff and their relatives are excluded from participation in the photo competition.

Each participant agrees, should they be among the winners, to being informed thereof by email or Instagram comment with the name provided.

In the event of an infringement of the conditions of participation or an attempt at technical manipulation, participants could be excluded from the competition. In such cases it is also possible that prizes awarded could be subsequently withdrawn or recalled.

5. How to participate

Participation is only possible by submitting a photo using one of the following options:

a) Loading the photo up on Instagram using hashtag #myIfA

or

b) Sending the photo to: ifa.oeffentlichkeitsarbeit@gmail.com

Only public profiles or publicly visible images can be used to participate. Private profiles are not visible for the organizers. By using the hashtag #myIfA you are agreeing to the conditions of participation. 

6. Copyright and right of publicity

The participant guarantees that they possess all rights to the photo they are submitting for inclusion in the competition, the exclusive rights to any commercial exploitation thereof, that the image is free of the rights of third parties and that the depicting of persons does not infringe any right of publicity. 

Should one or more persons be identifiable in the photo, the parties affected must give their agreement for the publication of the picture. Should, despite this, any third party still have a claim arising from an infringement of their rights, the participant exempts the organizer from all claims.

The TU Berlin reserves the right to delete any images which include or depict insults, racism, hate propaganda, pornography and obscenity, or incitements to violence against persons, institutions or businesses.

7. Granting of rights

Participants grant the TU the right to make use of and publish the photos submitted to the competition as per the terms of a Creative Commons – Attribution license 4.0 (CC BY 4.0). The rights of the authors are protected by the attribution requirement. 

8. Prize offering

Once the deadline for uploading photos has expired, a jury of representatives of the TU Berlin selects the most beautiful, creative or most interesting images.

The winning pictures will be permanently exhibited in the cafeteria. The winners will be informed by Instagram comment function and are required to send a mail to ifa.oeffentlichkeitsarbeit@gmail.com  in order to organize the collection of the prize. Should an entry have been submitted by email, the winner will be contacted by email to the address used when submitting the entry.

If the winner does not respond within two weeks to the notification, then they forfeit irrevocably their right to the prize.

9. Data privacy statement

The participant agrees to the storage, processing and transmission by the TU Berlin of the data provided for the purposes of participating in the competition, as far as this information  is required and appropriate for the competition.  No data is to be passed on to third parties for other purposes.

Participants’ data is to be used exclusively for the purposes of the competition and thereafter deleted. The regulations of the Technische Universität Berlin regarding data protection can be found in the following link: www.tu-berlin.de/asv/menue/datenschutz/datenschutz_regelungen/

10. Liability note

The TU Berlin reserves the right to alter the conditions of participation at any time or to discontinue the competition at any time without notice and without providing a reason. The TU accepts no liability for loss of winning chances resulting from connection problems or malfunctions on the part of Instagram arising from technical issues, or for technical problems when sending emails.

11. Final provisions

Legal recourse is excluded.

The competition is in no way connected to Instagram and is neither organized or supported by Instagram. Participants cannot make any claims against Instagram as a result of participating in the competition.

Should individual clauses of the conditions of participation be, or become, void or unenforceable, the validity of the remaining clauses remains unaffected.