Current News

Sustainable business travel - by bus to the Unite! Dialogue to Grenoble

^{March 15, 2023}

For TU Graz, green travel and sustainability are not just empty words, but corporate values that are actually lived.

Thus, the 24-member TU Graz travel group, a colourful mix of researchers, lecturers, administrative staff and members of the rectorate, travelled by bus to the 7th Unite! Dialogue in Grenoble, France. This makes an important contribution to achieving the university's ambitious goal of becoming climate neutral by 2030.

Along the way, they were able to network perfectly over a coffee and use the long travel time to exchange experiences!

Compared to travelling by plane, a total of 18.7 tonnes of CO2 could be saved. If we had travelled by plane, the business trip would have caused 21 tonnes of CO2 - almost 90% of the emissions were saved by travelling by coach. 

More information on the 7th Unite! Dialogue

Gabriele Bernsteiner, Communication Officer UNITE!

Delegation visit from University of Novi Sad

^{December 21, 2022}

To foster our successful collaboration with the University of Novi Sad over the summer programme in Chemistry, which has already existed for more than 15 years, a delegation visited TU Graz on 15 and 16 of December.

They included Prof. Nataša Simin, the newly appointed academic coordinator of the summer programme, as well as Ivana Pejovic, International Relations Officer, and Gordana Vlahovic, Head of International Affairs. During their two-day visit, we had fruitful discussions over the future of the summer programme, including the expansion of the bilateral agreement and also undertaking more teaching exchanges in the future. In addition, they met group leaders who supervised former summer students and learned more about their research work.

A guided tour of Graz, including a visit to the Eiskrippe and the Christmas market rounded off the visit.

Barbara Lorber, Coordinator for International Affairs

Signing co-operation agreements..

^{December 7, 2022}

University co-operation agreements are often signed in the course of a delegation’s visit in the presence of rectors or presidents of both parties. There are usually 2 original versions, one for each party. Due to corona, this was changed more and more to getting agreements signed digitally and in many cases, having just a pdf version of an agreement has been considered perfectly fine.

Within the framework of the 2022 International Conference on the Cooperation and Integration of Industry, Education, Research and Application, which is taking place at Tongji University, Shanghai, China, as well as online, the strategic cooperation agreement between TU Graz and Tongji University was renewed on 29 November, across two continents online on camera. While Prof. Chen, President of Tongji University, signed one original of the agreement at the conference site in Shanghai, Rector Kainz did the same in his office at TU Graz, both live on camera.

The two originals that are now signed by one party are sent to the other party and will be signed there, too. There you go, agreements can be signed in different ways.

Claudia Jansen, International Office - Welcome Center

Intensifying co-operation with the University of Sheffield

^{November 21, 2022}

The Brexit may make it a little harder for us to co-operate with institutions in the UK, and we cannot rely on the Erasmus+ mobility schemes the way we used to, but co-operation interests have not died down. Last week, we had the pleasure of welcoming Sergio Vernuccio from the University of Sheffield. Truly international, Sergio graduated from the University of Naples Federico II, did his PhD at ETH Zurich and having spent some time in the US as a post-doc, he is now a lecturer at the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at the University of Sheffield.

Common co-operation interests led to his visit at TU Graz’ Institute of Chemical Engineering and Environmental Technology where he also held a very interesting lecture for students. On his last day in Graz, he learned about international relations at TU Graz, discussed future funding possibilities and got a tour of the Alte Technik campus. As co-operation interests in chemical engineering are getting stronger, closer co-operation and yearly visits may soon be on the agenda.

Claudia Jansen, International Office - Welcome Center

6th Unite! Dialogue at Politecnico di Torino, Italy

^{October 27, 2022}

From 20 to 22 September, the 6th Unite! Dialogue took place at Politecnico di Torino (PoliTO). For the first time, TU Graz joined the Dialogue as a full partner of Unite! University Network for Innovation, Technology and Engineering, alongside representatives of the eight European partner universities.

The programme included stimulating round tables on the current and future role of university alliances and their impact, as well as task force meetings to further advance the ambitious goals of Unite!. Another significant item on the programme was the signing of the Unite! Charter by the rectors of the two new partner universities TU Graz and Wrocław Tech. The signing of the two rectors marks the end of the process of joining Unite!, which has been ongoing since December 2021, and the beginning of even closer cooperation in building a European university model.

We look forward to a productive and fruitful collaboration!

Andrina Dolinšek, International Office - Welcome Center

Co-operating with Washington State University

^{October 17, 2022}

An invitation to an Italian university brought Prof. Joseph Iannelli from Washington State University, Pullmann, USA, back to Europe for a second time this year. Having met at the end of May in Graz, we would not have expected to have him back again for a visit so soon. But knowing Joseph’s passion for internationalisation and development of international partnerships, of course, he seized the opportunity and combined his trip to Italy with a trip to Graz. Well, better sooner than later, we should think, and there is always potential for interesting meetings between the two partner universities.

Joseph’s visit on Tuesday last week focused on co-operations in mechanical engineering and advanced materials sciences and possibilities for student and staff exchanges. Moreover, Joseph’s “Mission to Mars” course was put into shape at LLT’s and we are excited to know soon when it will actually be available on iMoox.

Claudia Jansen, International Office - Welcome Center

Match Making @ TU Graz

^{August 2, 2022}

Mario Kircher and Adrian Baumunk are both doing their PhD within the Matched PhD Programme. This is the most current initiative started between the two strategic partners TU Darmstadt and TU Graz. The idea is to build a community of young scientists that collaborate in similar fields of research. This network will build the base for further collaboration in research and teaching. For young scientists it is crucial to connect with other researchers not only at their home university but also internationally.

We hope that the bonds between Mario K. and Adrian B. initiated by the Matched PhD Programme will lead to a long-lasting collaboration and friendship.

Barbara Böttger, International Office - Welcome Center

Georgia Southern University &
the ISEP connection

^{July 12, 2022}

TU Graz has been part of the ISEP network since 2005 and has been able to facilitate student exchanges in many parts of the world through ISEP ever since. Georgia Southern University (GSU) is one of the 300+ partner universities in this network, and this week we had the pleasure of hosting Aniruddha Mitra, Professor of Mechanical Engineering from GSU, at TU Graz. He seized the opportunity of a Europe trip to get to know TU Graz and its opportunities for student exchanges and to make first contacts with the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Business Sciences, represented by Prof. Cecilia Poletti, its Coordinator of International affairs.

Several possible starting points for collaboration have been identified, and to start with, two TU Graz students will actually spend the next semester at GSU!

Claudia Jansen, International Office - Welcome Center

Matched PhD - University of Strathclyde meets TU Graz

^{July 7, 2022}

The Matched PhD program is part of the strategic cooperation between TU Graz and the University of Strathclyde (UoS) in Glasgow, Scotland. I am working in such a joint project with my match, Jonathan Draper. The intensive cooperation in the first year ended with a three-week research stay of Jonathan at my institute, the Institute of Materials Science, Joining and Forming (IMAT). The welding tests carried out provides important insights for the validation and optimization of the simulations that Jonathan performs at UoS.

In addition to the productive research work, he also had the opportunity to get to know Graz better, although a planned ski day unfortunately could not take place. Yet another reason to come back soon.

Sebastian Fritsche, Institute of Materials Science, Joining and Forming

Getting to know Walter Sisulu University, South Africa

^{July 1, 2022}

TU Graz does already have WSU as a partner university. But why not have 2? We have been cooperating with WSU - Washington State University, USA, on various levels for several years, and we now had the pleasure of being introduced to WSU – Walter Sisulu University, South Africa.

This university has about 30.000 students and it focuses on quality academic, technological and career-orientated programmes that provide relevant skills for development in rural and urban areas.

Prof. Benedicta Nkeh-Chungag, Dean of the Faculty of Natural Sciences, visited TU Graz this week and introductions were made in order to get to know each other’s universities in more detail.  Specific cooperation interests in the fields of medicinal plants as well as advanced materials sciences, etc. were identified, and a first get-together with members of the Institute of Environmental Biotechnology proved considerable interest on both sides.

Let’s see what can be developed in the near future.

Claudia Jansen, International Office - Welcome Center

TU Darmstadt and TU Graz celebrated the 5th anniversary of their strategic partnership

^{June 24, 2022}

For five years TU Darmstadt and TU Graz have been strategic partners and there is no other university partnership that has led to as much collaboration in research, teaching and university management. One of the most outstanding success stories is that of CREATOR the first German-Austrian collaborative research center. Seed funding of both universities made first meetings between the initiators of this fabulous research alliance possible.

If you are interested in starting a cooperation with colleagues at TU Darmstadt there is a special funding scheme. The two universities are now also tightly linked through the European University Alliance Unite! The spirit of a strong commitment could be experienced during the first visit of the whole TU Darmstadt executive board at the beginning of June. Learn more about the highlighs of this visit here.

Barbara Böttger, International Office - Welcome Center

Welcome back, Joseph!

^{June 7, 2022}

What else could we say? Ever since Prof. Joseph Iannelli, Assoc. Dean for International Programs, Voiland College of Engineering & Architecture at Washington State University, USA, first contacted TU Graz, he has made it a habit of visiting TU Graz on a yearly basis, and the partnership has developed very well indeed. After two years of Covid restrictions, we are happy to welcome Joseph back again. The agenda was intense, as usual. Course mappings in civil engineering to facilitate student exchanges were discussed, potential co-operation interests in chemistry as well as materials science were talked about, applied mathematical issues were the topic during lunch, funding opportunities and challenges in student exchanges later on in the afternoon. Joseph met motivated PhD students at the Institute of Chemical Engineering and Environmental Technology, and an introduction to the iMooX platform certainly left an impression, too. May WSU even be the first US university to offer a course on iMoox?

Claudia Jansen, International Office - Welcome Center

Saying hi from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore!

^{May 31, 2022}

The covid-19 pandemic had made it impossible to host delegations from partner universities around the world, and we very much appreciate being able to welcome visitors again now.

Sierin Lim is an Associate Professor of Bioengineering at the School of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering and the Associate Dean for Global Partnerships at the Graduate College, Nanyang Technological University (NTU) Singapore, and when she flew over to Vienna to attend a conference, she popped over to Graz for a site visit at TU Graz on Friday, 20 May. Sierin has been one of the leading persons involved in the joint PhD programme of NTU and TU Graz, and even though she only had a few hours here in Graz, she was able to not only be welcomed by Rector Kainz and have meetings at several institutes, but also enjoy Austrian finger food at the International Garden, along with our current exchange students from NTU and staff of the International Office who are involved in facilitating the co-operation between the universities on various levels.

Claudia Jansen, International Office - Welcome Center

TCA „Inclusive Mobility for Higher Education” in Stockholm 7 – 8 April 2022

^{May 13, 2022}

In early April, the transnational training and cooperation activity „Inclusive Mobility”, organized by the Swedish Council of Higher Education, was held in Stockholm with over 100 participants from all over Europe. The Austrian delegation consisted of 4 representatives of different universities, including TU Graz and one representative of the Austria´s Agency for Education and Internationalisation (OeAD). On the topic „How can we make mobility more inclusive?” there were numerous presentations and workshops and we got the possibility to exchange information, experiences and good practises.

Many ideas and contacts for further cooperation could be generated on this occasion. So, this important topic is being pursued with great commitment at TU Graz!

Elisabeth Messner, International Office – Welcome Center

Welcome Andrina

^{May 6, 2022}

Since the beginning of April, Andrina has been a member of our International Office - Welcome Center team in the area of student mobility. Andrina is responsible for the coordination of the ISEP program, the overSEAs incoming students and the Erasmus+ International Credit Mobility programme.

When Andrina is not supporting incoming or outgoing students, she is passionate about going to concerts. She loves it even that much that she has been organizing a music festival in southern Carinthia with her friends since 2008.

As a member of the Carinthian Slovene minority in Austria, Andrina grew up bilingually speaking both German and Slovene. She has always been interested in intercultural exchange and enjoys learning new languages. That's why she studied Transcultural Communication before completing a Master's degree in Global Studies, where she focused on human rights and gender equality in foreign policy.

International Office - Welcome Center

First time full house

^{May 4, 2022}

Somehow it even feels weird to be in a packed seminar room, but then again it feels great! For the first time since moving into the International House we were able to host a workshop with a full house. Twenty-three highly motivated students reflected on their cultural imprint, discussed strategies to cope with culture shock and shared expectations of their study abroad experience. The room was full of energy and laughter – just as it should be and will be in the weeks and months to come.

Barbara Böttger, International Office - Welcome Center

Multidisciplinary workshop on the development of ecological biocomposite material

^{March 22, 2022}

The AlNaFiCS (Alginate Natural Fiber Composite Structure) workshop combines materials engineering with architecture, applied arts, design, conservation and restoration. It was held in cooperation with the University of Arts in Belgrade (FPU - Faculty of Applied Arts) and the Faculty of Architecture at TU Graz. Led by Dr. Stavrić (TU Graz) and Dr. Živković (FPU), students worked on contributing to the development of ecological biocomposite materials.

Within a five-day workshop, students had the opportunity to explore the possibilities of using alginate composite materials as building materials through a series of experiments. Following the workshop, in order to raise awareness of the long-term positive effects on the environment and the economy, and to share the results of the workshop with both professionals and a wider audience, experimental models from the workshop were presented at the Museum of Science and Technology in Belgrade.

SFB research team (Institute for Architecture and Media, TU Graz) at the exhibition in Belgrade

Becoming part of Unite!

^{February 15, 2022}

The International Office – Welcome Center proudly announces that TU Graz and Wroclaw University of Science and Technology have become full future partner of the unite! University Network for Innovation, Technology and Engineering. Unite!, being TU Darmstadt, Aalto University, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Grenoble INP-UGA, Politecnico di Torino, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya and Universidade de Lisboa, bridges the gaps between engineering, science, technology and the grand challenges of society. The network strongly builds on a new form of cooperation involving the whole institution, including a number of experts and practitioners as well as the input of many individuals.

The benefits are manifold: new academic offers, peer-learning, complementary competences, larger (scientific) networking opportunities, greater pool of resources. We are excited to be a part of this alliance.

International Office - Welcome Center

First German-Austrian Collaborative Research Centre/Transregio has received funding

^{February 14, 2022}

Seed funding within strategic partnerships leads to large-scale projects. This is shown by the new TRR-SFB which has received funding of more than eight million euros, jointly by DFG and FWF. In the future, TU Darmstadt and TU Graz will deepen and advance their joint research on the simulation of electrical machines. The TRR-SFB is closely integrated into the structures at both universities, such as the Centre for Computational Engineering (CCE) at TU Darmstadt and the Graz Center of Computational Engineering (GCCE).

Annette Mütze, Martin Schanz and Sebastian Schöps, initiators of the collaboration, have been working together for many years and have successfully used the opportunity of the special TU Graz – TU Darmstadt funding both for research and teaching related projects.

Further information about this TRR-SFB is available at: https://www.tugraz.at/en/tu-graz/services/news-stories/media-service/singleview/article/computersimulation-optimiert-elektrische-maschinen-erster-deutsch-oesterreichischer-sonderforschungs/ and www.trr361.de.

Barbara Böttger, International Office - Welcome Center

Welcome Christopher!

^{Februar 11, 2022}

Christopher has recently started to support our team in the area of student mobility. His primary project: To create an ECTS and Grade Transfer Guide for non-European partner universities to make it easier to recognize credits after returning from a stay abroad. He also actively supports the Exchange Coordinators, from arranging the welcome bags, checking in students at orientation events to uploading student experience reports.

Christopher has a wide range of interests: He worked as a medical lab assistant and in IT at the University of Freiburg, as an international tutor and at the Freiburg Language Teaching Institute. His interests also include history and geography. He will probably write his Master's thesis in the field of urban development/urban geography.

Originally he is from Freiburg in Germany. The city is similar to Graz in many ways, not only as a well-known university city, but also with a castle hill, a beautiful old town, surrounded by mountains and generally very green. As a Global Studies student at the University of Graz, he would like to improve his intercultural skills even more. He loves to travel, explore new places and meet people from different countries to learn more about their cultures. He enjoys being outside, hiking and meeting up with friends.

International Office - Welcome Center

Visit from "Campus France Autriche" at the International House

^{February 9, 2022}

Last week we had visitors in our International House who are closely connected to France. We were pleased to welcome Johannes Caliskan, Attaché for Scientific and Academic Cooperation, Institut Francais and Vincent Delaplace, Officer for "Campus France Autriche" at the Institut Francais.

They told us more about the Campus France Autriche and scholarship opportunities. We also talked about our partner universities in France and possible future cooperation. If students are interested in studying in France, Vincent is definitely a good contact point. Interested students can get in touch with him via e-mail: vincent.delaplacenoSpam@institutfr.at. Completing an exchange semester or an internship in France is also possible via the EU funded Erasmus+ programme (Erasmus+ Student Mobility and Erasmus+ Traineeship). You can find more information in TU4U.

From left to right: Johannes Caliskan & Vincent Delaplace from the Institut Francais; Sabine Prem (Director) & Elisabeth Meßner from the International Office – Welcome Center, TU Graz

International Office - Welcome Center

Welcome Anna!

^{December 20, 2021}

Anna is the newest addition to the International Office - Welcome Center team. She will take care of the agendas in the Welcome Center together with Jasmin.

When she is not taking care of international students, she enjoys spending her free time with her family, going for a hike, reading for hours, tending the garden, or cooking. The longing for faraway countries is always present, so she is now especially looking forward to working at the International Office, where she can help international students settle in at TU Graz.

Anna is originally from Germany and therefore knows the challenges of settling in Austria. She has been abroad herself several times for longer periods of time (USA, France, and Scotland) and was always happy when local people introduced her to the peculiarities of their country's culture. Now she extends her hand to all international students coming here.

International Office - Welcome Center

Austrian Food Science Expertise at the University of Arkansas, USA

^{December 17, 2021}

Prof. Erich Leitner, known for his outstanding work as a food chemist, brought TU Graz know-how to America. With students and colleagues, topics such as "The secret of coffee aroma" as well as "How can food chemistry support local producers to survive in a difficult environment? " were discussed. Sustainability and questions about climate protection play an important role in the field of Food Science today. For example, Prof. Leitner reported on a 34g snack that had traveled 48,000 km in transit. This should be avoided!

Coffee enjoyment is a big issue in many countries and there is a coffee culture everywhere, but why are we so magically drawn to this beverage? Volatile and odor-active substances in coffee are decisive here. If you would like to learn more about this, the expert recommends the following book: The Craft and Science of Coffee

Karin Weinberger, International Office - Welcome Center

Welcome Karin!

^{December 7, 2021}

With the beginning of December, we are happy to welcome Karin at the International Office - Welcome Center. Karin is originally from Vorarlberg and moved to Graz for her master’s degree.  She not only likes to be out in nature, but also enjoys climbing the one or other mountain. She is always open to get to know new people and their cultures.That is why she also spent some time in Barcelona as part of her bachelor's degree. Karin is always happy to try something new, be it professionally or privately (Acroyoga, playing guitar, meditation, kick boxing). She has also recently started volunteering with the Red Cross.

Here at the office, Karin will be responsible for various scholarship programs such as Research Abroad, Summer Schools, Internship Grant, etc.

International Office - Welcome Center

Joint Online Course for Chinese and Austrian Students

^{October 22, 2021}

The first joint online course has started this semester! To prepare students well for the class, Dr. Zhang (TU Graz) produced 6 MOOCs in cooperation with our LLT Team. This service was highly appreciated by all students (TU Graz, Tongji University, Dianji University). At the beginning of October the first online lecture went on air. Even though the first lecture on Modern Power Systems - jointly taught by Dr. Zhang and Prof. Chen (Shanghai Dianji University) – took place during the Chinese national holidays, many students participated in the class both online and in the seminar rooms at the different universities. In the weeks to come students will be matched to work on different projects in small international groups.

If you are interested in offering a joint online course with a partner university click here.
Next call: April 15, 2022

Barbara Böttger, International Office - Welcome Center

Welcome in our team Johanna!

^{September 20, 2021}

Since the beginning of September, Johanna is our new student activities contact, who will be joining many of the upcoming events for international degree seeking students, such as a newly to be founded regular’s table.

Johanna, who has already been in contact with numerous international students by now, is eager to get to know even more new people and learning about even more new cultures. As a TU Graz student of civil engineering, she wants to delve into infrastructure and hydraulic construction. She has been travelling from a young age, having also been to Spain for a semester, hoping to be able to work abroad someday, at least for a little while.

Currently her aim is to learn as many languages as she can – right now she is speaking three and learning three more. Her final goal is to be – relatively – fluent in five, anything more is just for fun. If she finds time away from her ambitious goals then she can be found bouldering or doing yoga. Or she is enjoying her free time "relaxing with a good book and some green tea, while catering to my sweet tooth with cake or other sweets".

International Office - Welcome Center

Welcome Elisabeth!

^{September 20, 2021}

Since the beginning of September, Elisabeth is our newest member in the team of the International Office - Welcome Center. Here, the certified and at the same time enthusiastic project manager will mainly take care of the Erasmus+ agendas. Elisabeth has been working at TU Graz for more than 3 years and is looking forward to getting to know a new area at the International Office - Welcome Center and to contribute her expertise here.

In her private life, she is a mother of a 15-year-old daughter and can opener for a cat. As a coffee junkie, she loves to sit in a coffee house with friends and just chat. Elisabeth finds balance when she is out in nature either walking or inline skating. You can often find her in her allotment garden.

International Office - Welcome Center

Welcome Karin!

^{September 13, 2021}

Since mid-August, Karin has been a member of our International Office - Welcome Center team. The nature lover, who particularly enjoys spending time in snowy regions, is now in charge of staff mobility at TU Graz. Karin Weinberger advises and supports employees of TU Graz who want to spend time abroad.

The adventurous explorer also likes to travel around the world herself - especially in her younger years she liked to explore exotic places with unusual means of transport - whether on the back of a camel, by ferry or by moped. Today, especially with her children, her choice of destinations has changed, but her openness to new things and her love for travelling has remained. That is why she is delighted to be able to provide administrative support to TU Graz staff on their way to education, teaching and research stays abroad. 

International Office - Welcome Center

Green mobility for a new Erasmus+ generation

^{July 8, 2021}

At the end of June, the application deadline for the Erasmus+ remaining places in the summer semester 2022 came to an end. Even though there is still some time until then, our Erasmus+ outgoing students are already waiting in the wings for the winter semester 2021/22. A special novelty: on 1 September, the new Erasmus+ programme generation 2021-2027 will start, with a special focus on inclusion and diversity, sustainability and digitalisation. For example, all Erasmus+ outgoings who choose sustainable means of transport such as train, bus or car sharing for their arrival and departure will be rewarded with a bonus. This is an important step in the right direction, raising awareness for sustainable mobility and increasing the ecological responsibility of a new Erasmus+ generation.

Georg Göschl, International Office - Welcome Center

Intensifying collaboration within a Sino-German Joint Research center: Tongji University and TU Graz

^{July 8, 2021}

Tongji University has started an excellence initiative combining world class research with promoting talent development. In addition to a Sin-German Joint Research Center focusing on Intelligent Technology and Green Development a new Sino-German Doctoral School, which should educate top PhD students for joint international research, is planned. TU Graz being the only Austrian strategic partner of Tongji University is invited to participate in this new initiative. In a video conference with President Chen Jie, Rector Kainz expressed his support for the new challenging initiatives. Research in green development meets the proclaimed aim of TU Graz to achieve climate neutrality within the next decade. In addition, the promotion of international ties within the doctoral schools is an important issue at TU Graz, too. Therefore, this initiative is of mutual interest and we are looking forward to deepening our fruitful cooperation.

Barbara Böttger, International Office - Welcome Center

Conscious and sustainable at the International House

^{July 8, 2021}

Sustainability is a keyword for TU Graz. With the roadmap "Climate Neutral TU Graz", the university is aiming for climate neutrality by 2030. The International Office - Welcome Center is also aware of this responsibility. We are currently working on a sustainability checklist and collecting valuable ideas to make our everyday office life as climate-efficient as possible. Ideas such as cycling, taking the bus, train or tram to work, actually switching off the computer after work instead of leaving it on standby, reducing printouts, rethinking our (air) travel habits, organising events at the International House in a sustainable way or consciously ordering fair trade goodies and merchandise are at the top of our list. To be continued!

Georg Göschl, International Office - Welcome Center

Improving student success via a pre-arrival community!

^{July 6, 2021}

We at TU Graz aim to improve student wellbeing, student integration and student success to ensure a very warm welcome to our new incoming exchange students. 

This summer, we’ve collaborated with Goin’ Connect to create an inclusive community for our new students! Via our exclusive Goin’ Connect platform, students can already build a network prior to the start of their studies.  TU Graz values the use of a data-friendly solution for our students to connect in a low-boundary manner.

TU Graz incoming exchange students starting their exchange in the winter semester 2021 will receive further information about the Goin’ Connect App and the access code via e-mail.

Lena Neureiter, International Office - Welcome Center

Kick-off for Joint Online Courses

^{July 1, 2021}

A first virtual meeting of the lecturers who have been nominated for the funding of their online teaching project took place. Young lecturers from three different disciplines (electrical engineering, medical engineering and computational social sciences) will develop and implement the respective Joint Online Course together with their international partners in the coming academic year. At the kick-off event, Vice-Rector Vorbach emphasized the importance of promoting internationalization even in times when actual mobility is not possible. Joint Online Courses are, in his opinion, a valuable contribution to the enrichment of the courses offered at TU Graz. In addition, these classes promote the understanding for cultural differences in learning and teaching. Student collaboration is also a particular concern for faculty, since the ability to work in international teams is essential in academia.

Barbara Boettger, International Office – Welcome Center

TU Austria Innovation Marathon

^{July 1, 2021}

Are you a creative thinker? Do you like to devise, tinker and prototype stuff? Working in a team is one of your many strengths? Are you ready for a professional virtual collaboration? Then UNBOX YOUR THINKING & APPLY NOW for the Innovation Marathon 2021!  
www.innovations-marathon.org/tuaim21

Deadline for your application: 12 July 2021

What to expect?

The TU Austria Innovation Marathon 2021 takes place online from 25 to 27 August.
You work in interdisciplinary international teams on real industry challenges. In the run for the best ideas, see what can be achieved within 24 hours in a like-minded team with diverse backgrounds and skills. We have prepared a set of highly effective and proven online-collaboration tools, and we will guide you through this exciting, challenging and fun process – wherever you are located.

Welcome dear Manuel!

^{June 24, 2021}

June is an exciting month! We do have a second new team member in our International Office – Welcome Center: Manuel! Since June, Manuel supports students in pursuing their dream to study abroad and guides incoming exchange students during their semester at TU Graz. When you plan to go abroad with ISEP, Erasmus+ International Credit Mobility or to enroll in a Double Degree Programme, Manuel will for sure support you along this journey.

During his time as a student of English and American Studies, he participated in the Erasmus+ programme and studied in Denmark for one semester. Now he is in the final stage of writing his master’s thesis.

His exchange made him curious about student mobility and is now super excited to switch roles and be in the role of the exchange coordinator. “I’m looking forward to sending students abroad and also welcoming new faces here in Graz. From my own experience, I know that going abroad is a once-in-a-lifetime experience you’ll remember for the rest of your life, so I will put my heart into my administrative work in order to guarantee a carefree time for students abroad and in Graz.”

To balance his busy schedule of finishing his studies and working as an exchange coordinator, he loves to do yoga, takes care of his indoor plants and meets up with friends for a cup of coffee.

International Office – Welcome Center

Welcome dear Jasmin!

^{June 17, 2021}

We’d like to welcome our newest addition to the International Office – Welcome Center, Jasmin! Since June, she is supporting international staff with their relocations to Graz and giving advice at every phase of their stay.

To reach her goal of learning as many languages as possible during her studies, she embraced every opportunity to go abroad. Knowing how it feels to be completely new in a foreign city she now wants to somehow give back all the support and kindness she encountered.

The nature lover, who adores getting creative whilst baking various sweet treats, is always longing for new challenges. As such, Jasmin is looking forward to giving new international members of staff a warm welcome at TU Graz. “All the organisational matters and bureaucracy involved when moving to a new place can be quite overwhelming. As new advisor of the Welcome Center I look forward to tackling every obstacle head on. Last but not least, with the help of our networking events and activities we aim at connecting people and making our international staff feel at home.”

International Office – Welcome Center

Fulbright Austria celebrates 70 years

^{June 11, 2021}

2021 is an opportunity for Fulbright Austria to celebrate 70 years of this scholarship program, as the first generation of Fulbright Scholars began their teaching and research stays at Austrian institutions in 1951. Now, more than twenty universities and colleges, research centers, and museums host U.S. Fulbright Scholars each year. This commitment to bilateral and international cooperation makes Austria one of the top ten destinations worldwide for U.S. Fulbright Scholars, who match their expertise with the interests of Austrian host institutions.
Since 2009, Graz University of Technology has hosted scholars from the United States annually as part of the Fulbright Program, who then teach and conduct research at a TU institute for a period of 4 months. Interested persons initially contact the International Office - Welcome Center, which supports the teachers and researchers before and during their stay at TU Graz. For further information contact Gerlinde Müller-Reinisch.
Unfortunately, due to the prevailing pandemic, the celebrations took place only online and can be watched on You Tube channel.

Gerlinde Müller-Reinisch, International Office - Welcome Center 

Joint Online Courses: First Projects Awarded

^{May 28, 2021}

• Christina GRAF, Institute of Medical Engineering, TU Graz (Prof. Scharfetter)
  Dr. Kerstin Hammernik, Lab for AI in Medicine, Technical University of Munich
  Course: Inverse Problems in Medical Imaging
• Jana LASSER, Institute of Interactive Systems and Data Science, TU Graz (Prof. Gracia)
  Ivan Smirnov, Chair for Computational Social Sciences and Humanities, RWTH Aachen
  Course: Computational Social Science Summer School
• Ziqian ZHANG, Institute of Electrical Power Systems, TU Graz (Prof. Schuerhuber)
  Cunyuan Quian, Institute of Rail Transit, Tongji University
  Guochu Chen, Electrical Engineering School, Dianji University
  Course: Modern Power System

Projects will start with a kickoff event on June, 28.

Barbara Boettger, International Office – Welcome Center

Virtual Joint Lecture Series: TU Darmstadt – TU Graz

^{May 27, 2021}
I am currently conducting a joint lecture series on Electromagnetics and Differential Forms during the Summer Term 2021 within the framework of the strategic partnership between TU Darmstadt and TU Graz. Differential forms can be seen as a mathematical language that is particularly well-suited for modelling of electromagnetics. As an analogy, think of a domain-specific computer language, such as HTML, which is particularly well-suited for describing web pages. I started this endeavor 2017 in Darmstadt, with a small group of enthusiasts, as a classical black-board format. With the help of the incentive budget I was able to evolve the lectures into an E-Learning format, including elements such as quizzes in the tool „feedbackr“. This was accomplished in close collaboration with the Institute of Applied Mathematics at TU Graz. What I like a lot about this format: it admits learning in a European network, which might even include further universities in the future. This provides a fresh spirit to Humboldt’s community of teachers and scholars - universitas magistrorum et scholarium.

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Stefan Kurz, Electromagnetism and Mathematical Modelling (M4EM) group, TU Darmstadt.

Goodbye to our colleague, Ms. YU Xuemei, Head of the International Office at Tongji University

^{May 27, 2021}

Ms. YU, with whom we have worked for almost ten years, has been appointed as Vice-President of Shanghai University of International Business and Economics. So we say goodbye with one laughing and one crying eye. We fondly remember her visits to us at Graz University of Technology, where we worked with much joy and fun on the development of our partnership. Also the warm welcome during our visits to Tongji University is still in good memory for all of us. Ms. YU impressed us with her positive attitude and pragmatic approach to challenges. We will always have fond memories of working with Ms. YU.

To say goodbye, we had a meal together with all those colleagues who always actively supported us here at Graz University of Technology: YU Fei, YANG Li, YU Xuemei, XU Wenqing, WANG Yiang, SU Jiwen (left to right).

Barbara Boettger, International Office – Welcome Center

Sustainability at the International Office – Welcome Center

^{May 19, 2021}

The 19th of May is dedicated to sustainability at TU Graz. Since 2019, the Sustainability Day is held every year in spring in cooperation between TU Graz and HTU. During this day, different events around ecological, economic and social sustainability take place. This year, the team of the International Office - Welcome Center participates in the Sustainability Day and plants greenery on the two balconies of the International House in Lessingstrasse 32. On the one hand, the two balconies are thereby beautified and on the other hand, by planting vegetables, a healthy lunch will be provided for the team of the International Office - Welcome Center.

Gerlinde Müller-Reinisch, International Office - Welcome Center 

Insight into studying at TU Graz for Tongji students

^{May 12, 2021}
There is great interest among students at our partner university in Shanghai in studying at Graz University of Technology. But what exactly awaits me in Graz? What does studying there look like? Where will I be able to live? On April 22, Yang Li, head of the Liaison Office, as well as students of the double master program (Wang Rucai, Yu Lei and Zhangyoufa) answered these and many other questions at an information event at Jiading Campus of Tongji University. Besides insider information about studying at TU Graz and living in Graz, there were also reports about the internship at AVL, which is a part of the double master program in automotive studies. Here at TU Graz we are already looking forward to welcoming our next incoming students from Shanghai!

Li Yang, Liaison Office of TU Graz at Tongji University Shanghai

Climate-neutral TU Graz 

^{May 6, 2021}
Graz University of Technology is on its way to becoming Austria's first climate-neutral university. With concrete measures and together with its staff and students, TU Graz is fulfilling its social responsibility in terms of climate protection. With an ambitious roadmap, TU Graz plans to be climate neutral by 2030. There will also be various measures in the area of internationalisation to achieve this goal.
In order to be able to precisely calculate the emissions caused by physical mobility, the main means of arrival and departure of staff and student mobilities will be recorded from summer 2021. In the long term, this survey will also enable to check the extent to which the measures taken have led to a switch to lower-emission means of transport.
Topics such as the creation or further development of alternative mobility programmes, choice of means of transport and awareness-raising of all participants will come into the spotlight- also with regard to the current Erasmus+ period (2021-2027), which, in addition to digitalisation and social inclusion, also focuses on Green Erasmus.
Further information https://www.klimaneutrale.tugraz.at/

Lena Neureiter, International Office – Welcome Center

New Mobility Programme – Freemover Programme

^{May 6, 2021}

The International Office - Welcome Center offers you the possibility to receive financial support for self-organised study visits. If TU Graz does not have any cooperation agreements with suitable universities or if all places have already been filled, you can also go abroad as a Freemover. This means that you organise all aspects of your stay abroad on your own. There are no restrictions placed on the choice of host university or destination country.

Once you have been accepted by the host university, you can submit your application for financial support through the Freemover Programme to the International Office-Welcome Center at TU Graz.
More Information: https://tu4u.tugraz.at/go/freemover

Holy Week and Easter Traditions

^{April 1, 2021}

The actual date of Easter varies every year, depending on the date of the first day of spring and the moon calendar: Easter Sunday is the first Sunday after the first full moon in spring.
Starting on Palm Sunday (twigs of the sallow willow taken to church) there are many Easter traditions during the Holy Week (Karwoche) in Austria. On Maundy Thursday (Gründonnerstag), which commemorates the Last Supper, it is said that church bells fly to Rome to get blessed by the Pope and they only return for Easter Sunday to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. So you won't hear church bells these three days. Easter Saturday (Karsamstag) is a busy day. Families carry their baskets filled with ham, sausages, eggs, horseradish and sweet bread (Osterpinze) to church to be blessed. This "Osterjause" is enjoyed on Saturday and on Easter Sunday. Easter bonfires are lit during the night before Easter Sunday. People meet around the fire to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus and simply have a good time. Easter Sunday is traditionally a time for family gathering and children are busy hunting for Easter eggs (Osternest suchen) in the garden.

Maria Baltzi, International Office – Welcome Center

Joint Online Courses: First call open until April 15, 2021

^{March 31, 2021}

The future of education and mobility in international collaboration calls for digitalization; a variety of innovative formats for teaching and learning will be necessary to tackle the challenges of the next years.
TU Graz is ready to meet these challenges by promoting innovation in digitalizing teaching and teaching cooperation with (strategic) partners. The development of innovative formats for joint online courses for students at both TU Graz and its partner universities is one important step on the road to Internationalisation@TUGraz.
To develop such a course together with a partner university TU Graz funds up to three projects with €15.000 each. Project proposals must be sent electronically by April 15, 2021.

Target group:
The call aims at TU Graz lecturers who are interested in cooperating with an international partner to develop a joint online course for students at both universities. Priority is given to junior lecturers (i.e. university assistants, and assistant professors). A professor/senior lecturer acts as coach in the project team.
Contact: barbara.boettgernoSpam@tugraz.at
Find more information here.

Barbara Boettger, International Office – Welcome Center

Increase of the Erasmus budget for the next project period 2021-2027

^{March 30, 2021}

Funding for the European exchange and education programme Erasmus, in which more than 10 million people from 33 countries have participated since 1987, has been increased by the EU to € 26.2 billion. Compared to the previous period 2014-2020, this means an increase in the budget of € 11 billion. In addition, € 2.2 billion will also be released from the EU's external funding instruments for Erasmus.

With the funds made available by the EU, not only inclusion but also the green and digital transformation are to be promoted more strongly in the future. For example, there will be financial incentives to use sustainable means of transport (e.g. train) when carrying out mobilities, where this is possible due to the geographical location.

Kordula Fabiani, International Office - Welcome Center

Interested in Research Projects with African Partner Universities?

^{March 29, 2021}

As mentioned in this blog, TU Graz recently joined Africa UniNet as a partner university.

Last year, there was a 1st Africa-UniNet call for research projects and it has now been made public that 20 cooperative research projects between universities and research institutions in Austria and in African countries have been accepted for funding. A variety of disciplines are covered, and emphasis is laid on contributing to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. Projects could be funded by the BMBWF with around € 500,000 for a project duration of up to two years.

From next time on, TU Graz will be eligible to apply for project funding, too. The next call will be opened later this year. Maybe you are interested in handing in a project proposal with your African partner then?

Don’t forget: At the moment, funding for partnership projects with universities in Bhutan, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Mosambique, Uganda can be applied for within the appear programme.

Claudia Jansen, International Office – Welcome Center

International News

^{March 23, 2021}

On March 12, the second issue of the "International News" was published as a mail newsletter by the International Office - Welcome Center and reported on exciting news, TU Graz members from all over the world, important calls and deadlines, upcoming events as well as cultural topics. Additionally, two quiz questions had to be solved by the readers.

If you are a TU Graz staff member and you would like to receive regular news about international affairs at TU Graz, you can subscribe to the "International News" by sending an informal e-mail to international-newsnoSpam@tugraz.at. The newsletter is always published in English; the next issue will be published in June.

Maria Baltzi, International Office – Welcome Center

APPEAR III

^{March 10, 2021}

Appear is a programme of the Austrian Development Cooperation (ADC) with a focus on achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). TU Graz aims at contributing to these goals by working with partner universities in the eligible countries Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Uganda, Mozambique, Bhutan, Palestine, Armenia, Georgia, Moldova, Albania and Kosovo.

The first call of Appear III has just been published and it is open for: Preparatory Funding, Academic Partnership, Advanced Academic Partnership, Extended Impact Partnership and Individual PhD scholarship application. Find out more on: https://appear.at/en/application/

Deadline for submissions: 31 May 2021

Several institutions in Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Uganda and Mozambique are also members in the Africa-Uninet that TU Graz recently joined. Are you interested in setting up new co-operations? Let us know if we can support you in any way!

Claudia Jansen, International Office – Welcome Center

Welcome dear Georg!

^{March 4, 2021}

Since beginning of March, the well-travelled plant lover enriches our team. He has already studied in numerous countries and even got a taste of Europe as an intern in the European Parliament in Brussels. Thanks to his diverse work experience in the international education sector, he has already actively supported countless exchange students who have come to Graz and contributed to an unforgettable exchange semester. Now, however, he is changing "sides" and will be responsible for Erasmus+ outgoing mobility at TU Graz and, as a creative person bubbling over with ideas, he will also be working on new projects.

For Georg, who can often be found on his bike in his spare time, internationalisation is more important than ever, especially in these times: "I am convinced that even in the current challenging times, cross-border mobility should not be neglected. In my new job as Erasmus+ Outgoing Coordinator, I am looking forward to lively cooperation with TU students and would like to get involved in their successful stays abroad."

International Office – Welcome Center

TU Graz joined Africa-UniNet as a member

^{February 18, 2021}

Africa-UniNet was established in January 2020 with the intention of promoting long-term cooperation between Austrian and African higher-education institutions.
Whilst TU Graz has had various co-operations with institutions in Africa over the years, there has not been a focused approach yet. We are happy to have now joined Africa-UniNet and we are looking forward to exploring ways of cooperation together within the network suitable to work towards this.
Africa UniNet will publish a call for research cooperation funding later this summer/autumn.
TU Graz representative for the network will be Assoc.Prof. Udo Bachhiesl, Institute of Electricity Economics and Energy Innovation.

Claudia Jansen, International Office – Welcome Center

Carnival & Faschingskrapfen

^{February 16, 2021} 

Today is Carnival Tuesday and normally on this day there is a big parade in the city center of Graz. But due to the prevailing pandemic, this parade is unfortunately cancelled today.

Carnival in Austria has a very long tradition. The deep roots of the customs probably lie in pagan customs. With masking and dances, people paid homage to the gods at that time and tried to drive away evil spirits. Carnival is about fun, exuberance and joie de vivre. Therefore, young and old dress up and wear the most diverse, colorful and fun costumes to experience a lighthearted carefree time.

What can't be missing here? Correct! The carnival doughnut! A Faschingskrapfen consists of yeast dough and is traditionally filled with apricot jam. If you bite into a round, fluffy doughnut, you forget the world around you. Today, Carnival Tuesday, is the last opportunity to get one of these delicious doughnuts. Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday and the 40-day fasting period until Easter begins. So get out and locate the next bakery to get a Krapfen! Enjoy the first bite – it’s the best!

Gerlinde Müller-Reinisch, International Office - Welcome Center 

Co-operation with Heliopolis University, Egypt

^{January 20, 2021}

“Let’s meet”, we said to our partner university. Nowadays, when we say that, we usually mean a virtual meeting. Who would have thought that web meetings become so “natural” to us?

Anyway, dear colleagues at Heliopolis University in Cairo, it was so nice to meet you on the screen in our short, efficient meeting. It was a fruitful meeting talking about our ideas and future plans for co-operation, and it was interesting to see different cultural angles. That’s one of the good things about internationalisation. It may be even nicer to meet in person than on screen only, but these times will come again, we are sure. See you then!

Claudia Jansen, International Office – Welcome Center

Life-Changing Erasmus Path is now blocked

^{January 15, 2021}

Barbara Lorber is a coordinator for International Affairs at TU Graz.  Her Erasmus+ semester in the UK, around twenty years ago, changed her life. No wonder, that the changes in the student mobility sector that are coming with Brexit are concerning for Barbara. In her latest article, published in Times Higher Education, she talks about her path and what the latest development could mean for students interested in international education.
Read the full article online at timeshighereducation.com

Barbara Lorber works as a Coordinator for International Affairs at the Faculty of Technical Chemistry, Chemical and Process Engineering, Biotechnology at TU Graz.

Happy Holidays

^{December 21, 2020}

The team of the International Office - Welcome Center wishes everyone Happy Holidays in this special year 2020. Looking back, we can see that this extraordinary year has also brought positive things: We moved into the International House. Unfortunately, we can only welcome guests online in our new premises at the moment, but we are already looking forward to personal visits onsite. Let's use the last days of 2020 to spend a wonderful as well as contemplative time with our loved ones and stay healthy.

The International Office - Welcome Center team will be closed from Wednesday, December 23 until Sunday, January 3. From Monday, January 4, 2021 the International Office – Welcome Center is open again.

Gerlinde Müller-Reinisch, International Office - Welcome Center 

Christmas staff ‘party’

^{December 16, 2020}

We have a tradition for our Christmas staff party, and we have held on to it for years. We meet up in the office in the afternoon and take a walk together through the Leechwald. Our destination is the restaurant Roseggerhof where we enjoy a delicious meal, have fun together and exchange our Wichtel presents. Who would have thought that it would – could! – be different this year. Well, it could.

Instead of meeting in a restaurant, we gathered in the back garden of our new International House, keeping our distance to one another. We brought some Apfelpunsch and some food (of course, there needed to be Weihnachtskekse) and everyone received a present from their Wichtel-Mama.

Corona may keep us from doing things the way we would have liked to do them, but we can still enjoy some time together, even if a little apart.

Merry Christmas from someone who really liked their Wichtel present! :-)

Claudia Jansen, International Office - Welcome Center 

Opening a new window, inventing something new

^{December 16, 2020}

2020 has so far presented itself as a completely different year. Never in our life would we have thought last year at our International Christmas Party, which we organize in the international Office - Welcome Center every year at the beginning of December, that there will be no Christmas Party with our incoming students in December 2020. This window remained closed with the lockdown. But a new window was opened by us: What is the point of social media if we are all in Distance Learning and Schooling? Correct! If we are not allowed to have an International Christmas Party, we will simply create an online Advent calendar that opens a window every day. We introduce typical customs in Austria (Barbara branches, Krampus & St. Nikolas), publish recipes for cookies and punch and tell a little bit about the Advent season in Graz. In this special time of the year, we open a window every day and create something new. We are looking forward to the International Christmas Party 2021!

Find our Advent Calendar here: Instagram & Facebook

Gerlinde Müller-Reinisch, International Office - Welcome Center 

Our truly virtual international room

^{December 11, 2020}

On November 9 we moved to our new International House, but due to the current lockdown and other unexpected issues our team is spilled all over Graz. This means team meetings take place in our virtual meeting room.

This gives us the unique possibility to sneak into our colleagues‘ home offices. What do these home offices look like? Do they have an office or are they walking with their laptops through their private homes trying to find a „peaceful“ spot where they can attend our online meeting? Look at the picture and you will see yourself!

Sending our warmest wishes via Webex to all of you stuck in online meetings and hope to see you soon in person at the International House. And promising with the words of Terminator, „We’ll be back …“

Barbara Böttger, International Office - Welcome Center 

IN & OUT Connection Platform for students

^{December 11, 2020}

Because of the current COVID-19 situation and the reduction of the physical social contacts the International Office-Welcome Center invited all Outgoing and Incoming students to participate in our IN&OUT Connection Platform.
Incoming international students can get in touch with local students till the end of the winter semester… a win-win situation!  No matter if you want to get to know different cultures, to find someone for tandem language learning or somebody who studies the same degree and has the same hobbies, you can just interact in the platform by discussing with others.  
Win for Incomings:
meet local Austrian students and make new friends who are interested in contacting you
Win for Outgoings:
meet international students from the country you will go to (or already went) in order to receive precious inside information and to network.

Katrin Landfahrer-Berglez, International Office - Welcome Center 

A warm welcome on a snowy morning

^{December 3, 2020}

8 am in Austria 3 pm in Shanghai, China – that’s when the first online meeting between Rector Kainz and Prof. Chen Jie, President of Tongji University, took place. December seems to be the favorite meeting time of the two heads of our universities. Prof. Chen Jie talked about his firs travel to Europe as President of Tongji University being the one to TU Graz in December 2018. We all share wonderful memories of the time spent together, the starting point of a friendship between Prof. Kainz and Prof. Chen Jie. Today we were looking into the future to set the direction for our strategic cooperation. Focus will be laid on digitalization (joint online courses) and sustainability. In particular, joint applications for funds are planned as well as we want to foster collaboration at the PhD level.

Barbara Böttger, International Office - Welcome Center 

An extraordinary November...!

^{November 19, 2020}

The calendar shows us that it is already November 2020. "November" - a month that is mostly foggy and cloudy. The sun is not really visible. If you don't have to go outside your house, you'd rather stay at home. Since we are in an Austria-wide lockdown until December 6th due to corona, we are obliged to go outside only in urgent cases. This is the perfect time to have a cup of tea.

If the sun does show up, you should take the opportunity to quickly leave the house with a thermos filled with warm tea. No thermos at hand? Here we can help out at the International Office - Welcome Center. You can buy a sustainable thermos flask from us. The bottle is produced in Austria, is handy with 0.5 l filling quantity and made of stainless steel. Interested? Email to gerlinde.mueller-reinisch@tugraz.at.

Gerlinde Müller-Reinisch, International Office - Welcome Center 

Welcome to our International House

^{October 22, 2020}

Although we are currently living in an extraordinary time and Corona means that many planned things cannot be carried out in the way we are used to, we are pleased to be able to begin a new chapter in the International Office - Welcome Center: We have moved into our International House on Lessingstrasse 32.

What does this mean for the community at Graz University of Technology? In addition to housing our new office, the International House of Graz University of Technology will foster a culture of friendship and understanding among our students and staff from all over the world. It will also serve as a space for our international, but also local students/staff and should be a place where people can meet, make friends and enjoy international flair.

Of course, due to COVID-19, we still have to wait until we can organize on-site events again and allow students to drop by regularly to get in touch with others - but in the meantime, we will use the time to create an inviting and appealing space for you!

Gerlinde Müller-Reinisch, International Office - Welcome Center 

The International Office – Welcome Center moved!

^{October 14, 2020}

The team of the International Office – welcome Center is delighted to announce that we moved to a different location. As of Monday, October 12th our office is on Lessingstrasse 32. Due to the pandemic we cannot invite you to a house warming party. Yet we would warmly welcome you if you stepped by to visit us at the new International House. Currently we kindly ask you to set an appointment ahead of time. We are looking forward to welcoming you at the International House!

Gerlinde Müller-Reinisch, International Office - Welcome Center 

Exchange in Corona-times

^{October 2, 2020}

I have been working with international students for over 15 years by now, but this time there was something different. Students were ever so thankful for being able to come to Austria, for being warmly welcome, for being taken care of. Organizing our welcome events, we sometimes were not sure if any of the students would make it to Austria. Numbers of students planning to come to Graz were changing every day. Still, we stuck to our plan and started with online sessions in
mid-September – a good tool to inform students. However, we felt that it was important to provide students with an opportunity to meet in real. So intercultural sessions were planned with a maximum of 10 participants only, which meant that there were quite a few sessions to be held. And it was worthwhile! Not just did we receive great feedback, but also had the chance to spend time with students individually. So once again, Corona-time brought us closer to each other.

Barbara Böttger, International Office - Welcome Center

Erasmus Days 2020

^{October 1, 2020}

What’s happening here? From 15 October until 17 October are the #ErasmusDays all around Europe. We celebrate Erasmus+ and we at the International Office – Welcome Center participate as well. Due to the Covid-19 pandemie this year there are no live events at the TU Graz, but we are in the midst of organizing something special. Stay tuned!

https://www.erasmusdays.eu/

Gerlinde Müller-Reinisch, International Office - Welcome Center 

Same procedure as every year…

^{September 10, 2020}

It is one of the International Office – Welcome Center’s yearly routines: Every year at the end of the academic year we send out an email to all the students who were spending that particular year at a foreign university or did an internship at a foreign institution or company. We ask them to share a photo that they took while spending time at their host institution and to share their personal unforgettable impressions with us. The photo competition has a different topic each year and this year’s topic is “MY BEST MOMENT ABROAD”. Deadline is Monday, September 14th, 2020.

Gerlinde Müller-Reinisch, International Office - Welcome Center 

Our cooperation within the TU Graz –
TU Darmstadt research fund

^{August 4, 2020}  
TU Darmstadt and TU Graz are strategic research partners since 2017, and they have set up a fund in which researchers from both TUs can apply for joint projects. This program allows members of our Institute of Computer Graphics and Knowledge Visualization to start new promising collaborations, and also, revive and intensify previously existing contacts with TU Darmstadt and the Fraunhofer Institute of Computer Graphics Research IGD Darmstadt. The program so far was instrumental e.g., in supporting the PhD thesis of one of our doctoral researchers, who said that his stay in Darmstadt gave a lot of thrust for his work, and that it allowed him to receive valuable feedback for his PhD thesis from our peer Postdoctoral researcher in the program in Darmstadt. We were able to publish several joint papers, which add to the research portfolio of our researchers. The incoming Darmstadt researchers brought many ideas to our institute, and several paper projects are going on which have been stated in the program. We look forward to much more collaboration and creation of ideas and research in this very valuable program, for which I would like to thank both TUs sincerely on behalf of all our supported researchers.

Prof. Tobias Schreck, Institute of Computer Graphics and Knowledge Visualization

Going on the next level: fostering co-operations in times of Covid-19

^{July 29, 2020}

It may not have been possible to receive visitors from partner universities these last few months, but this does not mean that co-operations could not continue. TU Graz has been able to evaluate and (sometimes stop but mostly) renew quite a number of co-operation agreements with partners from different parts of the world. For instance, the renewal agreement with Taiwan Tech should have been signed in the course of a delegation’s visit at TU Graz this May and was then done electronically instead. Partnerships with Canadian long-term partners McMaster University and the University of Calgary were renewed for another 5 years. Most of our Erasmus+ agreements have been evaluated in the last few months and we are ready for the next Erasmus+ programme generation. Mobility may be limited at the moment, but we are smoothing the way for the time „after“. World, here we come again!

Claudia Jansen, International Office - Welcome Center

Coming closer by social distancing

^{July 29, 2020}

Professors from Washington State University were on the brink of flying over to Europe for a visit when we were suddenly compelled to work from home, a large delegation from Taiwan Tech had cancelled their visit just shortly before, and the Rector’s visits to Politecnico di Milano and Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytecnical University needed to be re-scheduled for a post-Covid-19 period, too. Being used to face-to-face interaction and bringing life into co-operations by visiting partners these last few months have been a complete U-turn. Rather than meeting for „real“, we now more often meet in a virtual environment to discuss our co-operations. We started to do so on a regular basis and have managed to keep in touch even more than before. Video calls have enabled us to meet people we didn’t know beforehand and discuss urgent matters very effectively.

Still, we hope to meet you soon, dear partners!

Claudia Jansen, International Office - Welcome Center

New Partner University: University of Strathclyde

^{May 12, 2020}

The British University of Strathclyde has been a strategic partner university of Graz University of Technology since the end of April. The cooperation with the technical university, which is located in the centre of the Scottish city of Glasgow, comprises numerous activities in the fields of research, teaching and mobility.

A lot of activities  are planned such as joint PhD programmes, regular summer schools, separate funding pools for partnership research projects, joint study programmes, reciprocal guest lectures and the promotion of mobility for researchers, students and staff at all levels.

The University of Strathclyde was founded in 1796 and is home to around 23,000 students from over 100 countries. The university focuses on research in the following areas: Advanced Manufacturing & Materials; Energy, Health & Wellbeing; Innovation & Entrepreneurship; Measurement Science & Enabling Technologies; Ocean, Air & Space as well as Society & Policy.

Further information about the cooperation and activities together with the University of Strathclyde is available in the International Office – Welcome Center of TU Graz.
Barbara Böttger, International Office - Welcome Center

Erasmus+ Charter for Higher Education 2021-27

^{May 27, 2020}
Next year will begin the new Erasmus+ project period, which will run until 2027. Student exchange and internships, lecturer mobility, further education opportunities for staff of Graz University of Technology, as well as international cooperation projects will be extended by further components and the mobility process will be digitalised.

-  Students will have the possibility of intensive programmes, "blended mobility" and short-term mobilities of PhD students.
- An important topic is the implementation and promotion of environmentally friendly methods in mobility, as well as projects on environmental protection, sustainability and climate.
- Special attention is paid to the inclusion of socio-economically disadvantaged students, students from educationally disadvantaged households, with disabilities or chronic illness, etc.
- The existing cooperation partnerships will now be enhanced with innovation partnerships.

Further information can be found on the TU4U intranet.
Kordula Fabiani, International Office - Welcome Center

It goes abroad as part of a course (excursion etc.)

^{April 3, 2020}

TU Graz offers financial support for students and teachers if a course abroad is required as part of a course. It is crucial here that the project takes place in cooperation with an international university! Students and lecturers from the international university should work on a topic together with students from TU Graz. The lecturer of TU Graz must apply for funding for the students.

Information regarding funding:
- Part of a course will be done abroad
- The stay is in cooperation with an international university
- The stay must last between 5 days and 3 weeks
- A maximum of 15 students can be funded
- The lecturer at TU Graz has to apply for the funding
- Funding: scholarship and travel allowance

Further information: TU4U
Katrin Landfahrer-Berglez, International Office - Welcome Center