The ad-hoc ‘online semester’ poses considerable challenges for both students and instructors. Despite the difficult circumstances, most of the courses planned for the 2020 summer semester are actually held. Students and instructors rise to the challenge and respond flexibly to the new situation, as further evinced by surveys initiated during the semester.
Fall 2021 sees a gradual return to in-person operations – under strict rules at first. As pleased as all members of the campus community are about the return to the status quo, the state of digital teaching did make a significant leap forward during the pandemic, and some aspects of online teaching are surely here to stay.
Looking back, Professor Lütje-Klose, Vice-rector for Education and Teaching, remarked in the fall of 2021: ‘Bielefeld is – and will remain – a brick and mortar university that will also take advantage of the increasing opportunities presented by digitalization.’
