You're reading: Deutsche Welle: German universities juggle health and learning in coronavirus pandemic

Deutsche Welle: German universities juggle health and learning in coronavirus pandemic

Published Sept. 8, 2020 at 4:16 am

About 750 students of the TU Technical University Dortmund write their exams in German for foreigners at the Westfalenhallen venue in Dortmund, western Germany on June 25, 2020. - For the first time in the history of the university, around 7500 students will be writing their exams during the upcoming days at the Westfalenhalle, accompanied by a hygiene concept, which is supposed to make infections with the coronavirus impossible. (Photo by Ina FASSBENDER / AFP)

Photo by AFP

In March, the students of the 18,000-odd academic programs in Germany could suddenly no longer physically attend lectures or go to their university libraries. Everything went online. Though there was little enthusiasm for the abrupt digital switch, “nobody refused outright,” said Bernhard Kempen, the president of the German Association of University Professors and Lecturers.