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Language coursesInternational Summer School with Participants from all over the World

Press Release No. 83/2022
1 August 2022

Language courses with overall programme on “Germany between Continuity and Change”

With participants from all over the world, Heidelberg University’s International Summer School of German Language and Culture is taking place in person again after a two-year Covid break. Around 330 young people from 57 countries are visiting Ruperto Carola in order to attend the holiday course from 5 August to 2 September 2022. The events on the programme attract not only students but also other interested persons from abroad who want to learn German or improve their language skills. The overall theme this year is “Germany between Continuity and Change“. The holiday course will be officially opened in the Great Hall of the New University on 5 August.

The language course has three different strands – language classes at elementary, intermediate and advanced levels; further training for international German teachers, university lecturers and German Studies graduates; and a special course in Business German. In addition to the core classes in the morning, participants can attend extra events in the afternoon, such as seminars about special cultural features and political aspects of life in Germany, or offering an opportunity for creative writing. The programme also includes workshops, e.g. on journalism, dance and theatre. Besides sports, films and concerts, various excursions are planned − city tours to Nuremberg, Mainz and Frankfurt, a boat ride on the Neckar, hikes or a visit to the Schwetzingen Castle park. Heidelberg students accompany the visitors and assist with practical questions about daily life and leisure-time activities.

A public lecture is also on the programme, open to Heidelberg residents as well as holiday course participants. On 25 August Prof. Dr Gertrud M. Rösch from the Institute of German as Foreign Language Philology will speak − under the heading “Ein Zauberkreis, der magisch mich umgibt” (spell-bound in a magic circle) − on “Heidelberg in literature from the Baroque period to the present”. The presentation is scheduled for 5.15pm in the New University, lecture hall 13.

Three concerts are likewise open to the public: Linda Heiberga (cello) and Medeea Teodora Iftimie (piano) will start off the musical series on 11 August with a concert for piano and cello. On 18 August, the “Blu” ensemble will take the audience on a musical world trip through almost all continents on earth. The concert series will conclude on 25 August with the programme “Musical Postcards – a concert for flute and guitar”, performed by Barbara Rosnitschek (flute) and guitarist Peter Ernst. All three concerts will take place in the Great Hall of the Old University, beginning at 8pm.

The participants at the International Summer School of German Language and Culture include many scholarship holders from partner universities in the United Kingdom, India, Israel, Poland, Spain, the Czech Republic, and the USA. In addition, the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) has granted scholarships to over 120 students.

Tip for newsrooms:

The holiday course will be opened in the Great Hall of the New University on 5 August 2022. The inaugural event begins at 9am.