Study Welcome Day: Heidelberg University Greets its Freshers

Starting university life at Heidelberg University: Ruperto Carola is inviting its newly enrolled students to a Welcome Day on 12 October 2026. On University Square in the Old City, University Rector Prof. Dr. Frauke Melchior will welcome all first-semester students beginning their degree courses in the 2026/2027 winter semester or having started last summer semester. Greetings will also follow from Prof. Dr. Perizat Daglioglu, Managing Director of the Heidelberg Student Services Organization (Studierendenwerk), a representative of the City of Heidelberg along with Akhshar Leitner und Sebastian Fath, chairs of the Constituted Student Body. The Collegium Musicum will provide the musical backdrop, under the baton of University Music Director Michael Sekulla. The welcome session for freshers starts at 10 a.m. Speeches will be interpreted simultaneously into German Sign Language. An inductive hearing system is available for participants with hearing aids or cochlea implants.

Following the welcoming addresses – between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. – an information fair with around 90 stands will offer the new students an opportunity to find out about advisory and service organizations of the university and the city, as well as various student-led initiatives. Among those represented are the Central Student Advisory Office, the university’s heiSKILLS Competence and Language Centre and the University Library. The City of Heidelberg is present with the Theater, the Office for Environmental Protection and the Young Heidelberg Office. These, and more institutions accompanying everyday student life, will have stands in the New University building. 

In addition, campus tours through the Old City will be on offer at half-hour intervals between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. Here the freshers can get to know their future places of learning and important contact points. Signing up for the tours takes place online.