13.08.2025

Civic Engagement takes a summer break

We look back on an exciting semester with many highlights, diverse courses, and new non-profit partner institutions

“Beyond borders. Beyond disciplines. Beyond expectations. Some journeys don't just take us to places — they bring us closer to each other.” – This is how a student from Bucharest who participated in our CIVIS BIP “Civic Engagement & Football” begins her feedback. This Blended Intensive Program (BIP) focused on the connections between football, civic engagement, and local identity. Twenty-nine students from seven different CIVIS universities and ten teachers from various disciplines and universities applied their theoretical knowledge from a previous virtual part to research projects in Bochum in the subsequent physical part. The course was supported by the Bochum Fan Project and the Reporting Center for Discrimination in Football NRW as committed partner institutions. The result was a number of exciting projects on topics such as the political engagement of football fans, accessibility in and around football stadiums, and the visibility of women's football.

We also had the opportunity to offer two fully online service-learning seminars. This format allowed students from the University of Tübingen and other CIVIS universities to interact with international non-profit organizations, linking theory and practice. Participating international partners included Teachers Without Borders (international), Potohar Organization for Development Advocacy (Pakistan), GeoHazards International, and Hayata Destek (Turkey). In the seminar “Capacity Development: the Good, the Bad, and the Better”, students explored the many challenges of capacity development initiatives and how to navigate them. Similarly, in the seminar "Breaking the Cycle of Disaster, Response, Recovery, and Repeat", students discussed factors that contribute to effective disaster risk reduction approaches. Using case studies from around the world, students learned how disaster risk management can break the cycle of disaster, response, recovery, and repeat when properly managed.

We are also delighted to welcome a number of new partners and student initiatives! These include Guapalita Empowering Equality, Team Tomorrow Tübingen, the Teddy Therapists Tübingen, and the University Group for Foreign and Security Policy.

On July 28, our Engagement During Lunch took place for the last time before the summer break.