2023 was a special year for student health management BeTaBalance: the cooperation project to set up student health management between the University of Tübingen and Techniker Krankenkasse was extended for another 4 years until September 2027. The project will continue to be realized in cooperation between University Sports and the Institute of Sports Science. 

The newly published annual report looks back on the past 6 years of SGM BeTaBalance at the University of Tübingen to mark the continuation of the project. In addition, the highlights from 2023 are reviewed and the first outlook on upcoming topics in 2024 is given. 

The SGM Annual Report 2023 is now available on the SGM BeTaBalance homepage (german only).

The SGM BeTaBalance steering group met again on November 23. The project objectives for the new project phase were agreed with representatives of the university management, Techniker Krankenkasse, the student council and the project group.

The TWall Challenge took place at the Morgenstelle on November 15 and 29. On both challenge days, students were able to put their reaction speed to the test and get active together. A total of around 150 students took part in the challenge.

On 19.10.2023, the SGM BeTaBalance welcomed all first-semester students to the Dies Universitatis welcome event with an energizer and got the entire lecture hall moving. Afterwards, students were able to find out about the SGM BeTaBalance's services at the Market of Opportunities and get tips for a healthy start to their studies.

The cooperation project on student health management BeTaBalance, which has existed between the University of Tübingen and Techniker Krankenkasse since 2019, was extended for a further four years in October 2023. "We are very pleased that the SGM BeTaBalance can continue to develop over the next four years and dedicate itself to student health at the University of Tübingen," says Juliane Moll (project coordinator). In the coming years, the existing range of services is to be further developed and expanded to include services in the areas of mental health and social wellbeing as well as a health-oriented teaching and learning culture. Institutionalization processes of the SGM BeTaBalance are also a central focus of work.

Live safely or experience yourself? Anselm Pahnke threw this play on words into the room on June 29, 2023, and gave his listeners plenty to think about. Exclusively for students and employees of the University of Tübingen, Anselm told of his journey into the unknown and to himself. With impressive pictures and video clips of his journeys of discovery, he captivated more than 340 listeners. At the same time, this afternoon was the conclusion of this year's RadChallenge, organized jointly by the SGM and BGM. Both the best student and staff teams of the University of Tübingen were honored. As a highlight, the first-placed teams received a book by Anselm Pahnke, which he also signed for them.

On 27.06.2023 the Smoothie-Mobile of the Techniker Krankenkasse visited our Bewegungssnack on Tour for the second time. From 10:00-15:00 it was again "First cycle, then enjoy". While free smoothies could be cycled on site, a short Instagram series accompanied our offer to provide the opportunity for varied smoothies at home as well. Over 130 people got on the smoothie bike throughout the day and enjoyed the refreshing offering.

During the summer semester 23, Bewegungssnack on Tour toured four times a week with its mobile outdoor equipment and game rental, hitting the lots in front of the UB and Mensa Morgenstelle. This was the second time a multi-week challenge took place. From 12.06.-30.06.2023 teams of two could prove their skills at the small table tennis table. The most important aspect was the cooperation with regard to maximum ball contacts within a time window of one minute. Over 50 teams took up the challenge and achieved the minimum goal of 30 contacts without interruption.

The fourth RadCHALLENGE broke all records: All 103 teams cycled an incredible 172,000 kilometers together. That would be enough to cycle around the world almost 4 times. The strong performance from the previous year was increased by about 30,000 kilometers! In total, 86 of 103 teams reached the total kilometer goal of 1000 kilometers. The award ceremony and prize-giving for the top 3 teams will take place on 29.06.2023 during the presentation by Anselm Pahnke.

On 25.04.2023 the RadCHECK event opened its doors for the third time. While 115 bikes were checked at the RadCHECK, there was also the opportunity to care for and clean the bikes themselves. Exciting highlights such as the virtual reality application #AUGENBLICKWINKEL360 and the UKBW bicycle simulator, the sustainability station on the 17 SDGs, the movement snack on tour, the photo box as well as the TK bicycle mobile, once again ensured a varied event. Also this year, the greetings of the Rector of the University of Tübingen, Prof. Dr. Pollmann, the Director of the Institute of Sports Science, Prof. Dr. Höner, the Mayor of the City of Tübingen, Mr. Palmer, and the Head of University Sports, Ms. Arzberger, were another highlight.

During the Long Night (3/16/2023), SGM BeTaBalance was on hand again this year with three different relaxation and movement activities. The Balance Board Challenge, our Active Break: Movement Snack, and Stretch and Relax provided active breaks between writing periods. Due to high demand, we extended our offerings into the wee hours of the night.

At Christmastime, the student health management offered two special offers. On the one hand, students could hang tips for slowing down in everyday university life on Christmas balls on our Christmas tree, and on the other hand, the SGM Advent Calendar provided varied daily challenges in the Weo App. Under the motto "Together active and mindful through the Christmas season", students were provided with a varied offer.

First cycle, then enjoy! Under this motto, the movement snack on tour was visited for the first time on 15.11.2023 by the smoothie mobile of the Techniker Krankenkasse.
As a reward, all hard-working cyclists received a fresh smoothie of their choice.

The student health management BeTaBalance of the University of Tübingen has made it into the excellence class in the Corporate Health Award Audit! In addition, it is one of the pioneers in the field of student health management at colleges and universities throughout Germany. "This seal of quality shows that we at the University of Tübingen have built up student health management in recent years, which is becoming an increasingly significant component of study and teaching. The university management feels encouraged to continue supporting and promoting health-promoting structures and processes for students," says Chancellor of the University of Tübingen Dr. Andreas Rothfuß.

The entire SGM team would like to thank all SGM BeTaBalance participants who supported the application. Click here for the detailed article in attempto online.

At the beginning of the semester, the first Balance Board Challenge took place during Bewegungssnack on Tour from Oct. 18-11, 2022. For four weeks, students were able to demonstrate their skills on the Morgenstelle and in the valley. Amazing what performances were achieved on the Balance Board! With a time of 28:33:00 minutes, first place was secured by a margin of over 10 minutes. The active start into the winter semester 22/23 was successful!

On 04.11.2022 the steering group met for the 5th time. Together with the university management, represented by Dr. Andreas Rothfuß and Prof. Dr. Karin Amos, the Techniker Krankenkasse, student representatives and the SGM team, further steps of the SGM BeTaBalance were planned. At the same time, a successful project year was looked back on: Participation of the university in the ABC 2022, training of MHFA first aiders, establishment of the health literacy certificate, introduction of the Weo App, application for the Corporate Health Award 2022, and much more.

Experience Tübingen in a very special and above all active way - with our routes on Actionbound.
Our tip: Why not integrate the routes into your lunch break?

You can find more information about the offer here.

Drinking enough water is essential for good health. However, according to a study by the Techniker Krankenkasse, over 30% of Germans drink too little every day. Especially in summer, it is even more important to pay attention to one's water balance. To raise awareness, the SGM and BGM of the University of Tübingen organised a joint drinking campaign on 19 and 21 July.

For a whole day, students and staff could drink infused water free of charge and get tips on drinking. 

In the summer semester of 2022, the Mental Health First Aid course was held for the first time for students in cooperation with the Central Institute for Mental Health. Students learned how to recognize mental illness in their environment and provide first aid in the 12-hour online seminar. Upon successful completion, students had the opportunity to qualify as a licensed MHFA first responder. Additional courses are being planned.

At this year's HSP-RadCHALLENGE, the University of Tübingen ventured into the international university comparison for the first time and cycled with over 500 students and staff in the Acadmic Bicycle Challenge (ABC). A total of 141,072.00 kilometers were cycled in 4 weeks by all teams. The University of Tübingen's position in the international ranking will be known at the beginning of November, after the end of the ABC 2022. Further information and results can be found here.

After a longer break, due to the Corona Pandemic, the second RadCHECK event took place on 26.04.2022 on the premises of the Institute of Sports Science. In total, over 120 bikes were checked by students for students. The RadCHECK was supervised by the ADFC Baden Württemberg. In addition to the bike check, the supporting program also included an ergonomics check by Techniker Krankenkasse and DIY bike care stations. Archery, a performance by the university dance group Saltantes and catering by the student council sports provided a nice entertainment program that attracted many visitors despite the rainy weather forecast. More information about the event can be found here. 

Since SS22 students and employees have the possibility to get a unispecific access to the app Weo- Healthier with each other. The main features of this unispecific version of Weo are: 

• New selectable activity Active Pause 
• Flexible access to the digital active breaks of the SHM BeTaBalance 
• Setting reminders to integrate exercise into daily university life
• Personalized SHM feed with news about student health management. 

Click here for more information about Weo. 

On 22.02.2022 the 4th SGM steering group meeting took place. Together with the university management, process consultants from Techniker Krankenkasse, students and the project group, the future of SHM and upcoming actions and measures for the summer semester 2022 were discussed.
Especially the introduction of present teaching at universities for the summer semester 2022 offers new (old) opportunities to expand the SHM offer at the university. Be curious about what you can expect!

In the winter semester 21/22, students of the seminar "Sustainable Health Literacy from a Global Perspective" developed various measures to increase and maintain the mental health of students. One idea was a "good mood jar", which is intended to put a smile on students' faces, especially during exams.
Still within the seminar the students collected different quotes. From small jokes to motivational sayings, the "good mood  jar" was ultimately filled with about 670 sayings. It was exhibited together in the university library for three weeks as part of the nudging campaign "Are you still sitting, or are you already standing?" After only a few days, all the quotes were sold out.

In winter semester 21/22, focus groups on the certificate program in health literacy were conducted with students at the University of Tübingen as part of a master's thesis. The purpose of the study was to determine the attractiveness of the certificate program as well as possible barriers or benefits of such a certificate from the students' point of view. With the help of the results, the newly implemented certificate program can be continuously developed with the participation of the students. We would like to thank all volunteers for their participation!

At the start of the WS 21/22 semester, a three-week nudging campaign took place in the university library. Displays or flyers with QR codes were distributed at all workstations. The QR codes led to Balance Breaks, 30-second videos of movement exercises that can be done right at the workstation. With this campaign, the Student Health Management and the University Library would like to sensitize students for more movement in their daily study routine. The campaign was so well received that further nudging campaigns are being planned.

Since WS 21/22, the digital movement breaks "Bewgeungssnack digital" and "Balance Break" are available bilingually. The videos are subtitled in English. A selection of the videos are also narrated in English. With this adaptation, the SGM would like to make the digital movement breaks more accessible and enable participation also for non-German speaking students.

Since winter semester 21/22, there has been a buddy sports program especially for international students. According to the motto "exchange, explore, exercise", the students have the opportunity to get to know a new sports program of the university sports every week and to network and exchange with each other. The program takes place in cooperation with the "Integrative support project for degree-seeking students", with the aim of giving international students a space to meet in the context of sports. 

Giving students the opportunity to meet with friends during their lunch break, to exercise together and to create a balance in their daily study routine - this is the goal of our "Bewegungssnack on Tour" offer. Twice a week, the cargo bike has been touring the university campus with sports equipment and outdoor games since winter semester 21/22, stopping in front of the university library and Mensa Morgenstelle. During this time, students can borrow sports equipment free of charge and get active together.

Since winter term 21/22 students have the opportunity to borrow the university sports department's cargo bike free of charge. The prerequisite for this is a one-time training, so that the safety in road traffic can be ganatiert. The cargo bike can be booked and rented flexibly and can be used for bicycle tours, moving, shopping, etc. The service is run by students. The offer is supported by student assistants. 

On 20.09.2021 the third steering group meeting took place together with the university management, our cooperation partner Techniker Krankenkasse and representatives of the student body. Together, the goals of the last meeting were summarized and (new) developments of the Student Health Management (SGM) were discussed and decided. With the tailwind of the already achieved goals, all participants leave the meeting with new tasks for the future. Be curious about the results of the further cooperation.

At the start of the winter semester 21/22, the certificate program "Health Literacy" will be offered for the first time as part of the transdisciplinary course programm of the University of Tübingen. Through the certificate program, students not only form or expand their own health literacy and thus generate added value for themselves and others, but also critically engage with societal and global health issues.

The certificate program has been developed over the last two years and is a further building block of health promotion for students at the University of Tübingen.

From 01.05 - 21.05.2021 the HSP-RadCHALLENGE took place. Over 500 students and staff of the university cycled for the climate and the group goal of 600 km. Together, they cycled a total of 110,317 km and saved 17,207 kg of CO2. According to the motto: Save CO2 by cycling and promote CO2 bonding by donating trees, tree donations for a tree planting campaign in Brazil were collected in the course of the Challenge. 

Overall, the HSP-RadCHALLENGE was a complete success. Also due to the feedback of the participants we are already motivated for the next year, when it will be again: Get on the bike and collect kilometers!

Click here for the event report. 

Movement breaks in courses ensure that students can follow the course with greater concentration and attentiveness and reduce the risk of physical complaints. Especially in the digital semester, students complain of computer fatigue, among other things. For this reason, an online media library (Nextcloud) will be freely available to lecturers at the University of Tübingen from the summer semester 2021, giving them exclusive access to our digital movement pasues (Bewegungssnack digital and Balance Breaks). Thus, the digital activations can be integrated even more flexibly and easily into courses. If you are interested, you can request the access data by e-mail. 

On February 17th, 2021, the second steering group meeting took place together with the University Management, our cooperation partner Techniker Krankenkasse, and representatives of the student body. Originally, the meeting was to take place in spring 2020. However, due to the Corona pandemic, this was not possible. Together they exchanged visions and goals of a student health management at the university. All participants took away many new impulses for the future from the discussion and are looking forward to further cooperation.

Which determinants of the study environment as well as personal motivators and barriers are relevant for students' active transportation? Monika Teuber and Gorden Sudeck explored this question in their article in the special issue Active Commuting and Active Transportation of the International Journal of Envrionmental Research and Public Health.

Under the heading "Physical activity, health and study ability: sporting leisure activities and active transportation as a resource in studies?" [„Körperliche Aktivität, Gesundheit und Funktionsfähigkeit im Studium: Sportliche Freizeitaktivitäten und aktive Fortbewegung als Ressource im Studium?“], Monika Teuber, Ingrid Arzberger and Prof. Dr. Gorden Sudeck investigated the question of the extent to which study ability is related to health-related stress and physical activity.  [more]

From December 2019 to February 2020, a pilot project was run together with the Refugee Program to organize active breaks in courses: on two days a week, an active break was carried out on site by trained exercise instructors from the university sports department. The pilot project was intended to test how activity breaks in courses could be organized in the future.

In August 2019, the project's future continuation and expansion to other health topics was established with the signing of the funding agreement between the Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen and the Techniker Krankenkasse health insurance company.

The DUZ Special uses best-practice examples to show that many university sports facilities have succeeded in developing low-barrier exercise and health offerings as part of the "Bewegt studieren - Studieren bewegt!" initiative of the German University Sports Association and the Techniker Krankenkasse health insurance fund - the project report also includes BeTaBalance!

In January 2019, Techniker Krankenkasse was a guest at the University of Tübingen. During the joint exchange on the perspective of the BeTaBalance project with regard to student health management, the Executive Vice-President Dr. Rothfuß and Vice-President of Academic Affairs Dr. Prof. Amos took part in addition to University Sports and the Institute of Sports Science.

On 23.10.2018 the final presentation of the project-accompanying master project seminar took place, where the seminar participants presented their results of the needs assessment in the form of a poster presentation.

Thank you for participating in the online survey in SS18! Now we are entering the phase of evaluating the data and lottery of the 50€ or optionally self-selected free guaranteed course places of the Hochschulsport Tübingen (except excursions and workshops).

In the summer semester, the project seminar with master's students of sports science started on the promotion of physical activity in the university setting. Together, an online-based needs assessment was conducted among all students at the University of Tübingen and evaluated with various questions.

The German University Sports Association and the Techniker Krankenkasse health insurance fund have launched the "Bewegt studieren - Studieren bewegt" initiative. Within this framework, the Tübingen University Sports Department is launching the project "BeTaBalance - Bewegt studieren zwischen Berg und Tal" (BeTaBalance - study in motion between hill and dale), which is being scientifically supported by the Institute of Sports Science at the Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen. The project creates new opportunities for movement by students for students, especially for those who want to be active more (again). The primary goal of the project is the demand-oriented planning and implementation of more physical activity and recreation opportunities for students at the University of Tübingen.