Information regarding Covid-19
How to get in touch
with the Welcome Services team
Since March 18, 2020,
the Technical University of Munich has been working under restricted
operations to limit the spread of the coronavirus. Please find the
official information on the university lockdown on the TUM website.
Kindly note that all face-to-face services including the personal
submission of documents are currently suspended until further notice. You
can still reach us via telephone and
e-mail. Thank you for your cooperation and understanding.
Spouse & Partner
Community on the online platform Slack
We are
regularly posting updates on our news community on Slack for your spouse or
partner regarding new online programs such as live streams, webinars,
online workshops, sport or kids activities as well as good articles or
blogs dealing with the current situation. If your spouse or partner
hasn’t joined us on Slack yet, they are very welcome to do so now. To
the Welcome Services News community
KVR and immigration
office closed
Please note
that the KVR and the immigration office (Ausländerbehörde) are closed due
to the current pandemic. For those of you whose visa or residence titles
are going to expire soon, please see the website
of the City of Munich with all relevant
information. Due to the current situation, TUM decided to extend all
working contracts of third country internationals that can provide TUM HR
with the necessary confirmation from KVR by September 30, 2020 – even if
a new residence permit cannot be presented because the current one
maintains its validity for the time being.
Welcome Services Events
We regret to
inform you that due to the severity of the Covid-19 pandemic, the
upcoming Cultural Program event had to be cancelled.
Recommendations
for Digital Events
 Free online
courses from the world’s best universities
In life, you
should never stop learning and now is the perfect time to further educate
yourself with some online courses. Admittedly, having the courses of some
of the world’s best colleges and universities such as Oxford, Princeton,
Stanford, ETH Zurich, and the National University of Singapore at your
fingertips makes this endeavor all the more exciting. You can choose
between a range of different topics that suit your goals and interests.
While taking part in any course is generally free on the dedicated
e-learning sites Coursera and edX, receiving a qualification in form of a certificate or a
final grade comes at an additional cost. If you do so, however, you can
then add your new skills as a showcase on LinkedIn.
 Free virtual museum tours
For many
people, visiting a museum is one of their favorite pastimes to undertake
on a weekend. With Munich offering an impressive and varied museum
landscape, you might be lamenting the current closure of all its sites.
Still, you shall be pleased to find out that some of the world’s most
fascinating museums are now offering virtual tours via Google
Arts & Culture. Whether you are going
to wander through art exhibitions at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam or the
National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Seoul or explore
artefacts at the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City – you
will surely be able to find something that suits your taste.
 Free opera streams
You might
have already visited the Bavarian
State Opera (Bayerische Staatsoper) here in Munich. These days, you can
enjoy the opera’s program online by watching their free
Monday Concerts on Staatsoper.TV. If you are craving more opera and want to go international,
a visit to The
Metropolitan Opera in New York is also not quite so out of reach. The Met
offers a range of international pieces as part of its nightly opera
stream, and so you can enjoy some world-class opera from the comfort of
your home. Considering to support the international art scene right now –
be it museums, operas, or theaters – would be much appreciated.
 Free theater streams
To keep entertainment
levels high, many musicians, artists and venues are currently offering
their services to an online audience. One of Munich’s more innovative
theater companies, the Munich Kammerspiele, are
kind enough to display a different recording of one of their theater
performances on a daily basis. To our delight, the current hit Genesis
will also be a part of this repertoire. You are able to turn on English
subtitles for every video. Nevertheless, you are strongly encouraged to
support their business by purchasing vouchers for future use.
 Science at home
Science at home is a Twitter initiative
of the German Aerospace Center, developed due to school
closings. Under the hashtag #ScienceAtHome, various German research
institutes describe simple do-it-yourself experiments. You can find
various suggestions on how to deal with topics related to MINT at home,
and you may have some extra fun by doing it together with your children.
The spectrum ranges from useful YouTube channels to interactive online
courses to easy-to-implement experiment ideas.
 ZDF’s virtual classroom
As school shifts from a classroom to your home, it is worth
acknowledging that a range of online resources are now in place to keep
your children educated and entertained. Beyond the homework and resources
provided by their school, you can, for example, also take a look at the virtual classroom
(Virtuelles Klassenzimmer) on zdf.de. The website not only
features videos at pre-school level, but also holds resources for more
advanced pupils. If you are looking to freshen up or even acquire new
knowledge all whilst practicing some German, you will also be able to
find engaging resources for yourself on a range of topics.
 Spiritual resources
Since most places of worship are closed and mass gatherings
are not allowed, it is time to look towards other sources of spiritual
comfort. In case this might apply to you, the Archdiocese of
Munich and Freising has pulled together a range of resources
that follow the Roman Catholic religion. You can find relevant links to
several prayers and other websites. Included are resources straight from
the Vatican, such as a current mass with Pope Francis. Of course, there
are also other websites that promote different faiths and religions, yet
without being directly endorsed by Freising.
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Typically Munich
 Happy
Easter!
In Germany, Easter time is dedicated to family and relaxation. It is a
time for religious and cultural Easter traditions and first outings in
the blooming nature.
The
Easter holidays are a very important time for Christians. They are a
big thing in Germany, paired with some beautiful traditions. Already a
couple weeks prior to Easter, Germany gets ready for a new season. You
will see spring flowers on display, traditional Easter trees
and of course lots of colored eggs and special Easter candy. Eggs are a
very prominent feature, which are up to now still blown out by mouth
and carefully
painted and ornamented, and used to decorate the
house. While eggs were originally dyed with natural materials like tea,
dye kits are becoming more and more common nowadays.
Easter
symbols and traditions are closely related to spring, new life,
fertility, and light. Boiled eggs will be dyed with food coloring and
should represent sunlight and growth. Next to the Easter egg, the
rabbit is probably the most popular Easter icon, which brings and hides
the Easter eggs.
Germans
are lucky to enjoy a long Easter weekend. Good Friday and Easter Monday
are public holidays, so all shops, banks and offices are closed. Easter
in Germany begins with Green or Maundy Thursday (Gründonnerstag). It's
common to eat green food on that day such as spinach, while many
families traditionally eat fish on Good Friday (Karfreitag). But there
are lots of special sweet treats as well such as the traditional Easter
cake (Osterkranz or
Osterzopf) or cookies in the shape of little lambs or Easter bunnies.
Easter
Sunday marks the highlight of the Easter weekend. It remembers the day
Jesus Christ was resurrected, according to the New Testament. Spring
flowers, eggs, chickens, hares, and lambs symbolize the natural world’s
rebirth after the darkness of winter and Jesus’ resurrection after his
crucifixion. Easter Sunday morning is also usually the time where parents
hide baskets filled with colored, boiled eggs, chocolate bunnies,
sweets, and little presents for the kids. Easter Monday is often used
to have a nice Easter brunch with the family and lots of eggs and
Easter treats.
Now
is the perfect time to cook or bake some special Easter recipes
from all around the world, get inspired by some DIY Easter
decoration tips or keep the kids entertained with some
Easter crafting
ideas. Or why not creating a completely
new way of the egg-hunt this year?
Happy
Easter and stay healthy, everyone!
Notes
TUM
Accommodation Service
If
you are planning to leave Munich in a while and are staying in a
private accommodation that could possibly be rented out again to other
international guests, please send an e-mail to the TUM Accommodation Service.
The team of the TUM Global & Alumni Office wishes everyone leaving
a good continuation of your research and hope to welcome you back here
someday.
TUM
Research Alumni Network
Before leaving
Munich, do not forget to join the TUM Research Alumni Network.
In this way, you will remain part of the international academic
community of the Technical University of Munich. Also, do not miss to
join the TUM Research
Alumni Gallery and thus show your enduring
affiliation to our institution.
Mentoring
for Scientists
The Mentoring for
Scientists program is designed for international
Research Alumni and current guest scientists of TUM.
It supports PhD students and post-docs in research and research-related
matters. If you want to share your knowledge or learn from experienced
colleagues, you can either apply for a mentor or a mentee during your
stay at TUM.
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