Fund & Donation for Internationals  [21.04.20]

The University of Hohenheim has set up an emergency fund to support international students who have run into financial difficulties as a result of the Corona situation. It has earmarked around €15,000 in internationalization funds for this purpose. The fund will be supplemented by a generous private donation: A retired doctor from Stuttgart is providing a total of € 4,500 to pay the tuition fees for three committed Hohenheim internationals.

 

 

She has been interested in traditional Chinese medicine since she was very young. In order to foster cultural exchange, the retired physician enjoyed working with Chinese students in laboratory assistantships. Over the years, she has also repeatedly assumed the role of a mentor for committed young people.

"If one of my protégés had problems financing his or her medical studies, I also helped financially from time to time. I never wanted the young people to pay me back the money. Instead, I always asked for one thing: Do the same thing for the next generation later on, if you are in a position to do so! I myself am still grateful to my parents today for enabling me to concentrate fully on my studies in the difficult post-war years," said the retiree, who does not want her name to be published.

When she heard in a newspaper article about a Chinese student at the University of Hohenheim who had started an online petition to have the tuition fees for international students suspended ( € 1,500 per semester), she immediately felt the impulse to offer help.

 

Emergency fund for internationals

"I have asked the University to establish contact with the young man so that I can pay his tuition fees for one semester. I would like to offer the same to two other students at the University of Hohenheim. The nationality does not matter to me. They should simply be hard-working students and I would be happy if at least one young lady would also benefit from the offer," explained the donor.

The Office of International Affairs has initiated the establishment of an emergency fund to pass on the donations: "The University would like to thank you on behalf of the international students and hope that the fund can be increased by further donations," said Prof. Dr. Andreas Pyka, Vice President for Internationalization.

In addition to the donations, €15,000 in internationalization funds are also available for the emergency fund, which cannot be used at the University of Hohenheim in the Corona semester as originally planned. Last week, the state gave the universities the green light for reallocating these funds.

Until 26 April, international students who are subject to tuition fees and who are in financial difficulties as a result of Corona can apply for support. One-off subsidies in the amount of between € 300 to a maximum of € 1,500 should be given preferentially to students from developing and emerging countries with good academic achievements. The Office of International Affairs is responsible for the call for applications, reviewing the applications, selecting the students, and paying the money.

 

More jobs for international students

So far, however, the state has signaled little movement in discussions with the universities on the issue of completely suspending tuition fees for one semester.

"We no longer expect the state to change its thinking in this regard at short notice, but are instead looking for other alternatives to support students in need," explained Prof. Dr. Andreas Pyka, Vice President for Internationalization. "For example, the University of Hohenheim needs a large number of additional assistants this semester so that we can implement the requirements of our hygiene policy for the examinations. When awarding such jobs, we want to give special consideration to international students."

At the same time, Pyka asks the university institutions to hire more international students for other volunteer activities: "Please consider alternative employment opportunities if certain volunteer activities in the Corona semester cannot take place as originally planned. For example, it would be very desirable if the quality assurance funds could also be used for meaningful activities in the coming months," said the Vice President.

Federal and state governments discuss financial aid for students

Not only international, but also German students can find themselves in a precarious situation when they lose their jobs. The federal and state governments are therefore currently discussing a general emergency aid program for students. However, the question of whether this should be interest-free loans, subsidies, or a combination of both is still open.

 

Text: Leonhardmair / Translation: Neudorfer