Does my degree program really fit my skills and interests? What can I do to escape the cycle of always handing in my term papers at the last minute? How can I craft my own academic writing style? Students often find themselves facing questions like these throughout their degree program. Now, however, help is at hand in the form of the new and innovative “Be strong!” study support program from the University of Bonn, whose pilot phase gets under way in the 2025/26 winter semester.
Support during a student’s entire degree program
The comprehensive program is designed to strengthen students throughout their time at the University, right up to their successful graduation, while also helping them to develop as individuals. It combines three different blocks:
1. Study orientation (“Well-guided!”)
2. Developing specialist and methodological skills (“Fit for your subject!”)
3. Building up personal resources (“Be empowered!”)
“As well as giving our students the best possible support in the subject they’re actually studying, we also want to improve their resilience, their motivation and their self-management throughout their time here,” explains Professor Klaus Sandmann, Vice Rector for Teaching, Learning and University Development. “In so doing, we’re creating the ideal environment for satisfied students embarking on successful studies. “With ‘Be strong!’, we’re giving teaching and learning at our University a powerful and lasting boost. This is an important objective, and one that we’ve also included in our Excellence Strategy.“ Based in Division 9—Studying, Teaching, Academic Planning within University administration, the program is a joint project by University management, its faculties, the Bonn Center for Teacher Education and central service units such as the Central Study Advisory and Counseling Service, the Career Service and Healthy Campus Bonn as well as the University Gender Equality Commissioner.
“Be strong!” brings together well-established student support measures and expands the existing offering in a structured, targeted and needs-based way to cover all phases of the student life cycle. For example, new courses on preparing for examinations in specific subjects and on destressing skills have been added. Unlike similar schemes at other universities, it deliberately does not focus exclusively on a student’s early days but considers their entire time at the University, from finding their feet in their first semester through to graduating with flying colors. “We’re seeing that students have vastly different needs depending on their personality, their interests and where they are in their degree program,” explains Dr. Anna Karin, head of the office set up for the program. She is keen for “Be strong!” to focus on students’ strengths rather than their weaknesses: “It’s about helping students to overcome challenges with confidence while unleashing their full potential”—humanist education in the ideal sense, in other words.
Pilot phase to start in 2025/26 winter semester
“Be strong!” begins its pilot phase in the 2025/26 winter semester with elements from the “Be empowered!” block, which include workshops and coaching on learning strategies, time management, resilience and preparing for examinations. These will be supplemented with a wide range of self-study and on-demand courses. Courses from the two remaining blocks—“Well-guided!” (study orientation, personal reflection and taking stock) and “Fit for your subject!” (fundamentals of specific subjects and techniques of academic working)—will be added gradually from the 2026 summer semester onward. Following the pilot phase, the program will be rolled out University-wide in the 2026/27 winter semester and become fully operational.
Students will be able to sign up on or after October 13, 2025 by completing the contact form on the “Be strong!” website. Spaces are limited. See https://www.uni-bonn.de/en/studying/organizing-your-studies/bonn-study-support-program-be-strong/bonn-study-support-program-be-strong?set_language=en for more information.