Bergfest
Made it halfway through your studies? Great! Come along to the Bergfest, refuel at the food truck, enjoy a free soft drink, relax with a yoga session and enjoy the beautiful surroundings of the Botanic Garden.
Make use of the empowerment stations, stroll along the poster walk, learn some relaxation techniques and visit the “advice market” for tips on spending time abroad or the topic of careers guidance.
We want the Bergfest to be an occasion where everyone can celebrate together and gear themselves up for the rest of their studies.
Overview
Date and time
June 5, 2025, 2:00 – 6:00 p.m.
Venue
Botanic Garden, Mediterranean House, Cold House and on various meadows. Please use the entrance Meckenheimer Allee.
Target group
The Bergfest is intended for students (bachelor’s, master’s, state examination, doctoral students) who are halfway through their degree program (from the 2nd / 3rd semester onwards).
Registration
Admission is free. No registration is required. Please show your student ID at the entrance.
Program
The Bergfest will be opened with a speech by Prof. Dr. Klaus Sandman, the Vice Rector for Learning, Teaching and University Development. Afterwards, you can get information and advice from the stalls run by the various central service points and counseling services, reflect on where you are with your studies, and acquire new skills at the empowerment stations.
And, if you fancy chilling out or getting active, why not take part in the sport sessions organized by University Sports? Meanwhile, the poster walk will give you information and tips on study skills. Alternatively, you can relax and chat to fellow students over snacks and drinks on comfy sun loungers or the Botanic Garden lawns.
Empowerment Stations
With everything going on in the stressful day-to-day life of a student – including term papers, bad news, exam pressure and all the rest – how can we train our brains to pick up on the positive aspects as well? Anyone can use the 3-2-1 method to develop their own mindfulness strategy and maybe discover just what they are capable of.
Participation possible at any time, duration 10–15 minutes
Try a snack from our “brain food bar,” get the recipes to make your own at home and treat yourself to a little break on a sun lounger, with information on diet and relaxation provided by Healthy Campus Bonn in partnership with the insurer Techniker Krankenkasse.
Participation possible at any time, duration 10–15 minutes
After a brief one-to-one chat, we’ll give you an empowering (and short) poem that can serve as a souvenir of your Bergfest and accompany you on the rest of your (study) journey.
Participation possible at any time, duration 10–15 minutes
When you’re just about to sit a written exam or hand in a term paper, do you often find you have no time at all to take little breaks here and there? We want to talk to you about why this is actually the most worthwhile time to schedule conscious (mini) time-outs, how you might structure them and how to succeed in making them a firm fixture in your daily routine.
Participation possible every full and half hour, duration 15–20 minutes
Try a snack from our “brain food bar,” get the recipes to make your own at home and treat yourself to a little break on a sun lounger, with information on diet and relaxation provided by Healthy Campus Bonn in partnership with the insurer Techniker Krankenkasse.
Participation possible every quarter past, duration approx. 30 minutes
Fed up with self-doubt and constant self-criticism? In this brief self-reflection session, we want to encourage you to see things from a different angle for once and view yourself in a friendly, appreciative and resource-focused light. This will allow you to tackle the next steps in your studies with renewed vigor.
Participation possible at any time, individual duration
Sport Sessions
Movement
Happy Spine - exercises for a healthy back
These exercises will practice moving your spine in all directions, combat “desk posture” and strengthen your back.
4:30 – 4.45 p.m.
in German
Yoga
5:45 – 6 p.m.
in German
Relaxation
Calm focus - breathing exercises to improve your concentration
From breathing exercises that relax you (controlling your breathing, slowing your breathing, breathing from your abdomen) to box breathing, a technique that boosts concentration, focus and relaxation.
4:00 – 4:15 p.m.
in English
Meditation
5:00 – 5:15 Uhr p.m.
in English
Break Time Express
The break time express features exercises on mobilization, strengthening, stretching and relaxation. The sessions last around 10 to 15 minutes.
2:30 – 2:45 p.m.
in English
3:15 – 3:30 p.m.
in English
Activity Bike / Manual Trainer
Various active games will be available to try out, including boules, spinning plates and many more. The manual trainer will let you practice your mountain biking while staying firmly in one place.
2:00 – 6:00 pm
Advice Market (in English and German)
The Alumni Network is a way for you to network with lots of different people before you even graduate, opening up potential contact with some 20,000 former students, researchers and staff members! Visit the Alumni Portal to get informed about all the events and activities going on at the University. Like the career event series Career Forum for students, organized jointly by the Career Service and several academic departments. The personal Alumni Card you receive as a member of the alumni association entitles you to a range of benefits in Bonn and the throughout the region.
The Bonn Graduate Center (BGZ) serves as the main point of contact for students regarding any and all questions of a non-faculty-specific nature about doctoral studies at the University of Bonn. The Center helps provide orientation and disseminates information on our broad extracurricular skills development programs, current calls for proposals and funding opportunities, putting students in touch with other service units of the University of Bonn as needed.
More than books: the USL provides professional citation and literature advice and services, utilizing the reference management and knowledge organization program Citavi. And we provide numerous workstations at the two USL locations. We would be pleased to provide you with personalized, detailed information on our services.
bonnFM is the campus radio station, run by students for students. Many students from all subject disciplines volunteer with us and work as a team to put together a good program that reflects the authentic student voice. We report on what’s happening on campus and in the city, keep you up to date on current events and give you tips on the good places to go out.
Students who’d like to join the editorial team themselves are always welcome, whatever their subject.
The Career Service provides students assistance with any and all non-degree-specific questions around career orientation and planning. Are you getting ready to apply for an internship, part-time job or your first job after graduating? Wondering about ways to gain professional experience while studying, or about what career you wish to pursue after graduating? Then by all means take advantage of the counseling and workshops we offer, not to mention the annual Karrieretag organized by Career Service.
We provide you with reliable and up-to-date factual information on academic programs, application procedures, admission and enrollment, study financing and other general issues concerning your studies. We offer professional, unbiased counseling for students who are considering abandoning their studies or are experiencing a crisis. Counseling is provided with the aim of helping students help themselves, stabilizing and empowering them with guidance to make the best possible decisions.
Interested in converting your idea into a business model? Get in touch with the enaCom Transfer Center for advice and support regarding starting a business, going freelance or transferring innovations. Obtain personalized advice, network at our events and cultivate your creativity in one of our workshops.
Have questions about funding your studies? We can help you figure out whether you are entitled to BAföG financial aid and provide you information on obtaining a DAKA loan or financial assistance to finish your studies or change degree programs.
The Gender Equality Office is your contact as a student or staff member of the University for any matters of concern around equal opportunity, gender equality and/or discrimination based on sex or gender. The University Gender Equality Commissioner and her team advise and support the University of Bonn in its efforts to comply with gender equality laws and regulations, meeting its institutional obligations to promote the interests of women in academia. The Gender Equality Office also offers workshops, training programs and wide-ranging continuing education for staff and students.
The Representative for Students with Disabilities or Chronic Illnesses advises and supports students whose studies are being adversely affected by a disability, a chronic somatic, neurodivergent or mental health condition and/or a learning difficulty and who do not know how or even whether they will be able to juggle both their health and their studies. Counseling is given confidentially and with a focus on finding a solution so that students can study successfully and with self-determination and are made aware of the accessibility accommodations and reasonable adjustments that are available.
The International Office provides advice on exchange and scholarship programs for our home students here in Bonn and for visiting international students. The office is also in charge of the Campus International services including the iStart career program, Certificate of Intercultural Competence and the Study Buddy program. There’s even a fun International Quiz game where you can win great prizes!
The Language Learning Center offers students wide-ranging opportunities to learn new foreign languages or hone their existing skills. We run language modules in 16 different languages at different levels. These skills-based modules have a practical bent, are taught in a blended-learning format and can help you prepare for spending semesters abroad in the future or improve your international career prospects, for example. We’ll be happy to advise you at our stall.
Visit the Office of Family Services stand for initial advice on how to balance your studies, work and research with family life requirements. The office is there to support you with the range of issues around being a student, doing research and other work as a parent or caregiver for family members, including maternity leave, accessibility accommodations, childcare and financial aid.
The Central Study Advisory and Counseling Service offers psychological support to students and doctoral candidates at the University of Bonn who are facing mental health issues that can get in the way of their degree program or doctorate. If needed, we can also advise you on finding therapy and/or put you in touch with someone who will be able to help.
Students can come to the psychological counseling center with any kind of concerns, be they study-related issues, social difficulties or mental health problems. As well as one-to-one consultations, you can also attend one of the various group sessions.
Do you suffer from chronic illness or disability and need support? Have questions you need answering, or don’t know where to turn? We have a dedicated advisor on staff to help students with disabilities organize their day-to-day activities for a successful study experience.
University IT (HRZ) is the University of Bonn’s central provider of IT services that students rely on for their studies. Want to learn about proper formatting of your next term paper, how to analyze and save data for your bachelor’s or master’s thesis, or how to back up your files? We would be pleased to assist you with such IT offerings as eCampus, an eLearning solution, and courses on IT topics, including particularly research data management and high-performance computing.
The University of Bonn Foundation supports students across four modes of funding: scholarships, prizes and research and project grants. The University offers the Deutschlandstipendium scholarship and the Ließem scholarship, and students can apply for travel scholarships as well.
Diversity-conscious structures and equal opportunity are essential for effective teaching, successful studying and good overall conditions for working and conducting research. The purpose of these organizational structures is to establish diversity as an overarching issue of importance and develop and implement targeted measures accordingly. The Vice Rectorate for Equal Opportunity and Diversity and the Equal Opportunity and Diversity Unit, which the former oversees, are charged with manifesting diversity as an institution-wide strength, making tangible gains in equal opportunity, promoting networking among leaders on this issue in the stakeholder groups and initiating structural change. We invite you to drop by and find out more about the existing plans around our Diversity Strategy and forthcoming offerings aimed at enhancing on-campus diversity!
Students are invited to visit our stand to find out about what writing assistance involves and potentially make an appointment. We support students who are suffering from writer’s block or plagued with doubts, offering general assistance with the process of writing term papers and theses for any academic department.
AStA
The General Students' Committee (AStA) represents the political interests of all students vis-à-vis the Rectorate, Student Services and politics. We offer you numerous advisory and support services. You can also take advantage of a range of services.
You are warmly invited to come and spend some time at the stall run by the General Students’ Committee (AStA). We’ll tell you about the AStA’s counseling services and events and, in turn, are happy to hear about all your problems—but also all the things that make studying in Bonn great. Besides pleasant conversation, we also have free ice pops.
We want to test how much you know about the student body at the University of Bonn with a quiz. What’s been your experience with the AStA so far in your studies? What topics are students interested in? And what will the AStA offer you in the second half of your degree program?
Quiz times: 2:30 pm | 3:30 pm | 4:30 pm | 5:30 pm
The AStA represents the interests of all students at the University of Bonn. It defends the interests of the student body, organizes dialogue and networking events and makes statements on issues of University policy. This includes engaging in regular dialogue with University management, with the Studierendenwerk and with politicians at local and federal state level. The AStA was also behind the introduction of the Germany-wide student transit pass, which it renegotiates every year.
The AStA is made up of various departments, each of which focuses on a specific issue (e.g. public relations, IT, ecology) or represents a specific group of people (e.g. BIPoC* students, queer students). As well as giving the student body political representation, therefore, the AStA also serves as the student self-administration.
Another of the AStA’s key areas of responsibility is counseling, which covers a broad spectrum: from examination matters to services for students with children and from social and legal advice to tailored counseling services for international or queer students. An overview of all the AStA’s counseling services can be found on its website.
We also provide numerous additional services, such as various support funds for students, the sale of stationery and office supplies in the AStA shop at the CAMPO-Mensa and the popular bike repair shop, where students can repair their bikes for free with expert assistance.
The AStA also puts on interesting talks, film screenings and other events for students, details of which are posted on its website and social media channels. The festival contre le racisme (fclr) is held in the summer semester, the series of Able*is*muss events combating ableism in the spring and another series of events — *gesellschaft*macht*geschlecht* (G*M*G) — in the winter semester.
Another highlight is the Kulturticket (“culture pass”), which allows students to visit numerous cultural institutions in and around Bonn either for free or with a discount. The AStA has partnered with numerous local educational and cultural institutions for this project, which is geared toward making cultural participation as accessible as possible for all students so that they can also enjoy what is on offer in Bonn outside the University and thus discover the diverse cultural landscape of the Rhineland. Besides museums such as the Beethoven-Haus and the Deutsches Museum, this includes numerous theaters such as the Pantheon, the Brotfabrik and the Theater Bonn. A complete list of partnerships and further information can be found on the Kulturticket website or in the Kulturticket app.
Poster Walk
At the Bergfest poster walk, we present you techniques and hacks for dealing with challenging study requirements and future orientation on informative posters. You can stop by here at any time to learn more on your own. If you have any questions, just come to the neighboring counseling market.
Here you can download all posters in English and German.
Food and Drinks
The pizza truck will be serving vegetarian and vegan pizza slices to take care of rumbling stomachs.*
Anyone who gets thirsty can refresh themselves with a chilled, non-alcoholic drink.*
The food and drink is free of charge.
*While supplies last.
Impressions from the Bergfest
Bergfest Uni Bonn
Bild © Universität Bonn / YouTube
Contact and Organisation
Lea Jenkner
Anna-Katharina Stelter
Information on filming and photography
During the Bergfest, the University of Bonn arranges for photographs to be taken and filming to be done. This will be published online, in printed media and on social media channels for the purpose of promoting its activities. By taking part in the Bergfest, participants consent to being photographed and filmed as well as to the associated material being stored and published. Please speak to our photographers and filming team on site if you do not wish to be photographed or filmed.
The University of Bonn receives funding from the state-wide flagship project “Studienaussteiger*innen NRW – Next Career” (“NRW Graduates—Next Career”).