First aid for first steps

Let’s say a student from Spain is coming to Magdeburg to study abroad. He’s still at the airport and wants to find out a bit about the University of Magdeburg, what his next steps are, and take a look at the campus map so he can find his halls of residence. That’s where the ‘Welcome to OVGU’ app comes in handy. It was developed jointly by ‘Interkulturelle Studenten Magdeburg’ (IKUS) – a student initiative that supports and looks after international students during their time in Magdeburg – and the International Office. It has been available in English and German in all major app stores since February 2021 and has already been downloaded extensively.

The pandemic in particular has made the situation much more difficult for international students, and direct support is often not possible. They arrive in a foreign country whose language they do not speak, have to go into quarantine, and as virtually everything takes place online, they find it much harder to settle in and make friends. Nevertheless, the University’s International Office and IKUS are doing their best to be there for them. “When students arrive here and are in quarantine, we make sure someone goes shopping for them. Before the pandemic, students could collect their keys from security 24 hours a day. Now we hand over the keys in person, even if some don’t arrive until 8 pm or 9 pm. All of this involves more effort,” says Anneke Benke, a member of staff at the International Office, describing the situation. Her job is to support international students from before their arrival and enrolment right through to their departure and disenrollment. “Everything to do with this study group somehow ends up on my desk,” reports the graduate of the Cultural Engineering study program. Together with the two student assistants, Christin Scheil and Anne Tiede, she oversaw the development of the app and they maintain it jointly. Christin Scheil also organises events such as the ‘International Welcome Weeks’ – one or two weeks packed with information sessions about studying, as well as excursions around Magdeburg for international students – which are supported by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD). She also manages the IKUS website. Anne Tiede works as a hall of residence tutor, looking after students in the halls and handling whatever tasks come up there.

“Although the university’s website contains a lot of information, it’s often scattered across very different sections. That’s rather inconvenient for anyone looking for quick answers to pressing questions on their mobile,” explains Christin Scheil. “Above all, we noticed that we were receiving emails from international students asking the same questions over and over again, and we had nothing we could refer them to directly – nothing where all the information was gathered in a compact and handy format for a mobile phone,” she adds. That’s how the idea arose to develop an app in which all the key information would be bundled together and clearly laid out at a glance. After all, the three of them thought, there’s an app for everything and everyone has a mobile phone – so why not develop an app to help international students get started? So they had a fairly quick idea of what was needed. But to put it into practice, they still had to find someone who could programme. In the end, Tien Do Nam, who was still a computer science student at the time, took on the task. He developed the app as a project for his Bachelor’s thesis.

“Everything is summarised on the app, and the most important information can be found at a glance,” explains Anneke Benke. This is a clear advantage, as it means students don’t have to go to the trouble of hunting down all the relevant information for themselves on the website. The app includes canteen and campus maps, as well as helpful information on the International Office – including contact details for initial enquiries – the Campus Service Centre, the Studentenwerk and the ‘Intercultural Students’ group. There is also a section called ‘First Steps in Magdeburg’, which offers tips on topics such as finding accommodation or registration in Magdeburg, and much more. The app also contains general and university-specific COVID-19 regulations, as well as a calendar through which students can perform registration for events organised by the International Office or IKUS. There is also a handbook summarising important information, such as how to use the e-learning platform.

“In addition, the hall of residence tutors and IKUS have recorded audio guides in English and German so that students can take a guided tour of the city and campus on their own. Due to the pandemic, only a limited number of places could be offered for such activities, which is why we wanted to create an alternative with the audio city tour,” explains Anne Tiede. And the work on the app has paid off: “So far, the feedback has always been very positive. Students appreciate having all the information at a glance, and even if a particular piece of information isn’t available, they can quickly find a point of contact,” summarises Christin Scheil. “Of course, we still get emails with questions, but sometimes it takes a bit longer for us to get round to replying. There have even been times when a second email arrived, pointing out that the information had already been found in the app. That’s brilliant,” says Anneke Benke. In particular, registering for events via the app’s calendar has been a huge help to the International Office team during the pandemic, for example with contact tracing.

There are plans to develop the app further in the future. At the moment, the three of them are looking for someone with more in-depth knowledge of the app’s programming language to help expand it, so that it can, for example, be offered in multiple languages or have additional features – such as access to marks – added. “And for the future, we hope that the app will really serve as a sort of first-aid kit for all international students arriving here for the first time. It’s designed to help them settle in well, find their way around and get to know the university and Magdeburg,” summarises Anneke Benke.