Committees

Students have the opportunity to influence life, research and studying at the Department of Chemistry in a variety of committees. In the following paragraphs we want to explain which committees are responsible for which tasks, how they work and who is currently active in which committee.

Shape the conditions of your studies!

In order to participate in committees, you do not necessarily have to be a member of the chemistry student council. Even if you have never attended one of our meetings, but are interested in one of the committees, contact us at the beginning of a semester to be nominated as a representative.

Number of student members

1

Workload

One meeting per year, approx. 30 min

Tasks

The winners of the Dr. Anton Keller Prize must be selected by a committee consisting of three professors, one representative of the academic staff and one student member. The chairperson of the committee receives an overview of the final grades of all Bachelor and Master students of the previous year from the Examination Office. Based on this overview and its budget (depending on the revenue of the Dr. Anton Keller Foundation), the committee determines how many and which students will be awarded.

Members

Daniel Schan

Number of student members

2 each

Workload

One meeting to decide on the application text, approx. 30 min

One meeting for the selection of applicants – length varies depending on the situation, usually approx. 2 hours plus preparation.

Interviews & demonstration lectures – approx. 1.5 h per candidate usually 5-10 appointments

Final meeting of the commission for the selection of candidates, approx. 1 h

Tasks

The two students on each appointment committee pay particular attention to the teaching abilities of applicants for a new professorship in the Department of Chemistry. They are involved in reviewing all application documents and making the shortlist, which is finally invited to the department for scientific and educational presentations. The students usually organize the evaluation of the demonstration lecture and put the applicants to the test with typical student queries. The student commission members are entitled to vote, i.e. they have an active say. Even if they do not have a majority, consideration has always been given if a candidate seemed unsuitable for teaching to the students.

Members

Professorship for Organic Chemistry: Malte Afflerbach & Sebastian Binder

Professorship for Inorganic Chemistry: Isabel Huck & Lina Pfeifer

Adjunct professorship for Physical Chemistry: Daniel Schan

Number of student members

5

Workload

Monthly meetings during the lecture period, approx. 1 h, if necessary plus preparation and e-mail correspondence

Tasks

The FBR is the highest body and the final authority of the department. In the meetings, the members are informed about developments in the department, financial budgets are decided and all questions regarding teaching, research or administration are finally negotiated. The preparatory work is often done in other committees.

Members

Malte Afflerbach

Julius Koch

Leonie Holderbach

Isabel Huck

Anja Beck

Number of student members

usually 1

Workload

About 2 meetings per semester with the decentralised Equal Opportunities Officers for Chemistry, about 1 h

About 1 meeting per semester with all decentralised Equal Opportunities Officers, about 1.5 hours

otherwise depending on own commitment, “office hours” as required

Tasks

The Equal Opportunities Officers are invited to the FBR meetings as advisory members and are thus allowed to participate in the public part. They are the contact persons for students who have problems (e.g. due to sexual harassment, discrimination in group work or in connection with pregnancy), coordinate equality efforts at the department in cooperation with the AG Antidiskriminierung und Diversität (Working Group on Anti-Discrimination and Diversity) and distribute the decentralised funds for the advancement of women.

Members

Anja Beck

Number of student members

1 each

Workload

Commission meets only as needed

Meeting duration approx. 1 h plus preparation

Tasks

The habilitation committee decides whether a doctor of chemistry is to be awarded the degree of Privatdozent:in (private lecturer, kind of assistant professor). The habilitation candidate has the opportunity to demonstrate his or her didactic skills in a lecture that is usually not related to their research subject. Although the student member of this committee only has an advisory function, it is important that this committee is also made up of students, as the future Privatdozent:in will ultimately also be active in teaching.

Members

Currently no ongoing procedures.

Number of student members

1 each

Workload

about one meeting per year, approx. 30 min.

Tasks

The directorates elect the managing director of an institute. On the one hand, the commission's tasks include the administration of the institute's funds, for example to support service facilities or to co-finance the lab courses. On the other hand, the institutes organize the teaching tasks within their area. For example, at the Eduard-Zintl-Institute, a different professor is the head of the basic lab course in physical chemistry every year. The student member can get involved in teaching matters in particular, pointing out problems or bottlenecks and expressing wishes for improvement.

Members

Eduard-Zintl-Institute Directorate: Saskia Francke

Ernst-Berl-Institute Directorate: Malte Afflerbach

Clemens Schöpf-Institute Directorate: Daniel Schan

Number of student members

1

Workload

Commission meets only as needed, meeting duration < 1 h plus preparation time

Tasks

The committee only meets if there are problems that cannot be solved directly between the doctoral student and their supervisor, for example in the case of difficulties with external dissertations. The student member only has an advisory function.

Members

Philipp Pfeifer

Number of student members

1

Workload

Commission meets only as needed, meeting duration < 1 h plus preparation time

Tasks

This commission only meets when there are problems with examinations that do not belong to the standard cases that may be decided by the chairperson alone. In general, this committee is responsible for all examinations in the Bachelor's, Master's and Diploma areas, as well as for cases in which no credit points have been achieved over a longer period of time. The student member only has an advisory function when it comes to grades, otherwise they are entitled to vote.

Members

Julius Koch (Examination Committee BME)

Philine Schellhaas (substitute for the BME Examination Committee)

Leonie Holderbach (Chemistry Examination Board)

Malte Afflerbach (substitute for the Chemistry Examination Board)

Number of student members

4

Workload

1 meeting per semester, approx. 1.5 h plus review and evaluation of applications

Tasks

The committee has the task of distributing funds provided by the state (in the past called tuition fee compensation funds) among the various applications. The four student members have the task of representing student interests in the allocation process, i.e. to assess whether the measures proposed in applications serve to improve or assure the quality of teaching. Since the student body holds half of the seats on the committee, the students have an effective veto right. For example, the inorganic chemistry tutorials since 2018 have been financed through this body.

Members

Julius Koch

Leonie Holderbach

Florian Dubiel

Daniel Schan

Annika Sonn (substitute)

Valeria Berner (substitute)

Lennart Jennes (substitute)

Malte Afflerbach (substitute)

Micha Becker (substitute)

Number of student members

4

Workload

usually 1 session per semester, approx. 2 h plus preparation

Tasks

The Study Committee is one of the committees that work with the FBR. It deals with all questions concerning teaching. Current topics are, for example, the revision of our degree programmes within the framework of re-accreditation, the establishment of new Master's programmes and the awarding of the Athene Prize for Good Teaching.

Members

Malte Afflerbach

Anja Beck

Philine Schellhaas

Philipp Nickel

Leoni Klingelhöfer (substitute)

Micha Becker (substitute)

Saskia Francke (substitute)