When we promise you something, it breeds hope. If we can keep our promise, your trust in us grows. After two years of this Corona marathon, we are again at the beginning of a semester. Have we finally made it through, we ask ourselves. Can we promise you that we will be able to finish the spring semester with face-to-face classes and additional digital offerings? We share your hope and are doing everything we can to keep our promise and build your confidence.

It has been quiet in the university building for the past two and a half months. And involuntarily so. Last autumn, preparations for the Winter Universiade were in full swing. The University and the Lucerne University of Teacher Education had granted the ‘Winter Universiade’ hospitality in the building. Digital teaching events were planned for the month of December. Due to the extremely last-minute decision from the Swiss authorities, the Winter Universiade had to be cancelled. Nevertheless, the decision to hold classes digitally in December was upheld. A change again at such short notice would have entailed more disadvantages than advantages. In this case, planning reliability takes priority over spontaneous reactions. In order to gain some benefit from the sudden change in situation, we were pleased to be able to offer workstations for students in the empty seminar rooms and lecture halls.

We started the spring semester 2022 with confidence and anticipation. A presence university also means university life. I hope you will be able to recharge your batteries during your breaks by taking advantage of the extensive sports and cultural activities offered by our campus organisations, as well as the catering options provided by the Mensa.

I wish you a successful semester with many personal encounters and instructive exchanges at the university.

Doris Schmidli, University Manager