FAQs

GSiK offers over a hundred events each semester:

• … Seminars (registration via WueStudy, sign the participation list in the seminar, counts as a GSiK seminar point),
• … Workshops (registration via WueStudy, sign the participation list in the workshop, counts as a GSiK lecture point*
• … Lectures (no registration required, sign the participation list in the lecture, counts as a GSiK lecture point)
• … E-Learning programme (registration at any time through self-enrolment on WueCampus, counts as a GSK seminar point)

*Exception: If the workshop lasts over 15h it counts as a GSiK seminar point

To get further information you can visit…

• … our calendar of events   on the GSiK website
• WueStudy under the following path: Lehrangebot/ Vorlesungsverzeichnis anzeigen/ Veranstaltungen für Hörer/-innen aller Fakultäten/ Globale Systeme und interkulturelle Kompetenz (GSiK)

You can find current information (especially about current lectures during the semester)…

• … In a clear and compact form in the two-to four-weekly  GSiK newsletter 
• … In compressed form in the Monday Mail
• … On our Facebook page

Which and how many events you need for the GSiK certificates and what to keep in mind…

• … read under the tab "Certificates" on our website

Sure, we are always happy to hear suggestions and wishes! Just contact the GSiK office.

Our entire range of courses applies to all students of the University of Würzburg. This includes enrolled doctoral candidates.

In addition:

• Our lectures are open to the public. Anyone interested can take part in such events.
• It is possible to participate in GSiK events if you are enrolled as a guest listener at the University of Würzburg.
• However, a GSiK certificate can be obtained if you are enrolled in a degree programme or if you are registered as a guest listener at the JMU.

Events are always considered GSiK events if they are listed in the calendar of events on the GSiK website. This also applies to language courses and events outside your degree programme.

Seminars can also be found on WueStudy under “Course Overview”,  "Lehrveranstaltungen für Hörer aller Fakultäten”, “Globale Systeme und Interkulturelle Kompetenz".

ECTS and GSiK points are independent systems for presenting academic achievements.

You need ECTS credit points to obtain your degree (B.A., M.A. or St.Ex.). The study and testing regulations for your studies determine (regardless of GSiK) for which events you can receive how many ECTS credit points. In many cases, it is possible to also obtain ECTS credit points in GSK events, e.g. via the ASQ pool (--> see FAQ point Can I obtain ECTS credit points in GSK events? )

You need GSiK points to obtain one of the GSiK certificates. For each GSiK event (seminar, workshop or lecture) you receive a GSiK point. For the "GSiK Certificate" you need five GSiK points, for the "Extended GSiK Certificate" you need ten GSiK points. At least two, respectively four of those GSiK points must be obtained in seminars. Also each GSiK area has to be covered. For more information on the requirements for the GSiK certificates, please visit our information page GSiK certificates.

There is no assessment for lectures/workshops - just take part and enter your name into the participation list.

In seminars: The lecturer responsible decides which method of assessment applies for obtaining a GSiK point.

Many GSiK events are part of the ASQ pool and/or the “Freier Bereich” of the teaching degree programme. In this case, the ECTS points that you need for the ASQ area or the “Freier Bereich” can be obtained in GSiK events.

There are some GSiK events that are offered as part of your regular degree programme. If you study the according subject, you can also have these events accredited for your studies and for GSiK.

If you want a GSiK event accredited in your degree programme, you have to be assessed following examination regulation rules and, as the case may be, receive a grade. You can find the exact rules for this in your examination regulations. Here, it is also the respective lecturer that decides on the specific assessment standards.

However, it is not possible to earn ECTS credits in all GSiK seminars.

You can receive specific information on performance expectations from the respective GSiK lecturer or on WueStudy.

We generally recommend joining the participation lists, as this will later allow you to prove you participated in the event. Sometimes students discover later that they participated in enough GSiK events to obtain the certificate and they want it to be issued. However, this is only possible if you signed the participation lists.

There is no timeframe to obtaining the certificate, you can attend the GSiK programme the entire time you are enrolled at the University of Würzburg, no matter in which degree programme.

A GSiK certificate is issued by the University of Würzburg and verifies that you have engaged and qualified in the important field of intercultural competence. It is a valuable addition to your application portfolio.

There are two different certificates awarded – comparable to a basic and an advanced level – depending on how many GSiK events you participated in. You can find the exact prerequisites for the GSiK certificates on our information page on the GSiK certificates.

It is also possible, upon request, to issue a Statement of Attendance for a single GSiK event.

The following two examples will clarify which certificate might be suitable in your situation and what you need to be aware of:

Example one:

Yasemin has already participated in the following three events: 1. HumanCare-Professional volunteering with refugees (seminar), 2.  Sustainability Management (lecture) and 3. Religious contemporary Culture (block seminar). She would like to have them accredited in the GSiK areas A (1.), B (2.) & C (3.).

She has already obtained 3 GSiK points (one for each event). Now she is missing 2 events in the areas D and E for the GSiK certificate. Since she has already participated in two seminars, she can now choose whether these events will be seminars, lectures or workshops.

One seminar she is particularly interested in is "gender diversity in India and Germany". In the calendar of events, she sees that this seminar is included in areas B, C and D. So she decides to assign this seminar to area D. Just so she doesn't get confused, she enters the assignments into her personal overview of events.

Yasemin studies Special Education (BA). For area E (Interdisciplinary Studies), she has to choose an event that is not assigned to any department of her regular degree programme.

First of all, she looks at events that are assigned to the department 'cross-curricular', since they are considered to be outside every students department. Finally, she decides for an event from Chinese studies.

Yasemin has now obtained all the points for her GSiK certificate and can file for her certificate.

Example two:

Baran is in his last semester. He has been participating in several GSiK events, including 3 seminars. He took part in a total of 6 events. Since these events were all held before the winter semester of 2017/18, he can now choose for which areas the events are to be accredited (transitional rule).

Since he has also studied abroad for a semester, he can also have his stay abroad accredited as a further GSiK seminar. Thus he has obtained the 4 "GSIK-seminar-points" required for the extended GSIK certificate and has already collected 7 GSIK points in total.

To obtain the remaining 3 GSiK points, he wants to visit the GSiK day. He can obtain three "GSiK-lecture points" in one day by taking part in the keynote lecture, a workshop and the Fishbowl discussion. Since he has already covered all GSiK areas with the "old" events, he can now freely choose which workshops he wants to participate in during the GSiK day.

Baran has now obtained all the points for his extended GSiK certificate and can file for his certificate.

Yes. For each successful participation in a GSiK event, you can have a corresponding GSiK Statement of Attendance issued. As usual, it is necessary that you have successfully completed the event and signed the participation list for that event.

GSiK events fall under the two categories, “seminar” and “lecture”. If you take part in a workshop within the GSIK programme, it will normally be acknowledged and accredited as a "lecture" to your certificate. If the workshop has the length of a seminar (min. 15 h), it will be accredited as a "seminar". The same applies to other types of events such as panel discussions or excursions.

A variety of different events, such as lectures and workshops, are held on GSiK days. You can have them accredited individually as different lectures and thus take part in several GSiK events in one day.

Important: For some workshops you must register on WueStudy.

All GSiK events are assigned content-based to different GSiK areas.

Many events are assigned to more than one area. For your certificate, an event can only be considered once for one area.

You decide for which area you would like the respective event to be accredited. You enter this information into your personal overview of events and hand it in when you apply for your certificate.

Note: In order to obtain a GSiK certificate/an extended GSiK certificate, you must cover all GSiK areas at least once.

Area E is different to other GSiK areas.

It is not listed separately in the calendar of events, as the criterion “outside your degree programme” differs for each student.

So you can choose events that match your interests and timetable from the general calendar of events!

An event is considered “outside of your degree programme” when it is held by an institution (for example, a department) that is not primarily involved in your degree programme. For example, if you are enrolled in the Bachelor's programme of Special Education at the Faculty of Humanities, the events of Sociology are outside your degree programme.

Students with majors and minors from several departments:

GSiK events from the area of your minor cannot be accredited as an event outside your degree programme for the GSiK certificates. The subjects are part of your regular studies and are therefore not considered to be outside your degree programme. Through this regulation we would like to encourage you to think outside your regular discipline, because the project, above all, lives from its interdisciplinarity.

Studying for a double degree:

If you study for a double degree, one of your two degree programmes counts as “outside your degree programme”.

Some events are generally considered as outside every student degree programme. These are events organized by departments that do not offer their own degree programmes, for example all events organized by the GSIK office itself.

All events up to and including the summer semester 2017 are recognized in the areas A, B, C and D. There is no disadvantage if you started your GSiK studies before the winter semester 2017/18.

The area E corresponds to the previous rule, after which you had to participate in at least one event outside of your degree programme. The introduction of this area did not change anything.

No, unfortunately not. Only events that are officially integrated in the GSiK programme are eligible for the GSiK certificates.

Yes. Stays abroad, which are organized via the University of Würzburg or which you have completed as part of your degree programme at the University of Würzburg can be accredited for your GSiK certificate. This can be a semester or a year, an internship or a Winter/Summer-School abroad.

The stay abroad can be accredited as a GSiK seminar and is assigned to area D (Culture-specific competences).

Stays abroad that were not part of your studies at the University of Würzburg cannot be accredited.

On your certificate, we will list all the events you participated in, as part of the GSIK project, even if the number is beyond the minimum required for the respective certificate, providing you have signed the participation lists.

These additional events are creditable for further certificates. 

You can apply for your certificate via e-mail (gsik@uni-wuerzburg.de). Which documents you need to attach for the application, can be found here. After completion of the certiifcate, we will send it to you via post. Make sure you give us your adress in the formular. 

If you would like to receive a Statement  of your participation in a single GSiK event, you can simply contact us via E-mail. We will then check to see if you have successfully participated and send you the respective Statement per post.

In order to prove your successful participation, it is necessary that you have signed the attendance lists or have a confirmation from the lecturer.

Note: If you are planning to obtain a GSiK certificate, you do not need to have every event confirmed individually. The certificate lists all the single events you have successfully participated in.

Usually 3-6 weeks (during the semester break possibly longer).