How can universities save energy without making drastic cuts? These and other questions will be discussed at the state press conference on Tuesday. Science Minister Brandes and university representatives look back at the start of the winter semester.
Düsseldorf (dpa / lnw) – With the start of the winter semester, the study conditions in times of the energy crisis are coming into focus. NRW Science Minister Ina Brandes (CDU) and representatives of the state rectors’ conferences want to speak to journalists in Düsseldorf today about the situation at the universities. In view of the sharp increase in costs, universities are also faced with the challenge of saving energy. On the other hand, it should be ensured that teaching in the winter semester can usually take place in face-to-face lectures. The effects on canteens and libraries are also an issue.
The number of first-year students in North Rhine-Westphalia has recently fallen again. In the academic year 2021, almost 104,000 people enrolled at NRW universities, as reported by the State Statistical Office in July. That was almost 8 percent less than in the 2020 academic year and almost 13 percent less than in the pre-Corona year 2019. In the old 2021/22 winter semester there were a good 756,000 students in total. The start of the new winter semester 2022/23 is imminent at the universities in NRW. At the universities of applied sciences, the new lectures have usually already begun.
In NRW there are a total of 14 public universities, 16 public universities for applied sciences, 7 state art and music universities, 26 recognized private and church universities and 5 administrative universities.
