They disappear for hours into their workrooms in the university library. Sometimes they look serious, sometimes cheerful. They are packed full of books. Who are they and what do they do? We asked and visited six students in their study cubicles.
Text: Mark Brüggemann, Photos: Daniel Schmidt.
"I hope we're not disturbing you too much right now," we say to Claudia, who is sitting in her cell on this early Wednesday afternoon. "I just managed to close Facebook," she replies and laughs. Claudia is a student on the Renewable Energy Programme and is writing her English thesis entitled "Impact Measurement of Rural Development with Solar Energy". "I spent two months in Ethiopia for the thesis and conducted a survey there. I'm now analysing this data, I'll need another month," she says. Firealem from Ethiopia, who is also studying renewable energy, came into the cell for a quick chat.
We don't need no education? Not with Irina. She specialises in the didactics of German, or more precisely, what pupils expect from textbooks. To this end, she conducted interviews in the sixth form of a secondary school in Oldenburg. "Pupils of this age group have never been asked about their opinions on textbooks before. It was really great to see what opinions and tips you get," reports Irina enthusiastically. She wants to complete her work in three weeks. She is happy with her cell, "it's just a shame that it's too small to turn the table towards the window".
While it's freezing cold outside, the sun heats up Migue's cell in the art and music level of the library. "I'm surprised at how warm it is here today," says the Venezuelan, who, like Claudia and Firealem, is studying Renewable Energy. His topic is the "Life cycle assessment of the charging infrastructure in the field of e-mobility". "I have done a simulation and am now preparing a research report," says Migue. He has been charging his cell every day for a month now, "I don't differentiate between weekdays and weekends," he says with a smile. But late afternoon is usually the end of the day, "from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. is my ideal working time."
Darja, an economics student, has put up posters in her cell. Only subject-related ones, of course. "The poster on the right is the outline of my work, so I don't have to keep flicking through it," she explains. "On the poster on the left, I've outlined the actions of energy suppliers." Darja specialises in environmental policy and is working on "smart metering" in her Bachelor's thesis. "This is about intelligent devices that measure and transmit consumption quantities and periods for gas, water or electricity in households," says Darja. "I'm interested in what impact smart metering has on energy supply companies." The Estonian with Russian roots has been writing her thesis since mid-November, and she has made herself at home in the cell since January. And when her head is spinning? "Then I go outside or look at online shopping sites," says Darja.
There are also cells in the somewhat remote library room for Computing Science. Pedagogy student Friederike uses one of them. The room is almost as warm as Migue's before. "Oh, it's fine, I can always air it out," says Friederike. She doesn't want to lower the bright red sun blinds for aesthetic reasons. She is now spending the third month in the cell to finalise her Master's thesis. "Temporal dimensions of everyday student life, taking into account the subjective perception of stress" is the title. "I've now reached page 55 and would say I'm about to hand it in," says Friederike.
Katharina only moved into her cell a fortnight ago. "I found it very cramped here in the first week, but then I got used to it," she says. She can only concentrate on her Diplom thesis on corporate management here: "You get too distracted at home, I simply get more done in the library." However, Katharina is not one of those students who rattle the barred entrance to the library before eight o'clock in the morning: "I'm usually there between 12 and 8 pm."
