For Dominik Korte – former StuPist and AStA speaker – the time on the Lingen campus was very formative. He tells us why it is advisable to get involved and what the differences are between university and college.
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Hochschulfreunde: Hallo Dominik, schön, dass wir uns mal wieder in live sehen dürfen. Tell me, how are you doing right now?
Dominik: I’m doing well. I’m currently doing my Master’s in Düsseldorf, which I’m very happy with, as are my fellow students. Everything is a bit bigger here than in Lingen, but I like it.
Let’s take a look back at your Bachelor time. What did you like most about your studies in Lingen?
Most of all, definitely the environment. In Lingen, there is simply great interaction with each other. After two to three months, you already know the whole campus and its people. As a first-year student, I was received and welcomed very nicely, so I quickly found my way into campus life and my studies. There is simply a very nice, family-like learning atmosphere here.
What is the difference between Lingen and Düsseldorf – college and university?
My matriculation number is two characters longer! In fact, the size makes a huge difference. At the University of Düsseldorf alone, there are as many students as at the University of Applied Sciences and the University of Osnabrück combined. When I go to the campus, I first ask myself which bus stop I have to get to. Accordingly, learning is also different. It’s different whether I’m sitting in a lecture room with 300 or 70 people.
Besides your studies, you were active as a volunteer. Would you like to tell us what you did?
I was elected to the student parliament directly after my second semester. Since I have been active in youth work in my home country since my school days, I also wanted to get involved somewhere alongside my studies. That’s how I got involved in committee life at the university and then a year later – more by chance than consciously – I joined the AStA and was the AStA officer for the board and general affairs for over a year with a lot of pleasure.
What do you mean by chance than consciously?
My predecessor left the AStA relatively spontaneously and we sat together with the Lingen committee people and thought about who could be his successor. Suddenly my name was called into the room and I thought to myself: “if no one else wants to do it, why not”. Shortly afterwards, I was the AStA speaker and I would say that it all worked out wonderfully.
What would you say is important or advisable about getting involved alongside your studies?
It definitely can’t do any harm. Personally, I have learnt a lot through my voluntary work, also apart from the subject matter: how a university is structured and functions; what role and power the students have at a university, which I think many people are not aware of, but also a lot of soft skills. It helps a person to develop personally and to dare to think outside the box and not become a subject idiot – without wanting to step on anyone’s toes.
What would you say to people who are still thinking about getting involved alongside their studies?
There are many different committee activities that take up different amounts of time. Beyond that, however, everyone can usually decide for themselves how much time they can and want to invest. For example, you could first participate on the side and sit in on meetings or help out at events to find out whether the respective committee is the right one for you. Getting involved at the university is very low-threshold, and if you don’t like it, you can always resign. Therefore: just give it a try!
Now at another higher education institution – or university. What differences have you noticed so far in the structures and committee work?
In principle, the committee structures are not that different. However, I don’t think I’ll get involved in committee work at the university again. The committee work here is very party-political and I would first have to belong to a university group to have a chance of being elected to the StuRa (student council), for example. The workload in the Master’s programme is also significantly higher than in the Bachelor’s programme and I would have less time to get fully involved.
You once made a statement in a newspaper article on the topic of university politics. In your opinion, why should a university committee rather not act in a party-political way?
There is nothing wrong with party politics, but I think that university committees should concentrate on university politics. You are elected by the students to represent their interests. So if you limit yourself to that, I think it’s possible to delve much deeper into issues that affect students. As an honorary person, you hardly have the capacity to deal with such broad topics of a party besides your studies.
Once a volunteer, always a volunteer?
I think I would always be missing something. Now in the Master’s programme, I’ve noticed a few times that I sat there in the evening and didn’t know what to do now. In Lingen, when in doubt, there was always an AStA meeting or event where you got together with others.
Finally, what would you say was your absolute highlight and your absolute low point of your time on the committee?
A very special moment was the University Ball 2021 and the submission of my Bachelor’s thesis – because that was the conclusion of a very special time. My second committee Christmas party was also an absolute highlight for me, because I was able to meet many new committed people here. A low point? That’s a good question. The time around my statement at the NOZ was very stressful because I had to deal with a lot of headwind. But it was nice to see how much support you got from your fellow committee members.
Okay, what three words would you use to describe your (committee) time?
Formative. Fun. Exhausting – but a good exhausting!
The interview was conducted on 10.11.2021 in Presence on the Westerberg campus.
Author: Lena-Lotte Peters