In October, 40 new students from all around the world started in the Elite Graduate Program "Theoretical and Mathematical Physics". To get to know each other, they met to mount the Jochberg before another semester is shaped by the Covid-19 pandemic.
In times of the pandemic, key elements to student life likegetting together after lectures or a night out at the bar cannot take place as lectures are held in virtual spaces in the internet. In the winter semester 2021/22 we hopedto be back to normal mainly thanks to the general availability of vaccines.At least, we could start the semesterwith a joint hike of the students of theElite Graduate Programm "Theoretical and Mathematical Physics" (TMP) to Jochberg. Freshmen and senior students of the program could get to know each other and exchange ideas while mounting one of Munich’s "Hausberge". The Jochberg is a local favorite thanks to the views it offers over Walchensee and the alpine upland.
The studentswere joint by Professor Jan von Delft, the spokesperson of the program, and study coordinator Robert Helling. This wayremaining questions on the program, e.g. which classes to take orhow to organise the semester, could be answered along the way.
What could not be expected on this day was that in the following week, the first participants would already be quarantined and due to rising numbers of infections, most classes had to return to online teaching. But at least, the participants can now associate faces of fellow mountaineers to their names on Zoom tiles during lectures.
Text: Robert Helling, Elite Graduate Program "Theoretical und Mathematical Physics"
