Getting Started at TH Köln

When it comes to planning and organizing your studies at TH Köln, we recommend you get in touch with your faculty, as numerous aspects such as your class schedule or course registration are handled differently in each program.

First-year students orientation

Most faculties offer welcome or orientation events for their first-year and exchange students at the beginning of each semester. You will receive vital information on our university, your program and on studying at TH Köln. These events provide an excellent opportunity to ask questions about scheduling your courses. We therefore strongly recommend you participate in these events. Please refer to the First-Year Students Information to find out about the date of your orientation event.

Choice of subjects and timetable

In order to select courses for your semester, you should take a close look at the study and examination regulations for your course of study. Often there is also a study plan that indicates when you should ideally take certain courses. If you have any further questions, please contact the course coordinators or faculty student association.
Depending on your study program, you will either have courses according to a fixed timetable or you will have to arrange your own courses at the beginning of the semester. Please note that you will have to register for many courses in groups on your own. You should be able to access the current list of lectures for your degree programme via the website of your faculty shortly before the beginning of the semester. There are also posters in the faculties.

The Faculty Student Associations (German: Fachschaften) are a good first point of contact if you do not want to go directly to a professor with a question, as they are organized by other students.

Many Faculty Student Associations organize social events for first-year students, sell lecture notes, help you with questions about the timetable and provide information on examination matters, for example how to behave in case of illness during exams and in which cases you can view your exam. Its members advise and connect students throughout their studies and across semesters. You can drop by the student council's open office hours with any concern.

Good to know: A Faculty Student Association is made up of all students of an institute/faculty. This means that you are automatically a member of a Faculty Student Association when you enroll. If you would like to get actively involved beyond that, contact your Faculty Student Association directly and find out how you can get involved.

New members are always welcome.

The campusID is your personal university account. It consists of user name and password and allows you to log in to various systems that are made available to you as a university member. These include, for example, your university e-mail inbox, access to the university network via VPN, the online examination and student service (PSSO) or the campusID center.

WiFi

Eduroam, the university Wi-Fi service, does not only give you internet access at TH Köln’s sites, but at every campus of an Eduroam university around the world. However, your device must comply with a few specifications. For information on the specifications and on setting up your Eduroam access go to: th-koeln.de/eduroam (in German) or use the English manual.

VPN

You can access all services available on the TH Köln university network via a VPN  connection, even from home or on the go. To access the university‘s internal services, you will need to install the Cisco VPN client on your computer, notebook or smartphone. Different versions of the Cisco VPN client are available. For more in
formation and instructions, go to: th-koeln.de/vpn (in German) or use the English manual.

student e-mail-address

Your campusID will give you access to your personal TH Köln email address. TH Köln uses this address to provide you with important information on your studies. That is why it is important that you check your emails regularly. Usually, this email address has the following structure: firstname.surname@smail.th-koeln.de

Please always use your university e-mail address to communicate with the university facilities. E-mails from private e-mail addresses can only be answered to a limited extent for data protection reasons.

You can use a webmail service to conveniently access your emails through your web browser. It is not necessary to install a separate email client. To access your emails via webmail, use the following link: https://webmail.th-koeln.de (in German)

You will need your CampusID to log into the webmail system. Alternatively, you can access your emails via clients such as Mozilla Thunderbird, Outlook, or Apple Mail. You will find the necessary configuration data and further information on our website.

The campusID Center also allows you to forward incoming emails to a private email address. You will find further information and instructions on: th-koeln.de/smail (in German)

Additional IT-services

Campus IT provides students with the following additional IT services

• sciebo (30 GB Cloud storage)
• Office365 and Teams (in German)
• Zoom
• Software for Students (in German)
• PC Pools at Deutz Campus (in German)

Campus-IT

Do you have questions about IT services, or do you need help?

• Campus IT service desk: T: 0221-8275-2323, E: support@campus-it.th-koeln.de
• selfservice.th-koeln.de
• on-site support

ILU is an open-source learning platform that you will use in your everyday life at our university. On ILU, teaching and learning materials can be created and shared online. Furthermore, students as well as lecturers may interact and collaborate on this platform.

THSpaces is another important tool for your everyday life at TH Köln. It is a social learning environment for digital learning, where students and professors can create virtual study rooms. There, they can communicate during classes, consult with each other in project teams, create portfolios or publish project documentation. Homespace, the front page of THspaces, allows you to publish announcements, suggestions or tips, or to comment on them.

CaMS is TH Köln's Campus Management System.

Please log in with your CampusID.

Students can

• Edit their personal and contact information
• Get Information on fees and payments
• Get Information on your programs and your re-registration for the upcoming semester
• Print Certificates of enrollment, BAFöG certificates and applications/requests (e.g. application for a leave of absence)

The Online Examination and Student Services (PSSO) can be used to register for or deregister from examinations and print academic records at home, without contacting the Office of Student Services.

The SemesterTicketNRW is included in your semester fee.

The new Deutschlandticket for students will replace the previous semester ticket (for the VRS and the whole of NRW) from the 2024 summer semester. With this ticket, students will be able to use public transport nationwide from March 1.

You can generate the ticket via this direct link: www.ots-nrw.de.

Or go to www.ots-nrw.de > Tickets > Deutschlandsemesterticket > VRS-Tarif > TH Köln.

At a ticket inspection, the ticket must be shown on your smartphone; printed tickets will not be accepted. In addition, the ticket is only valid in conjunction with your personal student ID and an official photo ID.