Action plan

Period of reduced heating over the Christmas and New Year break to be extended

From 19 December 2022 until 8 January 2023, temperature levels in university buildings will be lowered. This means that in the week before Christmas and in the first week of January, staff will be expected to work from home wherever possible. During this period, all teaching activities will be conducted online in an effort to minimize the number of persons on site. Additionally, teaching activities may take the form of self-directed study or some other alternative format. However, student supervision must be guaranteed at all times. In individual cases, curricular components or course elements can be brought forward or covered at a later date.

Based on the provisions introduced for teaching activities during the coronavirus pandemic, the online teaching format will not apply to certain practical teaching activities where in-person attendance is required, such as laboratory or workshop-based courses or practical skills classes. Examinations may be conducted digitally or in person. Where possible, the university's service facilities should offer their services online. The measures to be implemented at the Homburg campus will reflect the special situation of the Saarland University Medical Center.

Heating to be turned down sooner on Fridays

The heating in many campus buildings is typically turned down on Fridays to save energy over the weekend. This will now be brought forward by a few hours and the heating will be reduced at around 2 pm in all suitable buildings. In most cases, the residual heat will be sufficient to maintain an acceptable room temperature until early evening. We are also looking into the possibility of relocating courses and other teaching activities that are scheduled to take place at weekends so that they are held in those buildings that have to be heated over the weekend for other reasons. The aim is to move all weekend courses to these buildings. To identify which courses could be held together in the same building, the Education and Quality Assurance Division will analyse the entries in the LSF online course catalogue and coordinate the results with the relevant faculties and institutions. If you know of any weekend courses that have not been entered correctly in the LSF course catalogue, please report the relevant details using the form provided. Please do not report courses that are already correctly listed in LSF: Notification form for weekend courses during reduced heating period.

Appointment of voluntary energy ambassadors for individual campus buildings

To help communicate the university's energy efficiency drive, volunteer energy ambassadors will be appointed for individual campus buildings. Their task is to monitor whether electricity, heat and water are being used sustainably in the buildings and, when necessary, suggest minor on-site corrections. For example, they might suggest that users switch off the lights, shut down computers and switch off instant water heaters, unless it is essential that these devices remain connected to the power supply.

New library opening times

The libraries at Saarland University will be playing their part in the university's energy efficiency initiative. As far as possible, the libraries will attempt to maintain normal levels of service for their users. However, if the opening hours of some libraries have to be reduced, users will still be able to make use of other libraries as quiet spaces for reading and learning at these times. Please refer to the information issued by the individual campus libraries for more details. Click the following link for an overview of all modified library opening times.