Elections to the Academic Senate of the TU Berlin

Every two years the members of the TU Berlin – including the whole student body – are invited to elect their representatives into the different boards of this university. The next elections take place from February 16th to February 18th 2021.

Why does this matter for my studies?

The very basic answer: Because it does.

Almost everything a university consists of gets decided within these “mysterious” boards – from the amount of tutors getting assigned to your faculty to the appointment of new professors. From compulsory elective subjects to the regulations governing general study and examination procedures. From learning spaces to opening hours of the libraries and IT-equipment.

What is the Academic Senate?

The Academic Senate (AS) is the highest board within the academic self-administration (Akademische Selbstverwaltung) of TU Berlin. Every single decision concerning the whole university is getting discussed there. Its tasks are especially:

• enactment of the Regulations Governing General Study and Examination Procedures (AllgStuPO) as well as confirmation and commenting of subject-specific regulations governing study and examination procedures (StuPO),
• establishment and cancellation of courses of study,
• establishment and cancellation of professorships as well as decisions regarding appointments of new professorships,
• decisions about the strategic development of TU Berlin,
• distribution of scientific personnel and tutor jobs across the faculties,
• decisions about research projects,
• decisions about construction projects,
• determination of the numbers of first semester students per course of study,
• enactment of miscellaneous central statutes and regulations,
• commenting of the budget of TU Berlin,
• decisions about cooperations and, if wanted, creation of university outposts (e. g. Campus EUREF and El Gouna), and
• nominating staff for the executive office (together with the board of trustees).

… and the Extended Academic Senate?

In comparison to the AS the Exteded Academic Senate (EAS) only has a few but no less important tasks. It elects the president and the three vice presidents. The president is answerable towards the EAS. In addition the EAS enacts the university's charter which is the constitution for the TU Berlin.

List 1: Eure Inis & Friends ❤️ Fak 1, 4, 6, 7

Sustainably improving study, work and leisure time at TU Berlin!

We are your students initiatives & friends and are campaigning for years for a better climate on the campus. We are organizing introductory weeks for first semester students, providing advice during your course of studies and are providing exam collections as well as Club Mate in the evening or at a campus party at the weekend. Our list consists of students of almost every faculty, eight different students initiatives 🤝 and even more courses of studies 📜.

For self-determined and sustainable studies

• Preservation of free spaces and cafés for students on campus
• Improved teaching
• More free trials
• Reopen learning spaces with priority
• Sustainability in teaching
• More language courses which can be accredited as modules
• Reducing bureaucracy
• Recorded lectures
• Enough capacities for all courses of studies, especially masters degrees
• Data protection in online teaching
• International Exchange
• Promoting project-based and self-organized learning and teaching
• Against racism, sexism and discrimination

How to vote?

There are two ways for you to participate in the elections: Either by absentee ballot or by ballot box at the polling place. Due to the Corona pandemic, it is safer and probably more convenient to vote by absentee ballot this year. At TU Berlin, most elections are held in parallel, so in addition to the ballot for the Academic Senate, you will also receive the ballot for your Faculty Council (Fakultätsrat) or the Institute Council (Institutsrat) of your central institute, the ballot for the election to the Board of Trustees (Kuratorium), and if applicable the ballot for the election of the Council to the Women's Representative (Frauenbeiräte).

You can find out which people you can vote for on the service page of the ZWV (Central Election Board, Zentraler Wahlvorstand, Wahlamt) list of candidates (Wahlzeitung, Wahlvorschläge).

Absentee Vote

You must apply for the absentee vote for the committee elections in due time. You should do this at the latest on February 10, 2021 (8 days before the last election date). Otherwise, your election documents may not reach the TU Berlin in time.

Finding your Wahlfakultät

For the absentee vote you have to know at which faculty you are eligible to vote (Wahlfakultät, Wahloption). This is usually the faculty where your course of study is located, for students who are not assigned to a faculty, the corresponding central institute acts like a faculty. However, you can also find your Wahlfakultät in the Bescheinigung für die Gremienwahlen (report for comittee elections) in the tuPORT portal (you will need a TAN for this). To do this, go to the Bescheide und Bescheinigungen app and open the Bescheinigung für die Gremienwahlen. Since the PDF will open in a pop-up, your browser may give you a warning. Sometimes tuPORT does not find the PDF the first time, then you just have to click on the link again.

You can also find the Wahlfakultät in the old enrollment certification (Studienbescheinigung) under Eligible to vote for:. If you haven't changed your course of study in the meantime your Wahlfakultät should be the same.

Request absentee ballot

After you know your Wahlfakultät, you can request absentee ballot at the Central Election Board (ZWV, Wahlamt) of the TU Berlin. To do so, you can find on the „Briefwahlantrag Fakultäten AS EAS KU Frauenbeiräte 2021 ausfüllbar“ (request for absentee ballot Faculty Council, Academic Senate, Board of Trustees, Council to The Women's Representative) for the Election from 16 til 18 February 2021 at the service page of the ZWV.

Fill out the request for absentee ballot

For the request for absentee ballot you have to write your name, your university member group (abbreviated with St) and your matriculation number, as well as your Wahlfakultät. For the Wahlfakultät it is sufficient if you write the corresponding number from I-VII. You can also use Indian-Arabic digits or the long string from the Bescheinigung für Gremienwahlen. You do not need to provide a phone number or an e-mail address. For the request you can use the German or the English version of the application document.

You can fill out the request directly in the PDF, but you can also fill it out completely by hand. To digitize the request, you can print it out and then scan or photograph it. You can also fill it out completely digitally with a tablet or a picture of your signature 📝. It is important that in all cases the handwritten signature is clearly recognizable.

Do not forget the sign the request with your handwritten signature.

Send the request to the Central Election Board

There are a couple of ways for sending the request to the Central Election Board:

The fastest are probably doing this by

• e-mail (k3-TB-wahlamt@win.tu-berlin.de) and
• fax or telecopy (+49 030 314 23915),

also, the request can be sent by in-house mail (Hauspost) from every guarded gate at TU Berlin:

Hauspost
Geschäftsstelle des Zentralen Wahlvorstandes
Sekr. K 35

It is also possible to send the request by regular mail to the Central Election Board:

TU Berlin
Geschäftsstelle des Zentralen Wahlvorstandes
Sekr. K 35
Straße des 17. Juni 135, 10623 Berlin

The request for absentee ballot should be filled out and sent rather quickly. The Central Election Board anticipates that the request should be sent no later than 8 days prior to the final election date, February 10, 2021, so that absentee ballots can be mailed and also returned in a timely manner.

Send the absentee ballot back

The absentee ballot should be filled out according to the note included in the absentee ballot material and then sent back to TU Berlin by regular mail (or in-house mail). All postal charges are covered by TU Berlin, at least if you mail from somewhere in Germany.

The ballot papers must be received by the Central Election Board by the end of the respective election. That means on the 18 February 2021 at 3 p. m. for the elections to the (extended) Academic Senate, the Board of Trustees, the Faculty Council or the Council to The Women's Representative.

Don't forget: The assurance (Versicherung) on the Wahlschein (not the ballot paper (Stimmzettel) itself) must be signed. Otherwise the vote cannot be counted.

The steps in detail:

1. mark the ballot paper (Stimmzettel) and put it into the coloured ballot paper envelope (Stimmzettelumschlag),
2. seal the ballot paper envelope,
3. Sign the Wahlschein, fold it with the writing facing outwards and place it around the ballot paper envelope,
4. place everything in the white reply envelope (Antwortumschlag) and seal it,
5. send the letter by mail or in-house mail.

Ballot election (Urnenwahl)
16 to 18 February 2021 from 10 a. m. to 3 p. m.

The ballot is possible from 16 to 18 February 2021 from 10 a. m. to 3 p. m. To vote, you only need your student ID and an official photo ID (e. g. identity card (Personalausweis), passport or driver's license). You can vote at the polling station of your faculty.