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Inforz for Summer Ophase 2019
Master
English
Journal of students
of computer science
at the TU Darmstadt
Price: invaluable
ISSN: 1614-4295Contents
Welcome 4
Foreword by the Dean and Dean of Studies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Welcome to TU Darmstadt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Welcome to the Ophase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Commented schedule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Studies 11
Methods of Teaching and Learning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Where and how to study? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Implementation Terms of the Study program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Imposed conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Web portals at TU Darmstadt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
IT Infrastructure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
The University 21
Facilities at the TU Darmstadt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Mensa - the cafeteria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Questions and Answers Regarding the Fachschaft (student council) . . . . . . . . 24
Public transport with your student ID . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Validity of your ticket . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Leisure 28
Living in Darmstadt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
All switches off . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
GnoM - The LAN party without a power supply . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
RPGnoM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
For Look-up 32
Dictionary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Common Abbreviations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Recommended bookmarks for computer science students . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Important Addresses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Impressum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39Welcome
Welcome
Foreword by the Dean and Dean of Studies
Dear Students, another country with a foreign language and
different culture is challenging and it will
likely take you some time to adjust. Teach-
we would like to welcome you most cordially
ing and studying at our university may also
at the Department of Computer Science of
use different approaches from what you are
Technische Universität Darmstadt.
used to. Here are a few personal tips that
might help you:
We are very happy that you have chosen our
department for your continuing studies and
we believe that you made a very good de-
Be focused in your studies, but not over-
cision. The Department in Darmstadt has
ambitious.
been among the first three computer science In the first term we recommend to
departments in Germany, but, at the same choose courses that you are really in-
time, it is also one of the most forward look- terested in and whose content you can
ing. We were one of the first departments to judge. Don’t try to take too many
offer studies according to the international courses at once. Rather, focus on a
Bachelor/Master system. Since several years few and do your best in them. It is
we offer the Masters in Distributed Software important to have some success early
Systems, taught completely in English. The on and to avoid being spliced up into
most important aspect for you, however, is too many activities.
the quality of the education we offer. Year
after year the Computer Science education Don’t hesitate to ask for help. If you have
in Darmstadt is ranked among the top insti- questions about organizational issues
tutions in Germany based on a poll among (for example, you failed to register or
Human Resources managers of German com- deregister for an exam), if you have
panies. personal problems, or if you have prob-
lems with your visa, don’t hesitate to
It must be said, of course, that these high ask the people and institutions named
expectations go hand in hand with high de- elsewhere in this brochure. For study-
mands regarding your commitment during related issues, in particular, the Exam-
your studies. From your Bachelor’s degree ination Office and the Student Advi-
you are used to studying hard and you have sory Service are first ports of call.
already a solid foundation. But on the Mas-
Don’t neglect the social side. Skype & Co.
ters level you will encounter courses that
keep you in touch with home, but
lead you to the state of art in their area. We
it is important to have a social life
will challenge your analytic skills and your
here. This is a great opportunity to
capabilities for abstraction, as well as your
make new friends and to learn about
aptitude for design and implementation of
new things. The university offers a
complex software. You must be able to work
lot of social activities in which you
independently and proactively, but also in a
can participate: sports, games, mu-
team with others.
sic, crafts, etc. And why not help
out in the “Fachschaft”, the represen-
On top of the demands imposed by your tatives of the students, who produced
studies, you need to adapt to a different this brochure?
culture, a different life style, different food,
etc. Perhaps your family, your partner, your Learn a few words of German. German is a
friends are far away. difficult language and no one expects
you to master it in the two years you
Many foreign students find the first months spend here. Having said that, know-
rather challenging – and indeed moving to ing a few words of German will go a
Inforz for Summer Ophase 2019
5>Welcome
long way in your everyday life, be it ing, an educational, and a happy time here
in a restaurant, in a shop, or on the in Darmstadt. We hope that you enjoy your
street. Just seeing that you make an studies and that at some time in the future
effort lets people react friendly towards you will look back fondly at the time you
you, even if the conversation switches spent with us.
to English after a few sentences.
We, the Dean and the Dean for Studies of Prof. Dr. Stefan Katzenbeisser (Dean until
the Computer Science Department at TU Winter Term 18/19)
Darmstadt wish you a successful, an excit- Prof. Dr. Marc Fischlin (Dean of Studies)
(Picture: xkcd.org)
(Picture: xkcd.org)
Inforz for Summer Ophase 2019Welcome
Welcome to TU Darmstadt
The Fachschaft Informatik welcomes you to are currently (or possibly soon) attending
your studies at TU Darmstadt. and which aims to provide you with all the
knowledge needed to start your studies suc-
cessfully. In addition, there will be mentors
By now, you will probably have read and
(experienced students from the same pro-
heard it several times already, but we, the
gramme as yours) to help you throughout
Fachschaft Informatik[1], would nonetheless
your first semester who may also offer ad-
like to heartily welcome you as well: to your
vise on other issues you may be facing in this
master’s degree studies, to Technische Uni-
country. Last but not least, there is us, the
versität Darmstadt, to Germany, and to a
Fachschaft Informatik (or student council),
new chapter of your life in general!
a bunch of active volunteers who are always
You may have already encountered a num-
eager to help out all computer science stu-
ber of things in and about Germany that
dents with advice concerning affairs related
may feel strange, foreign or simply new to
to the department or the various study pro-
you. German culture is potentially very dif-
grammes here.
ferent from your own, and the university’s
as well as your study programme’s struc- It is our hope that during your studies you’ll
tures are likely to be, too. Do not despair, find new friends among your fellow students
though, for you are neither the first nor and that you may also find some time to
the only one struggling with these changes. expand your knowledge beyond this field of
Since many other students from abroad have study alone. After all, your studies here
been facing these same challenges in re- mark the beginning of a new episode of your
cent years already, the university and the life in which you have the chance to get to
computer science department have installed know a new country and to experience a
plenty of helpful facilities supposed to aid whole different culture. As such, we wish
you with acclimatising to your master’s de- you all the best for your time here.
gree programme. One of those facilities is
the orientation phase, or Ophase, which you Fachschaft Informatik
[1]What – or rather who – we are and what we do, is described in the Article Questions and
answers regarding the Fachschaft on page 24
Inforz for Summer Ophase 2019
7>Welcome
Some members of the Fachschaft during summer term 2018
(Picture: Jörn Tillmanns)
Welcome to the Ophase
As you are holding this booklet in your hands a college magazine dealing with all things
and are reading this article, chances are that computer science (mainly with respect to
your orientation phase (or Ophase, in short) what’s happening at TU Darmstadt), which
has just begun or you are right in the middle is published more or less regularly by the
of it. Fachschaft Informatik. This Ophasen-Inforz
contains all the information you are going to
be taught in the orientation phase, and po-
The orientation phase at the department of
tentially some more, in written form. Nev-
computer science sports a long history: it
ertheless, it can obviously not substitute the
has existed for almost as long as the depart-
Ophase on its own, as this booklet won’t an-
ment of computer science itself has by now.
swer questions beyond what has been writ-
Its aim is for you to get to know the univer-
ten and also won’t introduce you to your fel-
sity, especially the department of computer
low students. Thus, it is still highly recom-
science, and to help you connect with your
mended to attend the Ophase and primarily
future fellow students.
use the Inforz as a source of information to
Every part of this event is organized and
come back to later if and when you need to
made possible by student volunteers eager
look something up that you were told during
to help new students like you to start their
the Ophase but might not remember in full
studies well prepared. The tutors taking
detail.
care of you throughout the Ophase are stu-
That being said, we hope you find this book-
dents like you, who have also participated
let helpful during the orientation phase as
in an orientation phase in the beginning of
well as your studies at TU Darmstadt and
their studies, and a few semesters later de-
wish you a pleasant and informative orien-
cided to pass on their experiences.
tation phase!
This booklet, the Ophasen-Inforz (or OIn-
forz, in short), is a special issue of the Inforz, OInforz editorial staff
Inforz for Summer Ophase 2019Welcome
Commented schedule
On the front inlay of this booklet you can The AStA (”Allgemeiner Studierendenauss-
find the schedule for the orientation phase. chuss”, general committee of students) rep-
In this article the different entries shall be resents the interests of TU Darmstadt’s stu-
explained a little further. dents on several of the university’s boards.
In addition, they offer a lot of services for
students, like legal and other advice, as well
Breakfast as other offers specific for international stu-
During all of the orientation phase week dents. In this talk, an AStA representative
we offer a breakfast buffet for every new will provide you with more information on
computer science student (Bachelor and what they are and do.
Master), open from 8:45am (9:30 am on
Wednesday) in room S2—02 C301. Feel free Sprachenzentrum Talk
to grab a free breakfast here, chat with your On wednesday morning a short talk will
fellow students and tutors, and start your be held by the university’s Sprachzentrum
day in a relaxed fashion. (SPZ, language centre) that will put specific
emphasis on their selection of German lan-
Registration and Welcome Meeting guage classes.
This event marks the official start of the ori-
entation phase for you: After receiving a SAS and DSS Master Talk
name tag for the week, as well as a bag of These talks mark the most official source of
goodies, there will be a welcoming speech information on your chosen course of studies
from the department and we’ll explain to during the orientation phase. The depart-
you in a little more detail what you the ori- ment’s student advisor and your coordinator
entation phase is about and what you can of studies will be present and provide a load
expect from it. of important information about the formal
aspects of your studies. Since they will also
answer your questions in their positions as
the official go-to persons during your studies,
attendance at these talks is highly advised.
Short Talks
Apart from the AStA (see above) there are
several other student groups, organisations
and institutions in and around TU Darm-
stadt that deal with topics of relevance for
international students. In this talk, some of
these will shortly present themselves to you.
Welcome Meeting for a winter term. Talk on TUCaN
(Picture: Robert Rehner)
This talk will provide a quick walk through
TUCaN, the online platform you will have
Intercultural Talk to use in order to organise your studies and
Chances are that your studies of Distributed register for exams.
Software Systems mark the first long-term
stay in Germany for you. Since German IT Infrastructure
culture might differ from your own, this talk Several institutions within TU Darmstadt
is here to provide you with a quick crash- and the department of computer science are
course in all things German. responsible for the local computer and net-
work infrastructure. In this talk you’ll hear
AStA Talk about these institutions and what you need
Inforz for Summer Ophase 2019
9>Welcome
to know about them and how they can be questions from you.
useful to assist with your studies.
Get Together
Your Studies As a relaxed way to end the orientation
phase, there will be a Get-Together event
If after two days of theory you’re still won- on Wednesday afternoon, with board games,
dering what it actually is like to study here, coffee and cake. This event will also be at-
this panel is for you. On this panel, some tended by the new German master students,
students that have been enrolled in your so if you’d like to also get to know some of
master’s programme for some time already your German fellow students, feel free to
will talk about their experiences with study- join in on the fun.
ing here and give first-hand advise on how
to avoid frustration with your studies. Of
course the panelists will also be open for
(Picture: xkcd.org)
Inforz for Summer Ophase 2019
< 10Studies
Colleges are places where pebbles are polished and
diamonds are dimmed.
(Robert Green Ingersoll, 1833 - 1899, US-American orator)Studies
Methods of Teaching and Learning
The methods of teaching at TU Darmstadt ercise. In Darmstadt a course starts at the
may differ from those you already know. In time mentioned in the schedule. All our
this article you get to know the most used courses will start s.t (sine tempore) - expect
methods for teaching. something else is mentioned explicitly.
A course may consist of several teaching edited and translated by Johannes Alef,
methods, for example a lecture and an ex- edited by Anna-Katharina Wickert
Lecture
(Picture: Andreas Marc Klingler (4))
• Most used method of teaching at the
department of computer science.
• A Lecturer (a professor or an assistant)
stands in front of the students while
they listen.
• Most lecturers use slide-presentations.
Exercise
• Used for getting experience and a
deeper understanding of the subject.
• Exercises are worked on by small
groups of students supervised by a tu-
tor.
• Apply the knowledge gained from the
lecture.
Inforz for Summer Ophase 2019
< 12Studies
Practical Lab
• Used for getting ”practical” abilities.
• Alone or in groups.
• Often your results may be tested by a
tutor.
Office Hours for consultation
• Office hours are offered for most lec-
tures.
• Don’t be afraid to ask ”stupid” ques-
tions!
• But prepare for the office hours so you
know what to ask.
• Often no prior registration is neces-
sary.
Where and how to study?
The opinions of students differ in many ways, First of all there are the PC-Pools, the C-
but most of all on the subject of studying. Pool and the E-Pool. There you have com-
Everyone studies in a different way because puters to work with. The Pools are usually
everyone perceives his life differently. And crowded but you can even go there at night if
that is important! The most important dis- you put in a request for a Transponder from
tinction when it comes to studying is be- the ISP. Additionally, there is the Bistro
tween those who study at home and those Athene (C301) which is also often crowded
who study on the campus. because of the good atmosphere and the
kiosk. Last but not least there is the learn-
ing centre of computer science (LZI) in room
It doesn’t matter where you study. It may A020.
be hard to believe but you don’t even need
to own a computer to study for your ex- Mensa City Campus
ams. If you are studying on the campus you
The rooms of the cafeteria (S1|11) are open
can use one of the larger working rooms or
from 7 am to 7 pm. There is plenty of space
look for a room in another building where
for studying. And there is of course the
you meet your fellow students to study with
Bistro that offers coffee and sandwiches. It
them.
sounds good but it really depends on how
many people are already learning there be-
Piloty-Building (S2|02) cause it can get quite loud.
Inforz for Summer Ophase 2019
13 >Studies
study there. A good starting point for this
is the old main building (S1|03).
Studying at home
Many students also like to study at home
because it is more quiet and they can con-
centrate better. But this may not always
be a good tactic for learning. In fact, it is
often better to study with other students.
So if you plan to study at home, try to do it
together with other students.
Workload
It is very important not to underestimate
(Picture: Henry Klingberg / PIXELIO) the workload of the courses. Your schedule
may look fairly empty but that is mislead-
Library ing. Although for some courses it may be
The library (S1|20) offers a lot of literature enough to just visit the lectures and attend
and long opening hours (currently January the exercises, for most courses you will have
to March and June to August a 24-hour to invest more time than that. You may have
service, in the other 6 months daily from to use the same time you spend in the lecture
07:00 - 01:00). But of course it is a library or even double that time to go through the
so you have to be quiet there. You can rent material again and really understand it. So
small rooms there for free, for example when don’t underestimate any course. Take them
working on your thesis. But this has to be all serious from the beginning of the term.
planned months ahead as they are almost It is better to invest more time in the begin-
always occupied. If you want to discuss a ning of a course and then see that you need
small subject, you can do it during a lunch less time later on than to find out that you
or a coffee at the Lesbar (a small bistro next should have done more by the end of term.
to the library). This can be really important for passing ex-
ams.
Other rooms
Apart from the ”official” working rooms you Andreas Marc Klingler,
also have the possibility to look for rooms edited by Patrick Toschka
that are not used or booked for usage and edited and translated by Johannes Alef
Implementation Terms of the Study program
The implementation terms for your study mentioned documents aren’t legally binding
program describe how your study program is either, only the German versions are.
organized.
Preliminary remark To successfully finish
your study program you have to achieve at
As it is for all texts in this booklet, errors least 120 Credit Points in accordance with
and omission are excepted. Legally binding the implementation terms. You also have
are the General Examination Terms the Im- to pass every imposed condition within your
plementation Terms of the study program first year of studies. After your graduation
and the information given by Student Advi- you receive the academic title Master of Sci-
sory Service or the Dean or Dean of Studies ence (M. Sc.).
or the Examination Office. Please also re-
member that the English versions of the The goals of your studies The Master
Inforz for Summer Ophase 2019
< 14Studies
in Distributed Software Systems is designed at the end of your studies when you have
to enable you to develop high-quality busi- finished every other course and you already
ness applications that are scalable, flexible, know all the research topics so that you can
secure and liable. This study program will choose a good topic for your thesis. The
also enable you to autonomously develop Master Thesis is normally worked on alone.
software and work on a scientific basis. It is supposed to show that you can au-
tonomously work an a problem of computer
Credit Points Credit Points are a mea- science. But of course you have an advisor
sure for the time complexity of a course. for your task.
One Credit Point equals about 30 hours
you invest into a course during the term. Coursework Study achievements
A student is expected to achieve about 30 Courseworks can be repeated until they
Credit Points during one term. This means are passed. This often applies to practical
40 hours of work per week. labs or seminars. Courseworks are in Area
of mandatory choice D of the plan of studies.
Plan of studies The plan of studies reg-
ulates the courses that you can take. It Exams Exams can be repeated only a lim-
consists of four areas of mandatory choice ited number of times. You have a maximum
and the Master Thesis. The first area is of three attempts per exam. If you fail two
Distributed Systems. It focuses on specific times at an exam you will be invited to an
knowledge needed to build distributed appli- advisory appointment where you will get
cations. You have achieve at least 18 Credit help in analysing why you failed two times
Points in this area. The second area is Net- and how to pass the final attempt. Exams
working and Systems Software, where you can be written or oral. This normally de-
learn about the foundations of distributed pends on the number of students attending
applications. Here you need at least 18 the course. For every exam you have to
Credit Points too. The third area is For- register in TUCaN during the exam regis-
mal Methods, Programming Languages and tration phase.
Software engineering. This will enable you
to create software for high quality require-
ments. You have to get at leats 18 Credit
Points in this area as well. In these three
areas exams will be used for grading. The
fourth area is Achievements in parallel to
studies. These are mostly seminars or prac-
tical labs. You have to take at least one,
at most two seminars. Also at least one
of the forms practical lab, project and si-
miliar forms has to be chosen. In this are
you must achieve 12 to 15 Credit Points.
The remaining 21 to 24 Credit Points you
can achieve with courses from the first three
areas. Please note that there is a list of Grades The grades at German universities
available courses: [2]. are the following with 1.0 being the best
achievable grade and 5.0 meaning you failed
Master Thesis The Master Thesis is the fi- the course:
nal part of your study program. This Thesis • 1.0, 1.3 (excellent)
is worth 30 Credit Points which means 900
hours of work you will have to invest dur- • 1.7, 2.0, 2.3 (good)
ing one semester. Although you can start • 2.7, 3.0, 3.3 (satisfactory)
your Master Thesis anytime during your
studies it is highly recommended to write it • 3.7, 4.0 (sufficient)
Inforz for Summer Ophase 2019
15 >Studies
• 5.0 (fail) exam. It is important to check the registra-
tion period every semester. You can only
TUCaN The Campus Network portal TU- register for an exam during this time.
CaN is where you register for every exam.
In TUCaN you can also unregister from an Johannes Alef
Imposed conditions
For your studies at TU Darmstadt you I think I already have that knowledge.
may have received some imposed conditions. If you think that you have been given an im-
Here you will learn what they are and what posed condition although you acquired that
their influence is. knowledge in your previous study program
then the talk to the Student Advisory Ser-
vice for further information.
What are imposed conditions? Te be-
gin a Master study program of computer sci- How to pass these courses. First
ence at TU Darmstadt you are required to of all you must register for theses
already have knowledge on all major areas courses in TUCaN. There you can
of computer science. When you apply with find theses courses under ”zusätzliche
your Bachelor Degree then the contents of Leistungen”→”Gesamtkatalog aller Module
your courses are checked if you have all the an der TU Darmstadt” → ”Gesamtkata-
knowledge that you need for our study pro- log aller Module FB 20 Informatik”. The
gram. If you are missing knowledge of cer- modules should then be under ”Grund-
tain areas we require you to pass certain lagenveranstaltungen” or ”Kanonische
courses after which you will have this knowl- Einführungsveranstaltungen”. If you have
edge. Those courses are the imposed condi- problems with registering for these courses
tions. please contact the Examination Office.
What is their relevance to me? All im- Some of these courses are only available
posed conditions have to be passed in your in German. The exams will be in English.
first year of studies. If you don’t pass all of You can get learning material and more
these courses you get de-registered from the information here: [1].
study program. So try to pass these courses
as soon as possible. Johannes Alef
[1]http://inferno.dekanat.informatik.tu-darmstadt.de/pp/
[2]https://www.informatik.tu-darmstadt.de/de/studierende/studiengaenge/masterstudiengaenge/
spezialisierte-masterstudiengaenge/distributed-software-systems/lehrveranstaltungen/
[1]https://www.informatik.tu-darmstadt.de/en/international/applicants-for-a-university-
place-from-abroad/application-and-admission/imposed-conditionsconditional-acceptance/
Inforz for Summer Ophase 2019
< 16Studies
Web portals at TU Darmstadt
TUCaN, Moodle, etc. During the first weeks mostly lectures, sometimes with exercises.
of your studies you will have to learn how to Courses are the top level of organization for
use the web portals at the TU Darmstadt and your studies. To take an exam, and then
the computer science department. In this ar- get the credits and your grade, you have
ticle you will learn what they are for and how to register for the course under courses →
to get started using them. registration. Only then you can register for
the corresponding lecture (and exercise) the
same way you registered for the course. Only
TUCaN Let’s begin with the most impor- when you have done this you can register for
tant one: the TU CampusNet (or just TU- an exam during the exam registration period
CaN, [1]) is the web portal which admin- (normally from the middle of November to
istrates the progress of your studies. This the middle of December for winter terms and
also implies what it should be to you: an during June for summer terms). You register
administrative tool. In TUCaN every ex- for exams via exams → my exams → exams
amination regulation that exists at the TU offered for registration.
Darmstadt is stored (for you this is most Only if you are registered for an exam will it
likely the examination regulation M.Sc. Dis- be categorized as an examination attempt.
tributed Software Systems 2015 or one of If you don’t take the exam (and you fail to
the other computer science master regula- provide a sick note) although you were reg-
tions). All the data stored here, which in- istered in TUCaN, you fail the exam. You
cludes the courses and exams you take dur- don’t get any credits until you finally pass
ing your studies can be viewed and modified the exam. For a failed exam you get the
by the Examination Office. grade 5.0. If you know that you don’t want
This may sound quite abstract but the way to take the exam eight days or earlier before
it works is actually quite simple: your stud- the exam date you can deregister yourself via
ies are organized into courses. These are exams → my exams.
(Picture: Thomas Pilot, translated by Johannes Alef)
This article can only give you a rough can be of (limited) help for you. But more
overview of TUCaN but there are tutorials on that in the last paragraph.
and other means of help on the start page of
TUCaN should you need help with a feature.
Moodle In contrast to TUCaN, Moodle
Registration and deregistration are the most isn’t an administrative tool but a learning
important functions of TUCaN but not the management system. It is used for provid-
only important ones. Lecturers may send ing material and making the lectures a bit
you messages via TUCaN or provide mate- more interactive aside from the lectures and
rial. You can also see your current progress exercises for example by providing forums.
under exams → performance record. The in- At the TU Darmstadt there is more than
tegrated course catalogue is also very help- one Moodle. Several departments have their
ful. Here you can find all courses offered own Moodles and there is a general TU-
during the current semester along with some Moodle for the university. The Moodle of
information and important dates. TUCaN the computer science department [2] is offi-
also offers a schedule for your studies that cially called ”Lernportal Informatik”.
Inforz for Summer Ophase 2019
17 >Studies
Of course it’s not much of a surprise that are used by other departments or by specific
not everyone uses the same Moodle. You research groups, that can be helpful but are
may have courses that use the computer sci- mostly used only for one specific course.
ence Moodle, but you may just as well have The HRZ administrates the web portal
courses that use the TU-Moodle [3]. OpenLearnWare [4]. Here you can find free
Yet the general appearance of the differ- learning materials and video recordings of
ent Moodles is the same: once logged in lectures (mostly in German).
(normally using your TU-ID with the cor- The Fachschaft offers a subforum [5] for al-
responding password), you can register for most every lecture where you can discuss the
courses. Some courses may require a pass- lecture and its content with other students.
word to register. You get these passwords In this forum you can discuss anonymously
in the lecture of the corresponding course. but often lecturers will also participate in
If the TU-Moodle is used you will most of these forums.
the time automatically be registered for this
course after you registered for this course in Important In general, Moodle is mostly
TUCaN. used for exercises. Lecturers may adminis-
A Moodle course provides a time line show- trate the assignment of students to different
ing the weeks of the semester and the as- exercise groups via Moodle. If this is the
sociated materials. Sometimes you can also case, the date you choose for this exercise
upload your solutions to exercises to get group doesn’t have to be the same as the
them evaluated by a tutor. Some courses one you chose in TUCaN (Where you nor-
also offer forums where you can exchange mally have to register for exercise groups as
thoughts with other students and some lec- well). That’s why often the schedule shown
turers also run surveys via Moodle. What in TUCaN is not very useful since it only
the course looks like in Moodle and what is shows the dates registered in TUCaN but
offered entirely depends on the lecturer. often the Moodle dates take precedence.
Other web portals Now you know the two Stefan Gries, edited by
most important web portals for your studies. Tobias Otterbein
There are, of course, more web portals that edited and translated by Johannes Alef
[1]https://www.tucan.tu-darmstadt.de
[2]https://moodle.informatik.tu-darmstadt.de
[3]https://moodle.tu-darmstadt.de
[4]https://openlearnware.hrz.tu-darmstadt.de
[5]https://d120.de/forum/
Inforz for Summer Ophase 2019
< 18Studies
IT Infrastructure
At the TU Darmstadt and the department of access. Within the new system papercut you
computer science there is a lot of technology have to register your Athene card to your
available for students. In this article you will ISP account [3]. Every student can print 50
learn what is available and who is responsible pages each month for free. By the end of the
for administration. month the value of your remaining pages is
stored on your account until you reaches 3
e. It is possible to print either from the
computers in the pool, your own computer
At the department [3] or via the web interface [4]. The web
page is only available within the university
ISP network. The printer will print your pages
The ISP (Infrastruktur und studentischer when you have enough money remaining for
Poolservice) [1] (the former RBG) adminis- the job and you hold your card against the
trates most of the IT-Infrastructure of the papercut reader in the pool.
Robert-Piloty-Building and offers several
services for students and research groups. Every student has 1 GB of storage on the
The ISP is running about 15 servers and computers in the Pools. For more data you
more than 100 Pool-Computers that are can use temporary folders: [5]. But those
regularly maintained. are deleted every night.
Account You can use SSH [6] to access the pool-
Every student that studies computer sci- computers from any other computer you
ence or a study program with computer use. This way you can access data or use
science courses (CE, iST, EtIT) can get an the software even if you can’t use the pool
ISP/RGB-account to use the services of the right now. Before you can do this you must
ISP. The account can be applied for and place a SSH-key on the computer in the
administrated on [2]. The user name is the pool. A manual (in German) can be found
TU-ID. The account stays active for one here: [6].
term and has to be activated for the follow-
ing term, again on [2]. Before your account
is deactivated you get a message to your Services of the ISP
ISP/RGB-Emailaccount (see paragraph ser- Every ISP/RGB-Account also has
vices). If your account was inactive for two an email address of the following
terms it gets deleted. form: @rbg.informatik.tu-
darmstadt.de. The ISP has a Wiki with
ISP-Pools manuals for setting up Email-clients [7] and
The ISP runs two large PC-Pools on floor using the web access [8]. If you don’t need
0 of the Piloty-Building. The C-Pool with an extra Email-Account you should forward
about 100 computers is in the C-wing of your ISP/RGB-Emailaddress [7] as impor-
the building. The operating system on the- tant information by the Dean’s office, Stu-
ses computers is Linux Mint. Additionally, dent Advisory Service or Fachschaft may be
there are some spots where you can work sent to this address.
with your notebook. The E-Pool in the E-
wing is mostly intended for notebook users If you want to access the E-Pool when the
and only has a few computers. building is not open you need a transponder.
The C-Pool is open from Monday to Friday You can use this transponder to access the
from 7:30 am to 8 pm. The E-Pool can be E-Pool through the door of the E-wing. You
accessed at all times if you have a transpon- can find more information on the transpon-
der (see paragraph services). der here: [9].
In the pools there are printers that you can
Inforz for Summer Ophase 2019
19 >Studies
Services by HRZ
One of the most important tasks of the HRZ
is to provide WiFi on the entire campus.
There are two WiFi networks available: the
unencrypted TUDWeb (not recommended)
and the encrypted eduroam. Eduroam is
available at many European and interna-
tional universities and can there be used
with the TU-ID as well. To access this net-
work you need your TU-ID and password
[12]. If you want to access the network from
outside the campus you have to connect via
The C-Pool of the Piloty-Building VPN. Manuals can be found here: [12].
(Picture: Claudius Kleemann)
The HRZ also provides the Athene-card [13].
With this card you can pay in the cafeteria
University and it serves as an ID-Card for the library.
It is planned to expand its uses in the future.
HRZ The HRZ also offers computer pools with
The university IT Administration HRZ Windows as operating system. You can ac-
(German: Hochschulrechenzentrum (Uni- cess these with your TU-ID and password.
versity data centre)) [10] offers IT-services Theses pools also provide printers where you
for the entire university, similar to the ISP can print in different sizes for little money.
for the department. But it offers some more To support teaching the HRZ offers several
services than the ISP. E-learning services [14], for example Open-
LearnWare where video recordings of lec-
Account tures can be watched.
The HRZ-account uses your TU-ID as user In the service centre of the HRZ [15] you
name. You can activate it with the password can get help with problems concerning WiFi,
on your matriculation letter. This account VPN and the other services. Additionally,
can be used to access most of the IT-systems you can borrow hardware like projectors,
at the TU Darmstadt. The account is con- screens and cameras.
nected to yet another email-address that you
can forward. [11] Tobias Otterbein
edited and translated by Johannes Alef
edited by Anna-Katharina Wickert
[1]https://www.isp.informatik.tu-darmstadt.de
[2]https://support.rbg.informatik.tu-darmstadt.de
[3]https://support.rbg.informatik.tu-darmstadt.de/wiki/de/doku/computerhilfe/drucker/
papercut
[4]https://print.informatik.tu-darmstadt.de/app?service=page/UserWebPrint
[5]https://support.rbg.informatik.tu-darmstadt.de/blog/2014/03/temp-speicherplatz-fuer-
24h/
[6]https://support.rbg.informatik.tu-darmstadt.de/wiki/de/doku/computerhilfe/ssh
[7]https://support.rbg.informatik.tu-darmstadt.de/wiki/de/doku/computerhilfe/mail/email
[8]https://webmail.rbg.informatik.tu-darmstadt.de/mail/
[9]https://www.informatik.tu-darmstadt.de/?id=4376
[10]https://www.hrz.tu-darmstadt.de
[11]https://www.hrz.tu-darmstadt.de/mail/e_mail/mail_studierende/
[12]https://www.hrz.tu-darmstadt.de/netz/netzzugang_internet/netz_datennetz_internet_vpn_1/
[13]https://www.hrz.tu-darmstadt.de/angebote_studierende/studierende_athenekarte/
[14]http://www.e-learning.tu-darmstadt.de/elearning/
[15]https://www.hrz.tu-darmstadt.de/support/hrz_service/
Inforz for Summer Ophase 2019
< 20The University
One ought to be ashamed to make use of the wonders
of science embodied in a radio set, the while
appreciating them as little as a cow appreciates the
botanic marvels in the plants she munches.
(Albert Einstein, (1879 -1955, German-US-American Physicist, 1921 Nobel
price for Physics)The University
Facilities at the TU Darmstadt
In this article you will learn about some of the Another part of the administration is the
most important facilities at the TU Darm- Office of Student Affairs which is the first
stadt. contact point for students’ administrative
issues, for example if your address changes
or you need attestation by the university.
Departments and fields of study
Even more interesting for you is the Inter-
Numerous scientific disciplines and engineer-
national Office that you should already have
ing fields, organized into various depart-
made contact with. They take care of for
ments and fields of study, are present at the
international students and also offer special-
TU Darmstadt. There are 13 departments
ized assistance.
with numbers ranging from 1 to 20, For ex-
ample department 1 for law and economic
Service units
science, department 18 for electrical engi-
There are more service units for students:
neering and department 20 for computer sci-
the HRZ responsible for administrating the
ence. Some numbers are unassigned, for ex-
IT-infrastructure of the university and the
ample there is no department 19. Addition-
e-Learning center which offers recordings of
ally, a field of study, such as Computational
lectures. You can also rent projectors and
Engineering, is built around a single study
screens there.
program. These are much smaller than the
While not a part of the university, the Stu-
departments and their scientific profile is
dentenwerk Darmstadt (Darmstadt student
more narrow than that of a department.
services organisation) is still highly impor-
Departments and fields of study are at the
tant. It runs the cafeterias and most student
top level of the organizational structure.
residential establishments. They also offer
Each department again is divided into a
assistance in many ways, like legal advice,
number of research groups that focus on a
psychological services and specialized ser-
specific area of their department’s scientific
vices for international students like Come-
profile. But even those research groups may
TUgether. Another facility is the University
be divided into smaller groups that consist
Sports Center that offers a lot of courses for
of a group leader and his assistants.
students.
The head of each department is the Dean, a
Last but not least, there is the university and
professor of the department. He is the direc-
state library which serves as a library for the
tor of the department and head of the Dean’s
university but also as the main archive for
office, which administrates and publicly rep-
the state of Hessen.
resents the department. Additionally, there
is a Dean of Studies who is responsible for
Research
the administration of teaching and therefore
Apart from the research and teaching per-
often more important for students.
formed at TU Darmstadt, there are several
research facilities not part of the university,
Administration and Presidium
but in some ways associated with it. Some of
The university may be divided into differ-
them offer practical labs and other university
ent departments with their own rules and
courses, jobs for students, as well as cooper-
structures but they still form one large struc-
ation on research subjects. For us computer
ture. Similar to the deans of the depart-
scientists the Fraunhofer Institutes for Com-
ments there is a formal head of the university
puter Graphics Research (IGD) and for Se-
– the president, who heads the presidium.
cure Information Technology (SIT), as well
The latter consists of seven parts (German:
as the Center for Advanced Security Re-
Dezernate), each of which is responsible for
search Darmstadt (CASED) are of most in-
a part of the administration. Dezernat II
terest.
for example is responsible for examinations
and coordinates exam dates and rooms for Stefan Gries
all departments. edited and translated by Johannes Alef
Inforz for Summer Ophase 2019
< 22The University
Mensa - the cafeteria
The cafeteria at TU Darmstadt is referred to Symbol explanation Each meal is marked
as ”Mensa” in German. Here you can get with symbols displaying which types of food
food from 11.15 to 14.00 . they contain.
(V) Vegetarian meal. It won’t contain meat, but milk products or eggs.
(Vegan) Vegan meals don’t contain any animal products.
(G) Contains poultry (usually chicken).
(S) Contains pork.
(R) Contains beef.
(K) Contains veal (meat from calves).
(L) Contains lamb or mutton.
(W) Contains venison or other game meat.
(F) Contains fish.
Johannes Alef, edited by Stefan Gries
Inforz for Summer Ophase 2019
23 >The University
Questions and Answers Regarding the Fachschaft
(student council)
In the previous articles you have already got will most likely be resolved faster. Addi-
a rough understanding of the Fachschaft. In tionally, the members of the Fachschaft can
this article you will learn what the Fachschaft influence the politics of the department and
really is, what the Fachschaft can do for you bring the request to higher level of the hier-
and how you can participate. archy if necessary.
Do I have to bring everything that
What does ”die Fachschaft”? mean?
bothers me about a lecture to the
The term Fachschaft originally means all Fachschaft?
students of a department, in this case the Of course not. The Fachschaft mainly takes
computer science department. Therefore, if care of larger problems that affect many
you study at the computer science depart- students or problems that need a lot of
ment, you are a part of the Fachschaft. ”lobbying” to be solved. If you only have a
small issue it is normally much faster and
Why ”originally”? less complicated to just talk to the lecturer
In everyday language use the students of about it yourself.
computer science use the term ”Fachschaft”
for a few students who are actually part of How can I contact the Fachschaft if I
the ”active Fachschaft”. A proper trans- have a severe problem with the study-
lation is departmental students representa- ing situation?
tives committee. There are several ways: Most of the time
you can find some members of the Fach-
What is the difference between the schaft in the room of the Fachschaft S2|02
members of the Fachschaft and the D120. Even if the person available can’t di-
rest of the students.? rectly help solve your issue they can usually
Primarily the members of the Fachschaft use tell you who you should talk to or inform
their free time to help improve the studying the rest of the Fachschaft about it. If you
situation for other students or at least pre- don’t want to go to D120 personally or sim-
vent it from getting worse. ply aren’t able to do so you can write an
e-mail to the mailing list of the Fachschaft:
And what can the Fachschaft actually wir@D120.de.
do?
If something happens at the department of You are mentioning the term ”study-
computer science that has negative effects ing situation” all the time. What does
on your studies or if you have suggestions the Fachschaft take care of exactly?
on how to improve the studying situation The Fachschaft is active in the university
or your study program you can talk to the politics, mainly (but not exclusively) on the
members of the Fachschaft about it. For ex- departmental level: three representatives
ample, if something is going wrong in a lec- of the students are elected for the depart-
ture, e.g. the organization is really bad, you mental council and can therefore influence
(and maybe others who see the same prob- decisions at the department. Furthermore
lems) can talk to the Fachschaft and they some members of the Fachschaft are work-
can talk to the lecturer about how to im- ing in committees at the department, for
prove the situation. This may of course take example the QSL-committee that decides
longer than talking to the lecturer yourself, on the use of money given by the state Hes-
but this way you can usually stay anony- sen for improving the studying situation,
mous and since the Fachschaft has a good the committee for teaching and studying
relationship to most lecturers, the matter that discusses all subjects related to teach-
Inforz for Summer Ophase 2019
< 24The University
ing. Naming and explaining all committees improved. Mainly thanks to the work of the
would take way too much space. If you Fachschaft over the last years and decades
want to see what committees members of the studying situation is as good as it is.
the Fachschaft are active in you can take a But there is still plenty of room for improve-
look at [1]. ment. A problem often not seen by normal
students is that the members of the Fach-
That sounds like serious business – is schaft are students, too, who at some point
politics the only thing the Fachschaft finish their studies and leave the university.
does?! Because of that the Fachschaft always needs
University politics is an important part of new members.
the work done by the Fachschaft, but not the
only thing. Apart from the activities men- With this much work to do it is no sur-
tioned above there is a lot more that the prise that people are discouraged from
Fachschaft organizes entirely or is at least helping.
partly responsible for. You are experiencing That is a very one-sided view. Of course
the most obvious one right now: the orien- there is a lot to do but on the other side this
tation phase is organized by the Fachschaft work can be split up into many small pieces
and many of the tutors are members of the if more people are helping. And there are
Fachschaft. This booklet you are reading also many small or one-time activities to be
right now is a special issue of the journal done which require some helping hands and
of the students of computer science which don’t need those helpers to get a deeper un-
is managed, organized and published during derstanding of any subject handled by the
the semester by an editing staff that mostly Fachschaft.
consists of members of the Fachschaft. Cur-
rently, however, the journal is published only Really? And how do I get to know
irregularly as there are too few people who about these events so that I may help
are willing to write articles for the Inforz. some time?
Additionally, the Fachschaft organizes the There are several ways to get information
evaluation of the lectures every term and about these events. You can always ask
analyses the result. But the Fachschaft is members of the Fachschaft in room S2|02
also responsible for leisure time activities: D120 about current activities. If you want to
every year the Fachschaft organizes the sum- get a deeper understanding of the work done
mer party and a St Nicholas party and the by the Fachschaft, then the meeting of the
Fachschaft also organizes the regular game Fachschaft, which takes place every Wednes-
evening Games no Machines (GnoM) and day at 18:00, is a good place. In these meet-
RPGnoM, which are explained in the leisure ings all currently important topics are dis-
part of this booklet. There are even more cussed. Please note that due to the fact that
activities organized by the Fachschaft. You currently there are only German members
can get an overview here: [2]. of the Fachschaft, the meetings are held in
German. So it would be good to understand
The word ”organized” is in almost ev- some German to be able to follow the con-
ery sentence! Don’t you need a lot of versation. If you don’t speak German very
people for all these activities? well it is probably easier to ask a member of
Yes! A lot of people are needed and there the Fachschaft to explain the discussed mat-
are not enough to keep all this running. The ters to you a few days after the meeting. If
entire work is done voluntarily and only a there is no meeting held in the room of the
few students are motivated to invest some Fachschaft you can always spend some time
time into these things, as studying alone there and get informed. Other possibilities
already takes up a lot of time. But imag- to get informed are the web page of the Fach-
ine what your studies would be like if there schaft [3], the blog of the Fachschaft (called
was no orientation phase or nobody would ”das Wesentliche”) [4], the facebook page of
try to ensure that bad lectures have to be the Fachschaft [5] or the Twitter-Account
Inforz for Summer Ophase 2019
25 >The University
@d120de [6]. Of course most of these are can be found here: [7].
in German for the above mentioned reason.
If you want to participate from time to time Stefan Gries
in a certain area you can also register your- edited by Julian Haas
self on one of the mailing lists. An overview edited and translated by Johannes Alef
Public transport with your student ID
How to use the public transport without pay- you have selected. In this case, iIf you order
ing fees - because you have already paid an ICE Ticket from Frankfurt to Stuttgart
them. and your train stops in Heidelberg, you can
exit the train in Heidelberg, do a bit of sight-
seeing and resume your travel to Stuttgart
The AStA (Allgemeiner Studierendenauss-
on the same day. In addition to the regular
chuss - general committee of students) has
price tickets, the Deutsche Bahn offers tick-
arranged that you can use your student ID
ets at special discounts, called Sparpreise. If
as a public transport ticket within quite a
you obtain one of the latter, you are usu-
huge area around Darmstadt (i.e. almost all
ally train-bound, which means you have to
of Hessen) – without additional fees, as you
take the exact sequence of trains listed in
already paid for these by enrolling at TU
your ticket and will get into trouble if you
Darmstadt. That means you do not have
intend to take a different train. If you don’t
to pay in order to take a regional train to
feel overly confident about booking a trip on-
Frankfurt, but you still have to pay extra
line or via ticket machine, you can also still
for transportation using long-distance trains
visit a travel centre in any larger train sta-
like ICE (inter-city express) or IC (inter-
tion (e.g. Darmstadt’s central station) and
city)/EC (euro-city) trains. The image on
find helpful staff to guide you through the
the next page shows you in which area you
process.
can use your student ID as a public trans-
port ticket. You need to have your regular In recent years, several long-distance bus
ID as well as you student ID with you in services like [2] [3] have established them-
order for your student ID to be recognised selves in Germany. These are usually
as a public transport ticket. cheaper than taking a train, but often take
a little longer than the former. There are a
Travel in Germany by bus and train few long-distance bus routes passing through
However, you may want to travel through Darmstadt and several more stopping in
through more of Germany than Hessen only. Frankfurt, which connect to nearly every
In that case you can buy train tickets via larger city in Germany as well as some des-
Deutsche Bahn (the German train services). tinations in neighbouring countries.
[1]. You can basically obtain two types of
tickets: The standard ticket allows you to Anna-Katharina Wickert
travel within the day of booking on the route Stefan Gries
[1]http://www.d120.de/gremien/
[2]https://www.d120.de/en/students/
[3]http://www.d120.de
[4]http://daswesentliche.d120.de/
[5]https://www.facebook.com/d120.de
[6]https://twitter.com/d120de
[7]http://www.d120.de/mailman/listinfo
Inforz for Summer Ophase 2019
< 26The University
Validity of your ticket
[1]https://www.bahn.de/
[2]https://www.flixbus.de/
[3]https://meinfernbus.de/
Inforz for Summer Ophase 2019
27 >Leisure
Leisure
Living in Darmstadt
Just studying isn’t everything: Students Maybe an assignment needs to be finished
should also find time for leisure activities. - if you don’t wait to start on the last day
This section guides you through what Darm- before the deadline you won’t have to work
stadt has to offer. on it all night.
Everyone has their own idea of how to spend
The previous pages were all about the aca- their leisure time but a good mix consisting
demic side of your studies. But there is an- of social interactivity (parties, game nights,
other important part: leisure time. It serves cooking nights, etc.) and doing some sports
as counter balance to an exhausting day and is always recommended. The following pages
replenishes energy to take on the next day. shall help you to get to know what Darm-
It also helps us to clear our head from time stadt has to offer and to create your own
to time. personal leisure time.
That’s why it is so important, especially
during strenuous weeks, to plan for regular Tobias Freudenreich, Martin Tschirsich,
breaks and leisure time. Studying is impor- Stefan Gries
tant but a clear head makes it a lot easier. edited and translated by Nils M.
All switches off
One of the most pleasant options to spend landmark, the wedding tower, and its reg-
one’s leisure time is to turn all switches off ular art and cultural program.
and just relax which is especially pleasant During the hot summer months you can cool
outside on warmer days during the summer. down in one of the many swimming pools
and lakes in and around Darmstadt. Most
interesting for students beside the above
mentioned Nordbad (very cheap for stu-
Darmstadt’s inhabitants find quite a few dents) is the university’s own outdoor pool
hidden gems in their surroundings that located in the south right beside the Uni-
sometimes even the mature students don’t versity Sports Center. This pool is free of
know about: In the north of the city lies charge for students (bring your student ID)
the Citizens Park (German: Bürgerpark) and is in range of the university’s WiFi net-
right behind the Nordbad (an indoor (win- work. Perfect for soaking up the sun while
ter)/outdoor (summer) swimming pool), in studying a bit and going for a dip every once
the south at Heidelberger Street is the in a while. If you prefer to swim in lakes,
Prince-Emil-Garden and the Orangerie, and the Woog, located fairly central in the city,
close to the train station to the east (Ost- is for you. There is also a few other lakes
bahnhof) one can find the Zoo ”Vivarium” outside of Darmstadt, namely the Arheilige
and the Rosenhöhe (another smaller park). Mühlchen and the Grube Prinz von Hessen,
The Herrngarten, Darmstadt’s largest park both free of charge.
can’t be missed by computer science stu-
dents as it is right behind the Piloty- Tobias Freudenreich, Martin Tschirsich,
Building. Another point of interest is the Stefan Gries
Mathildenhöhe (park) featuring the towns edited and translated by Nils M.
Inforz for Summer Ophase 2019
29 >You can also read
