Multilingual Communication (Bachelor's program) – For AEL Incoming Exchange Students

Dear AEL Incoming Exchange Students,

We are delighted you're about to begin your year abroad at our institute. Because we know how difficult making preparations for a foreign study year can be, we'd like to offer a little help.

FOR YOUR ORIENTATION: At TH Köln you will be enrolled at the Institute of Translation and Multilingual Communication (ITMK) which is part of the Faculty of Information Science and Communication Studies (Faculty 03). The ITMK is located at TH Köln´s Südstadt Campus at the Ubierring 48 building, where your lectures will also take place.

Note: TH Köln´s Department of International Affairs is responsible for the enrollment of all incoming exchange students.

The Department of International Affairs (RIA) is located at Südstadt Campus at the building Claudiusstrasse. Enrolment (matriculation) is done completely digitally via TH Köln's online portal Mobility Online (MobO). Information on this can be found in the “Enrollment and re-registration” info box on the right. Below is a brief description of the enrollment process:

1) After your home university has officially nominated you for TH Köln, you will receive an automatic email from TH Köln asking you to register on "Mobility Online". THEREFORE: Please check your email account and your spam folder regularly! You will find detailed information on what you need to do to register/enrol and which documents you need to upload to the portal in Mobility Online (MobO). If you have any questions, please only contact our Department of International Affairs.

2) IMPORTANT: Please register in MobO as soon as possible, because

you must upload your Learning Agreement “Before the Mobility”, which has been checked by us, to MobO by June 1 at the latest!

To do this, you must of course be registered first. In May, Ms. Schall will provide you all the information about the AEL study program that you need to complete your Learning Agreement by email and in person in online info sessions (see dates below).

3) Once you have completed the online registration and uploaded your Learning Agreement, you can download your Letter of Admission (Zulassungsschreiben) via Mobility Online from June. The Letter of Admission serves as proof that TH Köln accepts you as an exchange student. You can use it as proof with all authorities and also for a lease with the Kölner Studierendenwerk.

4) Finally, you will receive an email asking you to register in the  Campus Management System (CaMS) of TH Köln. In CaMS you will need to complete a few final steps. To complete your enrollment, you must transfer the semester fees to TH Köln. You can find the transfer information on CaMS.

5) Once you have completed your enrollment, you will receive your:

CampusID, which gives you access to the online services of TH Köln. You will then also have access to the ILU learning environment at TH Köln. As soon as you arrive in Cologne, you should collect your MultiCa (TH Köln student ID card) from the RIA. You can then activate the Semester Ticket on your MultiCa and use public transport (buses, trams and trains) free of charge.

6) You will later receive your Certificate of Arrival and Certificate of Departure via Mobility Online. Alternatively, you can have it signed in person at our Department of International Affairs.

REMINDER: If you have any questions about enrollment or registration on Mobility Online, please contact our RIA directly. Here you will find the contact details and office hours.

To assist you with the enrollment procedure,

the Department of International Affairs organizes virtual info sessions for exchange students before the start of the semester.

Note: You must attend at least one of these info sessions!

Please find the times and dates here.

As TH Köln's Department of International Affairs (RIA) is centrally in charge of registration and enrollment for all exchange students at our university, they provide a website with highly useful information. Please do not miss it! You will find the link to their website on the right under "Orientation". There you can also download our university's booklet Getting Started with basic information for all new THK students. We suggest you to read it carefully as it provides general information about the organization of studies at THK (e.g. access to IT services). Furthermore, you will find the link our RIA´s webpage Getting Started at TH Köln where helpful video tutorials are provided (e.g. on the CampusID, about PSSO or how to generate the semester ticket).

Furthermore you find unter "Orientation" the link to Instagram webpage of the ITMK´s Student Association (Fachschaft ITMK). The Fachschaft is a student council, i.e. elected students who represent the interests of the students of their faculty or institute in official committees. Each Fachschaft has its own room where students can meet and exchange ideas (at ITMK room 301) and they organize events for the students (e.g. “Erstifahrt”, tandem evening, Christmas party). So if you want to meet new and nice people, just drop by the Fachschaftsraum.

We hope that this information will give you a positive “foretaste” of your stay at TH Köln ;-)

GOOD TO KNOW: At the ITMK, all students (including exchange students) put together their own timetable. This means, on the one hand, that you will not receive a preprepared study plan from us. On the other hand, you have the opportunity to choose courses according to your interests. However, when compiling your individual study program, you must adhere to the requirements of your home university and take five compulsory courses at the ITMK.

To help you choose your study program and compile your timetable, Ms Schall will hold two preparatory information sessions via Zoom before the start of lectures (i.e. during the semester break):

• On May ...th at .... h, topic: AEL Study Options and Creation of the Learning Agreement "Before the Mobility"
• On August ...th at .... h, topic: Compiling the WiSe Timetable with UnivIS

(The current dates for Winter Semester 2025/26 will be posted soon.)

IMPORTANT: Participation is mandatory for all new AEL incoming students! You will also receive a binding schedule during the events. Adhering to the deadlines is important so that you can enroll and register for your courses in time before the start of the semester.

You can find general information on the BA program and our lecture directory as well as the academic calendar in the info box "Academic Calendar and Study Plans" on the right. You can also download a manual how to use our online platform UnivIS to create your time table. In May, you will be sent a special course list for AEL incoming students by email, from which you can compile your individual study program.

Please NOTE - Regarding LEARNING AGREEMENT: As stated above

by June 1st you must upload your Learning Agreement “Before the Mobility”, which has been checked by us, to MobO!

The BTM shows your preliminary study program/course selection agreed with your home university and us, your host university. Please enter only the respective German course titles (NEITHER the English NOR the module titles!) in the Learning Agreement. You will receive further information from Ms. Schall by email and at the information sessions.

IMPORTANT TO KNOW: You must register for the classes you want to attend in the coming term before the lectures begin. But don't worry: We will organize a special preparation meeting via Zoom in August to advise you and help you create your study plans. Later, in the week before lectures start, you will attend an orientation week together with other ITMK's freshmen. You will then be given tips and information about everyday study life at our university. And you will get to know other ITMK students.

Exam Information

The examinations at the ITMK generally take place in the examination period (Prüfungszeitraum), which follows the end of the lecture period. This means that you will take examinations at the end of the winter semester (WiSe) and the summer semester (SoSe). The dates of the lecture and examination periods are listed in the academic calendar. In the middle of the lecture period (May/November), you must register online via PSSO for the examinations you wish to take in the current semester. A general examination schedule will be published on the ITMK website, from which you can take your examination dates and put together your individual examination schedule. You will find links to the relevant websites in the “Exams” info box. But don't worry, we will again offer you an information event in good time to help you with this.

We very much hope that we can support you with this information and also answer some of your questions in advance.

● Arrival Recommendation: We recommend you to arrive in Cologne at least 2 to 3 weeks before the orientation week starts. This way you have time to move into your appartement, settle all formalities in Cologne (e.g. registration of residence) and collect your MultiCa before the lectures begin. Should you have a lease with the Kölner Studierendenwerk (KStW) please check with them by what date and time check-in is possible (in general the lease starts on the 1st day of the month).

Good to know: October 3 is a German public holiday, so offices, shops, and the THK are closed.

● Orientation Week: After you have registered for your classes in August your study program starts with an orientation week from Monday, September 29 to Thursday, October 2 together with all ITMK freshmen and exchange students. The program will be a mixture of online and face-to-face events. Also, we will have a special AEL information session during this week on .....(t.b.d) In September we will post the schedule for the orientation week here.

Participation in the orientation sessions is compulsory for all new AEL exchange students. Thus, please be sure to make a note of the dates!

● The lectures start on Monday October 6, 2025

We are very much looking forward to welcoming you soon in Cologne!