GCC News

Here we inform you about news and current events of the GCC.

Table of contents

1. 1. New: The next Global Citizenship Lab will take place on October 23 and 24. Registration is now open!
   2. Global Citizenship Lab for the 2026 Summer Semester Postponed
   3. ​TUD Global Citizenship Lab WiSe 2025/2026 was a success!
   4. ​GCC at the 2024 matriculation ceremony
   5. New on campus
   6. GCC on social media

New: The next Global Citizenship Lab will take place on October 23 and 24. Registration is now open!

We are thrilled to announce that the upcoming Global Citizenship Lab (GC-Lab) for the Winter Semester 2026/2027 will take place thanks to funding of the DAAD, provided through resources of the Federal Foreign Office (AA), and in collaboration with the FIT:TER project (Promoting International Talents for Integration into Studies and the Job Market) as well as the Philipp Schwartz Initiative for scholars at risk. 

This GC-Lab (OPAL link) will center on the theme "Connection, Community, and Sense of Belonging" and keeps on providing an interactive, interdisciplinary, transcultural, and collaborative space for learning, exchange, and growth alongside open-minded and engaged peers, experts, and allies from academia, civil society, the culture and education sector, politics, administration, and economy. 

By joining the lab, the participants are going to enhance their intercultural, global, communicative, social, and professional skills. Beyond that, they will be encouraged to actively engage with local stakeholders across sectors, explore opportunities around education, participation, and volunteering within their community, and thereby foster a stronger sense of belonging to the local environment.

The GC-Lab serves as the mandatory introduction event to the GCC program. We recommend registering for the program which aims to educate and empower our university members – particularly the future graduates – to become globally oriented and locally engaged Global Citizens. All students (including exchange students) and doctoral candidates at TUD are welcome to join GCC at any time using their ZIH login. However, participation in the program is not a prerequisite for attending the GC Lab.

The main language of the event is English, supported by German and other languages spoken by the participants. No specific prior knowledge or disciplinary background is required. However, key prerequisites for participation include commitment (through reliable in-person attendance), openness and curiosity towards the topics, intercultural exchange, and civic engagement, as well as a willingness to learn, reflect, and practice collaboratively in a respectful and inclusive manner.

A maximum of 30 spots are available. The event is open to all local and international students, doctoral candidates, exchange students, fellows, and – if spots remain – other members of the TUD community.

You can register for the upcoming "TUD Global Citizenship Lab - Connection, Community, and Sense of Belonging" via this OPAL link starting now until October 10, 2026.

Global Citizenship Lab for the 2026 Summer Semester Postponed

Dear GCC community,

Due to current resource constraints as well as internal priorities resulting from the restructuring of the internationalization strategy at TU Dresden, the next Global Citizenship Lab for the SS 2026 has to be postponed until presumably the fall/winter of 2026. 

We are constructively working on the realization and will announce the date and registration platform for the new Global Citizenship Lab as soon as possible. Thank you for your interest and your understanding!  

​TUD Global Citizenship Lab WiSe 2025/2026 was a success!

Why becoming a Global Citizen in times of wars and conflicts?

The Global Citizenship Certificate (GCC)  program at Technische Universität Dresden educates and empowers future global citizens. Through designing the Global Citizenship Lab in collaboration with partners and stakeholders form the academia, civil society, municipality, and local politics, GCC fosters a vivid community and contributes to shaping a more cohesive and peaceful society.

The pervious Global Citizenship Lab focused on developing compassionate and constructive mind- and skillsets in the face of conflicts and devastating wars affecting the global and local community. The Lab provided hands-on workshops, transformative self-experience, and in-depth panel discussions on academic freedom as well as valuable insights into projects across Dresden which actively fostering a warmer, more welcoming environment for people affected by conflict. The participants discovered the many possibilities for engagement right on their doorstep.

Featured initiatives included:

•  Welcome to Löbtau – Willkommen in Löbtau e. V.  (Project INTERACT4WORK)
• Dresden Migration Stories by Ausländerrat Dresden e.V.
•  Afropa e.V.
• Gedenken.Erinnern.Mahnen initiative

The panels on academic freedom and responsible Internationalization brought together engaging and inspiring personalities who shared substantial perspectives, stories of their contributions in respective areas, as well as powerful insights into personal encounters with restraints, deprivations of freedom resulting from severe domestic and geopolitical conflicts.  

• Peter Rosenbaum, Head of the International Office at TUD
• Prof. Holger Kuße, Professor of Slavic Linguistics and Language History at TUD and PSI Mentor
• Dr. Alena Pantiukhina, PSI Fellow at the Institute of Slavic Studies at TUD
• Claudia Reichert, Head of Leonardo-Saxony
• Prof. Michael Kobel, Professor at the Institute for Nuclear and Particle Physics, initiator of “Welcome to Löbtau” and member of the Saxon Refugee Council
• Freshta Mujadidi, Maria Reiche Doctoral Fellow at TUD’s Faculty of Civil Engineering and refugee doctoral researcher from Afghanistan
• Prof. Oksana Makovoz, Professor at the Polytechnic Institute of Kharkiv and Research Assistant at IHI-Zittau
• Eva Jähnigen, Second Mayor of the City of Dresden, Deputy Mayor for Environment, Climate, Law and Order
• Friedemann Brause, Advisor for Domestic Policy/Civil Society Engagement at the Saxon State Agency for Civic Education

Together, they emphasized how collaboration between government, civil society, and academia strengthens democratic culture, protects academic freedom, and builds resilient communities.

 Key takeaway: Think globally, act locally. Engagement starts in your own neighborhood — and the GC Lab introduces you to the many ways you can get involved and make a meaningful difference.

Find out more in the TUD Global Citizenship Lab review and in the testimonials from our participants. 

​GCC at the 2024 matriculation ceremony

🌍 Open-minded and engaged – this is not only the motto of this year’s matriculation ceremony at TU Dresden, but also the core of our TUD Global Citizenship Certificate (GCC)! 🎓

The GCC helps students become true global citizens and develop intercultural and global skills.

The GCC program was also presented to the new students at the enrolment ceremony for the winter semester 2024/2025 on October 10, 2024:

" Our motto of 'cosmopolitan and committed' is not only limited to our matriculation ceremony. These are also the values that we actively put into practice every day here at our university", says Prof. Roswitha Böhm, Vice-Rector University Culture at TUD. This is reflected in unique programs such as the "TUD Global Citizenship Certificate," where TUD demonstrates its wholehearted commitment to educating young people in an international environment to become global citizens. The program is aimed at all TUD students – including doctoral and exchange students. The certificate recognizes intercultural, regional and global knowledge, as well as the skills and commitment of the participants."

👉  Find out more here.

New on campus

Already spotted on campus? Just in time for the start of the new semester, GCC is back on the TUD campus in the form of banners, posters and postcards. In our picture gallery you can take a look at our advertising campaign of the current and previous semester.

GCC on social media

Funded by the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR) and Free State of Saxony under the Excellence Strategy of the Federal Government and the Länder.