In 2021, the Department of University Culture launched the TUD Lectures series in which experts from a broad range of disciplines at the TU Dresden examine current topics. In lectures of up to 1 1/2 hours, the experts present their knowledge in a transparent and understandable way. The TUDLectures are addressed to the TUD community and all interested participants.

Table of contents

1. 1. Corona lectures
      1. Covid vaccination explained - questions and answers about the most important vaccines
      2. Predictions, Explanations, Decision-Making - What Epidemic Models really (can) tell us.
      3. Global Imbalance in Pandemic Times
      4. Decoding and understanding the coronavirus and detecting mutations
      5. Psychological stress for children during the Corona period

Corona lectures

Everyone is struggling under the burden of the pandemic situation, which has been going on for more than a year now. Currently, many people - at our university and in our region - are dealing with issues related to Corona. Against this backdrop, the University Culture Department has launched a new series of lectures, the "TUD Lectures", focusing on the Corona pandemic as the first topic.

Covid vaccination explained - questions and answers about the most important vaccines

Despite many new podcasts, numerous articles and efforts to provide easy explanations, it is still evident that there is uncertainty about corona topics such as vaccination and that a simple answer is often not so clear. With the Faculty of Medicine, the TUD has outstanding in-house expertise, so the first TUDLecture highlighted this highly topical issue.

Prof. Alexander Dalpke, who provided answers to the most frequently asked questions in connection with the new vaccines against SarsCov2 in his lecture, has been head of the Institute of Medical Microbiology and Virology at Dresden University Hospital since 2019. He was in charge of a large study on SarsCoV2 infection in Dresden schools and is a regular guest on the Corona Podcast of the Sächsische Zeitung newspaper.

The first TUDLecture was moderated by members of the university group KritMed* Dresden, which critically examines various medical policy issues and initiated the event. In the current situation, KritMed* Dresden is particularly concerned with acting in solidarity during the pandemic. 

More than 870 interested people listened to Prof. Dalpke's lecture and asked their questions via the chat. Since numerous questions were also asked after the event, Prof. Alexander Dalpke answered the most frequently asked questions in the video available here (as of 05/19/2021).

Please note that data, findings or innovations on Covid vaccines published after 19/05/2021 could not be included in the answers. Professor Dalpke is also a regular speaker on the CoronaCast of the Sächsische Zeitung newspaper. You can listen to the podcast on this page. The Video and the Podcasts are available in German.

Predictions, Explanations, Decision-Making - What Epidemic Models really (can) tell us.

Since the outbreak of the Corona pandemic, political decisions with far-reaching legal and social consequences have been based, among other things, on predictions from mathematical models.

The 2nd lecture in the TUD Lecture series on the Corona pandemic aimed to provide insights into this world of these models, which is rather unknown to the public, and was entitled "Predictions, Explanations, Basis for Decisions - What Epidemic Models (Can) Really Tell Us". On June 10, 2021 at 6:30 pm, Prof. Ingo Röder and Prof. Andreas Deutsch from TU Dresden addressed questions such as: What are mathematical models? What interpretations do they allow? To what extent can and should one trust predictions? Which strengths do models have, which limits?

The event took place virtually. If you were not one of the 170 audience members, you can watch the event now.

Global Imbalance in Pandemic Times

The 3rd TUD Lecture took place on July 08, 2021. The lecture dedicated to the topic "Global Inequality in Pandemic Times". was given by Prof. Dr. Anna Holzscheiter. She has held the Chair of Political Science with a focus on International Politics at the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Science since 2019. Her presentation addressed global inequality of access to health systems (including essential medicines such as vaccines). She outlined the opportunities and limitations of international cooperation to redress this inequality, in particular the shortage of health workers and related labor migration.

Also this event was moderated by a student group. The association Medinetz Dresden arranges medical care for people without access to the health care system. The treatment is anonymous and free of charge. In addition, political work is another domain of the association, working towards the overall goal of abolishing itself.

If you missed the event or want to watch it again, it is possible from now on.

As the Department of University Culture, we try to make it as easy as possible for everyone to access our events. Should you require assistance, for example through a sign language interpreting service, please do not hesitate to contact us via the mail address .

Decoding and understanding the coronavirus and detecting mutations

Incidence rates are dropping. The number of vaccinated and convalesced people is rising. Everyone hopes for an end to the pandemic, but news of rampant mutations with faster virus transmissibility and higher mortality rates darkens the prospects for a return to "normality".  

Why do viruses mutate? Are all mutations dangerous and how can we identify mutations? What do the mutations mean for the current vaccinations? Biomedical Genomics researcher Dr. Anna Poetsch expanded on the topic of virus decoding by genome sequencing and answered frequently asked questions in the 4^th TUD Lecture.

The event took place on 13.10.2021 at 18:00. If you missed the event, you can watch it here (only available in German).

Dr. Poetsch is a research group leader at the Biotechnology Center (BIOTEC) of TU Dresden and the National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT) funded by the Mildred Scheel Young Investigator Center (MSNZ). She is one of the researchers who have been working with a team of volunteers since the outbreak of the pandemic to sequence the coronavirus and try to understand its evolution. The event was moderated by Dr. Maximilian Krause, project coordinator, and Dr. Fabian Rost, biophysicist. Both work at the DRESDEN-concept Genome Center. 
You missed the event or want to check it out again. No problem. Just click on the video box.

Psychological stress for children during the Corona period

Schoolchildren have been one of the groups suffering most from the pandemic during the past months. Digital school lessons, the elimination of social contacts during free time, no sports and no leisure activities with their circle of friends. Even when there was some relaxation and students were allowed to go back to school, the fear and uncertainty hovered over their heads as to whether their own class would have to go back into quarantine or whether they would catch it themselves. This time of deprivation, restrictions and uncertainty, coupled with the challenges of growing up, are a challenge for the psychological development of every child.

Prof. Hendrik Berth, head of the Applied Medical Psychology and Medical Sociology research group in the independent Department of Psychosocial Medicine and Developmental Neurosciences at Dresden University Hospital, and Dr. Christin Bohl, research associate in this research group, provided insights into their research findings on the "Psychological Stress for Children during the Corona Period" in the TUD Lecture Series on "Corona" on 22.11.2021 at 18:00.

Within the framework of an EU-funded project that deals with the protection of children's psychological well-being during the pandemic period, Prof. Berth is in contact with scientists from Greece, Spain, Italy, Croatia, France and Cyprus. As a result of the research work, a training package for teachers, educators and other educational professionals is to be developed, containing teaching and learning texts with associated exercises, presentations and videos.

The event was moderated by the university group Balu und Du. The nationwide mentoring programme supports primary school children in extracurricular activities. Young, committed people take on an individual sponsorship for a child on a voluntary basis for at least one year. They help these children to develop in our society and learn how to successfully master the challenges of everyday life through personal affection and active leisure time activities. During the corona pandemic, the help of the mentors was particularly sought after and needed.

You have missed the event? Check out the video: