On November 5, 2025, the university community came together in the Audimax of ASH Berlin for the annual University Day under the heading "University in Social and Academic Responsibility". President Bettina Völter and Vice President Gesine Bär opened the event, which was organized by the Sage SAGE! - project .
The morning began with two keynote speeches that opened up international perspectives and focused on the importance of universities within global social transformation processes.
Zafer Yilmaz opened with his presentation "Defending Freedom of Speech and the Future of University: The Lessons from the Turkish Case". In it, he showed how universities in Turkey have come under targeted political pressure. After the failed coup attempt in 2016, over 4,800 academics were dismissed by emergency decrees and many more were persecuted for critical statements or signing a peace petition. The case shows that academic freedom needs to be rethought - not just as institutional autonomy, but as a safe space for critical thinking and freedom of expression. Zafer Yilmaz emphasized that universities must not be isolated ivory towers, but must remain part of social debates. He called for international solidarity in order to jointly counter the global erosion of academic freedom.
Jasna Russo followed on from this with her presentation "Higher education and social transformation processes using the example of Serbia", focusing on the student protests of 2024/25. The protests against corruption and state violence began with the occupation of the Faculty of Performing Arts in Belgrade on November 25, 2024 and quickly spread throughout the country. By the end of 2024, students at almost all state universities had reached a virtual standstill. The protests were characterized by the fact that they were organized in a decentralized manner, without leaders, and the students pursued a targeted media strategy. They succeeded in launching an unprecedentedly broad and persistent citizens' movement, which is still ongoing in various forms a year later. Although the government has not yet been deposed, Serbian society is undergoing a profound transformation.
The rest of the University Day became interactive in the subsequent working groups, which dealt with specific challenges facing the university:
- Student responsibility and student engagement at the university and beyond: Elène Misbach and Susa Boden (StuPa Chair) discussed engagement in student and academic committees, which often moves in informal spheres between activism, cooperation with civil society actors and the professionalization of one's own actions. The aim was to promote the (self-)empowerment of politically active students and to develop ideas for structurally anchoring student participation.
- Cuts despite inability to cut - How can we move forward responsibly and together? Elke Kraus, Ulrike Eichinger and Katja Boguth addressed the question of what autonomy (of action) the university still has in the face of financial cuts. The workshop emphasized the need for transparency and had numerous inputs to bring the different perspectives from the departments, administration, academia and staff council into an exchange. The aim was to avoid "false" assumptions and conclusions and to develop constructive ideas for a sustainable and resilient SAGE university.
- Self-care - responsibility - internship: In the SAGE fields of work, students should combine practical experience with the theoretical impulses from courses in order to learn to act reflectively and professionally in practice. This also includes conscious self-care in challenging situations such as dealing with the dangers of those in need of protection. The interactive workshop, moderated by Claudia Hruška, Marleen Sorensen and Jennifer Lambrecht, was dedicated to the question of how students can strengthen their self-care and be prepared to act professionally in teams and with clients.
- Responsibility - tolerance and democracy: between the ability of institutions to take criticism and a clear stance against the right: Vered Berman and Christina König (Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences) moderated the workshop, which was dedicated to the controversial challenges in open youth work. In her input, Christina König, a PhD student in sociology, explained how social work currently deals with extreme right-wing youths. This was followed by a discussion on the consequences of these practical experiences for prospective social workers and their training.
- Working group with free choice of topic: Asiye Kaya and Nuran Ayten were available to moderate the workshop, which dealt with the experiences of racialized students and students affected by linguicism at ASH Berlin. The focus was on the effects of linguistic discrimination at the university as well as possible solutions to make education more accessible, create visibility for these students and promote discrimination-sensitive spaces at the university.
Parallel to the thematic workshops, the event "Hochschule MIT_GESTALTEN" took place in the former canteen, where students campaigned for the establishment of a student council for Faculty II. The initiative called on their fellow students to get actively involved in shaping student life and to jointly establish a representative body for the concerns of their department. This was an important step towards more student participation.
After the lunch break, the afternoon program began with the launch of the "Value Principles for Interaction". With this document, the ASH Berlin Anti-Discrimination Commission took an important step towards translating the university's mission statement into concrete recommendations for action. The multi-stage, participatory development process lasted from May 2024 to May 2025 and included several open exchange formats and a World Café. 191 people took part in the accompanying online survey. Following the presentation of the development process and the key content, the Anti-Discrimination Commission invited the participants of the University Day to another World Café. Possible strategies for action and responsibilities were discussed under the key question "What can be done if the value principles are not adhered to when working together?".
The University Day came to a festive conclusion with the presentation of the C.W. Müller Prize. Primary school pupil Maja Esakova and ASH students Claudia Dorfmüller, Melissa Duraku and Lina Holzrichter were honored for a study project that dealt with the structural discrimination of children by adults. Afterwards, the participants of the University Day, who still had an amazing amount of energy after a long day, were able to let off steam on the dance floor to the music of DJ Ruru.
