In the fall semester 2023, 19,640 students were enrolled at the University of Bern. Of these, 8,106 were registered in a bachelor’s degree program, 4,865 in a master’s degree program, 3,486 in a doctorate degree, 1,770 in a Master of Advanced Studies (MAS), 1,257 in a Certificate or Diploma of Advanced Studies (CAS/DAS) and 156 in a continuing education course (e.g. lawyer or notary). 

The interest in studying at the University of Bern remains consistently high. 4,465 pupils from high schools across Switzerland and abroad visited Bachelor’s open days at the University of Bern on December 5 and 6, 2023 – once again breaking the record set in the previous year. In order for studies at the University of Bern to also remain attractive across the region and beyond in future, the University is investing strongly in developing its offering further – not only in terms of the teaching itself but also the associated framework conditions. 

In 2023, attention was paid in particular to the further development of the quality and accessibility of teaching, the support of our students’ mental health, and the formation of a community of lecturers who are interested in quality teaching and wish to contribute in this field. 

Development of outstanding teaching offerings and an innovative teaching infrastructure

With the new program “Promoting Innovative Teaching/Faculty Teaching Development” (FILFLE), the University is now upscaling innovations that previously took place in individual events to a faculty level. In 2023, we were able to start projects in six faculties and thus offer wider support to innovations in teaching so that more students can benefit from them. 

The ILIAS learning platform is also being continuously developed. The new bilingual ILIAS support section was completed on schedule for the fall semester 2023. This allows users to obtain comprehensive information on objects in ILIAS. Furthermore, it also acts as an application-oriented source of inspiration for the digital design of good teaching. The success of ILIAS is demonstrated by the high usage figures and the fact that it has already been replicated several times by other higher education institutions.  

In 2023, we equipped several rooms with new multimedia technology. Worthy of particular mention is a room in the sports center, where several cameras are able to follow movements across the entire room. A user-friendly workflow was drawn up in close dialog with users to ensure that the technology met the requirements. This allows innovative hybrid teaching events to be carried out, whether for sports or dance courses or for other teaching formats. 

Taking care of students and lecturers 

Only those who feel good can study successfully. Mental health has become increasingly important since the COVID-19 pandemic, as has been demonstrated by the survey carried out among students by the Student Body of the University of Bern. The University has addressed this topic in various different ways. 

With a new flashMOOC, we are contributing to the destigmatization of mental illnesses. The video accompanies three people with different mental issues and shows which strategies they have developed to cope with the challenges they face. The interactive video highlights just how difficult it is to find one’s own solutions.  

Together with the Bern University of Applied Sciences and Mindbalance, the University of Bern carried out Ensa courses for the first time in 2023. Ensa is the Swiss version of the Australian program “Mental Health First Aid”. In these courses, students learn how to identify mental illnesses in their own surroundings and how to react appropriately. There was significant interest in the course, with registrations far exceeding the number of available spaces.  

Not only students are critically important in teaching, but also lecturers too. Good teaching is impossible without motivated teachers. The University wants to encourage this motivation by improving the networking of lecturers. Inspired by the innovative Teaching Brunch format offered by the Vetsuisse faculty, we launched the new Teaching Lunch networking event in 2023. The first two successful events in this new format – where a faculty acts as host together with the VR Teaching to exchange experiences on good, innovative teaching – took place at the Vetsuisse faculty and Phil.nat. faculty.  

The University of Bern is an outstanding teaching institution, which is only made possible thanks to the dedication of its lecturers, the interest of its students and the tireless work carried out behind the scenes in central administration. Our thanks go out to all of them for their hard work.