Studying - it's eezi!
The eezi introductory module helps first-year students in the KIT School of Computer Science settle into their studies and promotes orientation, a sense of belonging, and equal opportunity. It combines lectures, tutorials, exercises, and personal support with topics such as learning strategies, academic organization, financial aid, and mental health. A diverse student body benefits particularly, as eezi breaks down invisible barriers and provides targeted information at just the right moment. By being firmly integrated into the semester, the module strengthens self-efficacy, networking, and academic success.
A Module for Orientation and Belonging
The eezi introductory module at the KIT Department of Informatics aims to fosters a sense of belonging, reduce barriers, and lay the foundation for a successful degree program right from the start. Originating from the KIT project “Studienlotsen, Mentoring und entschleunigte Studienpläne” (Academic advisors, mentoring, and flexible study plans) within the MWK fund “Erfolgreich studieren in Baden-Württemberg”, eezi has supported first-year students in Informatics Bachelor program since winter semester 2016/17. Its goal is to provide academic, social, and personal orientation from day one—and to actively promote diversity.
Solid framework
Academic persistence and success are proven to depend not only on subject knowledge, but also on social integration, accessible information, self-reflective skills, motivation and a sense of belonging and connection to the university, major, and community. Especially at the beginning, students face new learning environments, the need to build networks, greater responsibility for their own learning, and psychosocial stressors. Early iterations of the mentoring format quickly showed a common pattern: many know techniques like time management and learning strategies, but fail to put them into practice without a structured framework. eezi provides this continuity—through safe spaces to experiment, receive constructive feedback, and transfer methods into everyday study routines.
In the winter semester, eezi combines three orientation lectures with five tutorials and five practice sheets, each with individual feedback. In addition, participants have a check-in chat with their tutor and an advising session with the program lead, Christine Glaubitz, who ensures personal guidance. Topics range from learning and self-management to university structures and tools, as well as sensitive areas such as study financing, disability accommodations, mental health, and the impostor phenomenon . A key emphasis is expectation management: What do I expect from my studies – and what do my studies expect from me?
Diversity as a key
Eezi’s contribution to diversity is particularly clear. It addresses invisible barriers that disproportionately affect heterogeneous groups: first-gen students, internationals, people with disabilities, LGBTQIA+ students, or students with limited resources. Information is provided at the right time and in the right amount of detail, so that nothing essential gets lost –especially for those unfamiliar with the university’s unwritten rules. Since 2023, an English-language tutorial has also been offered as an additional bridge for students with German as a second language: less pressure, fewer misunderstandings, building their sense of connection and belonging and facilitating a smoother transition into their studies at KIT.
The didactic design also promotes diversity effectively. Tutors from higher semesters act as coaches on an equal footing, not as mere instructors. They facilitate diverse groups, provide constructive feedback, address sensitive topics with care, and create safe environments where mistakes are explicitly treated as part of learning. In the process, they sharpen their own diversity competence: they reflect on gaps in understanding different life realities and learn to communicate inclusively and with appreciation. This peer leadership benefits everyone involved: students gain belonging and orientation; tutors develop coaching, communication, and leadership skills that extend well beyond university.
Sustainable integration
What sets eezi apart from classic orientation phases – which certainly have their place in the student life cycle – is its sustained anchoring throughout the semester. Information isn’t delivered in bulk upfront, but provided in a needs-based way at the relevant moment. Exercises make progress visible, strengthen self-efficacy, and help establish productive routines. The setting is more personal than formal teaching and more professionally framed than informal peer formats. Recognition as a cross-disciplinary qualification with 1 ECTS signals that reflection and navigation skills are integral components of academic success. A recurring reflection from participants is: “I realized I’m not alone”. Participants report greater day-to-day structure, less anxiety, newly formed study groups, and a shift from cramming to purposeful learning. The curated overview of support services is especially valued because it eases the constant worry of missing something.
Driven by Collaboration and Further Development
eezi is led and progressively developed by Christine Glaubitz, who designs, coordinates, and ensures quality – with the aim of speaking personally with every first-year student participant at least once and offering tailored support. Ms. Glaubitz and the tutor team co-develop tutorials, exercises, and parts of the lectures in close coordination. The ISS team provides support in the background; professors and research staff contribute guest sessions to share their experiences and tips regarding the field of study. This collaboration builds exactly the kind of networks that eezi seeks to foster among students.
Recognition and Outlook
External recognition underscores the course taken: last year, eezi received the diversity award of the Fakultätentag Informatik – honoring its low-threshold access to support, bilingual opening, and the systematic promotion of reflection and self-management. Looking ahead, the module is to be embedded even more firmly in the curriculum, the English-language track expanded, and the offering kept adaptable to academic and cultural change.
eezi is more than an introductory module: it provides clear structure in uncertain phases, creates spaces of belonging, and encourages students to use their strengths, reinforce their goals and increase commitment. In doing so, eezi becomes a stabilizing element of the first-year experience, promotes diversity and equal opportunity, and increases belonging, persistence, and academic success—regardless of starting conditions.
– APA Dictionary of Psychology
Author
Isabel Häuser: Research Assistant, Public Relations
