THU Social Day 2026: 50 volunteers for a good cause
A summary of some of the original soundbites from the 4-minute video:
The projects ranged from those focusing on social issues and remembrance culture, through environmental and sustainability initiatives, to activities specifically designed to promote interaction and participation. The Social Day was organised in cooperation with engagiert in ulm e.V.
For example, students and staff from Menschlichkeit Ulm e.V. repaired bicycles for refugee children at the shared accommodation on Mähringer Weg. At the Wiblingen Senior Citizens’ Centre, THU staff organised a karaoke party with around 40 senior citizens. At the anniversary celebrations for Café Blau (AG West e.V.), there were entertainment and face-painting activities for children, and the initiative for highly sensitive people received one-to-one coaching in computer basics from a computer science student.
People also lent a helping hand at other locations in Ulm: participants helped with the preparatory work for a new lizard enclosure in Hermannsgarten (BUND Ulm-Mitte), with setting up and dismantling events (Netzwerk Altersarmut, Café Blau run by AG West e.V.), with the repair of washing machines, dishwashers and laptops (THU Repair Café, Haus der Nachhaltigkeit e.V. Ulm/Neu-Ulm), collecting litter around the THU, cleaning Stolpersteine (Bürgerinitiative Stolperstein Ulm), in the allotment garden of the AWO Ulm District Association e.V., and by painting a room on Radgasse so that ‘engagiert in ulm e.V.’ can create more space for social gatherings there.
Engineering expertise put to use for the memorial
Prof. Christina Schmitt, Dean of Studies for the Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, supported the restoration of exhibits in the permanent exhibition at the Oberer Kuhberg Concentration Camp Memorial (DZOK). She says: “I think the Social Day is a brilliant and straightforward opportunity for us as engineers to put our practical skills to good use for a worthwhile cause. It was really enjoyable to provide concrete support for the memorial site team’s work in such a short space of time. We’ve already got some new ideas and would love to come back.”
Community, commitment and lasting impressions
Looking back, Anja Wegner, coordinator of the Social Day, says: “I think volunteering is a great way to challenge yourself and step outside your comfort zone for a change. What impressed me most that day was when the 80- to 100-year-olds in the care home sang us a farewell song, and I saw how happy so many of them were that we’d taken some time out for them that day. I’m really pleased that we managed to put together such a large team of THU volunteers, and I thought it was brilliant that, through our day of action, we were able to say ‘thank you’ to the many dedicated people who do this much more often than we do, even if it was just a small gesture on our part.”
The first THU Social Day shows just how varied social engagement can be and how much can be achieved when a university takes responsibility as a team. True to the motto: Doing good feels good.
