Fur and Feathers for the Campus
There is good news just before the start of the new semester: A working group of the university management and the student representatives was able to agree on a concept that addresses one of the biggest issues among students and employees: Mental health.
Scientific pioneering work
As a public institution, we are required to keep an eye on the mental health of our students and employees. Animals have been proven to have a positive influence on this.
Prof Dr. Kai Fischbach, President of the University of Bamberg
For the next 36 months, Bamberg will therefore once again be the setting for a pilot project that is unique in Bavaria. Accompanied by local health research, the potential of trained therapy animals for health prevention in large organisations will be tested. In addition to the university, local authorities, therapists and animal rights activists are also involved in order to create an optimal test field for humans and animals.
The university is no pony farm
The project was inspired by studies and reports that repeatedly attested to students’ poor mental health[1,2,3]. However, anyone hoping for horses instead of bicycles or an animal daycare centre will be disappointed: The aim is to ‘create species-friendly meeting spaces for people and animals’, describes Chancellor Dr. Dagmar Steuer-Flieser.
However, there will still be opportunities for fluffy get-togethers. Among other things, a bring-your-pet-to-university event is being discussed. As usual, however, all official requirements must first be met. For example, modifications to the ventilation systems are necessary in order to remove allergens from the air as directly as possible.
Student parliament seeks proposals
With the go-ahead for the project, the creative phase now begins. The student parliament will deal with it in detail. The Bamberg Green-Left Student Initiative (BAGLS) has already criticised the one-sided focus on living beings with a central nervous system. For example, it is calling for improvements to fire protection for indoor greenery. The Ring of Christian-Democratic Students (RCDS) is focussing on a sense of tradition: Dairy cattle from local producers should also be considered for relaxation programmes.
Further ideas are welcome. Send them to the student representatives at ersterapril.stuve@uni-bamberg.de or contact us directly. And who knows – maybe you’ll see one or two budgerigars pecking seeds and grains at the salad counter in the canteen? However, if you plan to bring your snake to the lecture, you should discuss this with the person sitting next to you beforehand; small animals and reptiles would not be an ideal combination.
- Die Techniker: Gesundheitsreport 2023: Wie geht es Deutschlands Studierenden? Verfügbar unter https://www.tk.de/lebenswelten/gesunde-hochschule/studien-und-analysen/gesundheitsreport-2023-studierendengesundheit–2151494 (last accessed: 30.03.2025).
- Hochschulinitiative Deutschland: Mental Health im Studium – Ein Überblick. Verfügbar unter https://hochschulinitiative-deutschland.de/blog/mental-health-im-studium (last accessed: 30.03.2025).
- Riederer, Marlene: Studie: Studierenden geht es gesundheitlich schlechter. 28.06.2023. Verfügbar unter https://www.br.de/nachrichten/wissen/studie-studierenden-geht-es-gesundheitlich-schlechter,TiMqk3I (last accessed: 30.03.2025).
