Student Committee

Introducing us

your student representatives in the Department of Geosciences. We attend to your interests within our faculty, but we can also take your concerns to the university level and discuss them.

What are our tasks?

• Representation in committees
• Preparation of orientation week
• Organization of summer parties
• Support of the 3rd semester for the Barbara celebration
• Convening the general assembly
• Link between students and faculty
• Ordering geo-merch
• Organization of movie nights
• and more ...

Student Networking

An introduction: free software

In your studies, you will come across various software packages for different purposes. We have gathered a short list of useful FREE software for you:

Maps and Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

• QGIS
  QGIS is a geographic information system for visualizing, editing and acquiring spatial data and is licensed under GNU General Public License. Key features of the application are the broad support of common vector and raster data like Shapefile or GeoTIFF, but also spatial databases like PostGIS and SpatiaLite, sophisticated digitalization tools for the acquisition of vector data and a graphical compilation for easy generation of map prints.
• Generic Mapping Tool (GMT)
  Generic Mapping Tools (GMT) is a collection of free software, for creating geological or geographic maps and diagrams. GMT provides tools to manipulate x,y and x,y,z datasets - e.g. by rasterizing, filtering or different types of map projection. An extensive collection of freely usable GIS data is provided, which includes coastlines, rivers, political borderlines and the coordinates of other geographic objects. Additional data (satellite images, digital terrain models, etc.) can be converted and imported from other sources. The resulting maps and diagrams are exported in Encapsulated PostScript (EPS) format.

• Python
  Python is a general-purpose, commonly interpreted higher programming language. It aims to support an easy-to-read, concise programming style. For example, blocks are structured by indentations rather than curly braces.
• R
  R is a free programming language for statistical calculations and graphics. It was developed by statisticians for users with statistical tasks. The syntax is based on the programming language S, with which R is largely compatible, and the semantics is based on Scheme. As a standard distribution, R comes with an interpreter as a command line interface with rudimentary graphical buttons. Thus, R is currently available on major platforms; the developers explicitly refer to the surrounding environment as R as well. R is part of the GNU project.

• LaTeX
  In contrast to other text editors, which work according to the what-you-see-is-what-you-get principle, the author works with text files, in which he textually marks out passages or headings within a text, which are to be formatted differently, with commands. Before the LaTeX system can set the text accordingly, it must process the source code. The layout generated by LaTeX in this process is considered very clean, its formula set very sophisticated. In addition, export to PDF, HTML, PostScript, and other formats is possible. LaTeX is particularly suitable for extensive works such as theses and dissertations, which often have to meet strict typographical requirements. Especially in mathematics and natural sciences LaTeX facilitates the preparation of documents by its comfortable possibilities of formula setting compared to usual word processing systems. The procedure of LaTeX is also described with WYSIWYAF (What you see is what you asked for.).
• OpenOffice
  Apache OpenOffice (formerly OpenOffice.org) is a free office suite consisting of a combination of various word processing, spreadsheet, presentation and drawing programs. A database program and a formula editor are also included. It is available for all major operating systems.
• Libre Office
  LibreOffice is a powerful and free office suite, a successor to OpenOffice, used by millions of people around the world. Its clean interface and feature-rich tools will help you unleash your creativity and increase your productivity. LibreOffice includes several applications that make it the most versatile free and open source office suite on the market.

• GIMP
  GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program, originally General Image Manipulation Program) is a free and open source pixel-based graphics program. GIMP is a graphics program that provides functions for editing and creating pixel and vector graphics. In addition to the version for GNU/Linux and Unix, ports to Microsoft Windows and macOS also exist. The GIMP user manual is available for download in 16 languages.
• Inkscape
  Inkscape (portmanteau of English ink, "ink" and -scape as in landscape, "landscape") is a free, platform-independent software for editing and creating two-dimensional vector graphics. The program is suitable for creating single-page documents such as logos, vector art, technical diagrams, maps, city plans, flyers, CD motives, posters, lettering, comics, etc.

Finding ways to the academic literature

Preparing and following up on lecture content is immensely important during studies. The lecture material only gives incentives to acquire further knowledge independently. Unfortunately, the technical literature is often more expensive and appear as heavy, unwieldy tomes. Here we offer you a list of websites where you can download literature LEGALLY and FREE of charge via the university network:

• Springer-Link
  SpringerLink is one of the world's leading online information services for scientific, technical and medical books and journals. For scientists at universities, in companies as well as in the most important knowledge centers SpringerLink is the preferred source of information.
• ScienceDirect Bücher
  ScienceDirect is an online scientific database operated by the Dutch publisher Elsevier. The full-text database contains articles from more than 3,500 peer-reviewed scientific journals and more than 34,000 books from this publisher. It thus contains an inventory of more than 13 million articles or book chapters, growing at a rate of nearly half a million per year. Documents from other scholarly publishers are not referenced or included in full text.
• OpenStax
  OpenStax (formerly OpenStax College) is a nonprofit ed tech initiative based at Rice University. Since 2012, OpenStax has created peer-reviewed, openly licensed textbooks, which are available in free digital formats and for a low cost in print. Most books are also available in the iBooks Store. OpenStax's first textbook was College Physics, which was published online, in print, and in iBooks in 2012. In 2017, OpenStax launched OpenStax Tutor, an adaptive courseware based on cognitive science principles, machine learning, and OpenStax content.

Free Cloud and File Exchange

The Center for Networks (ZfN) of the University of Bremen offers you various possibilities to store and exchange data securely:

• Nextcloud
  The cloud storage (100 GB for free !!!) allows, among other things, the simple synchronization of files across different end devices and the easy sharing of work materials with colleagues or students. The usage is similar to the well-known Dropbox, but all stored data is stored on servers of the university. You manage user groups for shared access to materials with the ZfN group management.
• Network drive
  Each university account includes storage space (!!! 10 TB !!!) on the university's servers, which can be used flexibly as a network share or network drive, via SFTP, Windows network share(CIFS/SMB 2.0) or RDP.

Ersti-Fibel

If you have misplaced your Ersti-Fibel (or didn't get one), or if you always want to have it at hand, you can download this invaluable guide here.