For German version click here.
Welcome to TU Wien!
You did it! You’re enrolled and ready to start a new phase of your life! To make sure everything goes smoothly, we have summarised the most important things for you. Some information is in German only but we did our best to include English information where possible. Have fun browsing!
Attention! On the first day of university there will be longer waiting times in front of the buildings. Please come soon enough! Currently, you need 3G credentials to enter the building. You can use the fast lane if you upload the vaccination certificate to TISS beforehand. You can find the latest info here. You have also received this information on your student email address, you'll find out below how to access it.
Buying scripts on the first day is also associated with waiting times. Many professors also offer pdfs, which is sufficient for the first few days. If there is a discount on textbooks, you 'll find out about it in the lecture, so it is not advisable to buy them in advance. You can download many books free of charge as pdf files via the TU library website.
Events / Lectures
Events and online lectures take place to support you in your studies and everyday life. On the event platform http://events.htu.at you can find events taking place during the semester. There will always be new ones, so bookmark it.
What is the HTU?
The university students' association at the TU Vienna – HTU for short – is the legal representation of the interests of students at the TU Vienna. You are automatically a member by depositing the “ÖH-fee”, which is part of the study fee, and can use our services free of charge or at a very low price!
ÖH-Versicherung (insurance for students)
What’s a "Referat", or "Office of/for..."?
Depending on the department, they are responsible for different topics, advise you, offer services, support you in your hobbies or take care of internal processes of the HTU. All of the people who work in a department are volunteers.
If you need help with family grant, study grants, self-sustaining scholarships, rental laws or rights, or taxes, please contact the Referat für Sozialpolitik (Office for Social Affairs, Sozialreferat). If you want to study with a disability or illness, you can contact the Referat für Barrierefreiheit (Office for Accessibility) discreetly. As an international student, the Referat für ausländische Studierende (Office for Foreign Students) is your competent point of contact.
Referat für Informations- und Öffentlichkeitsarbeit (Presse, publisher of the university newspaper "htu.info"), Office for Information and PublicRelations
Referat für Bildung und Politik (BiPol, Studien- und Prüfungsrecht), Office for Education and Politics
Referat für Nachhaltigkeit (GRAT, Gesellschaftliche und industrielle Problemstellungen zur Nachhaltigkeit), Office for Sustainability
Referat für Fotografie (Fotoreferat) (darkroom!), Office of Photography
Referat für Gleichbehandlung und Frauenförderung (GleichRef, Aktionen zur Förderung des Themenkomplexes, White Ribbon), Office for Equal Treatment and Advancement of Women
Referat für Organisation und Kultur (KultRef, Vergünstigungen bei Kulturveranstaltungen), Office of Organisation and Culture
Referat für Sport (SportRef, Unterstützung des Basketball und Footballteams, TU Robots), Office for Sports
Referat für LGBT*-Angelegenheiten (LGBT*-Referat, Aktionen zur Förderung des Themenkomplexes, Rainbow Parade), Office for LGBT* Affairs
Referat für antirassistische Arbeit (AntiRa, Anti-Diskrimination, Anti-Rassism)
Referat für Finanz-, Wirtschafts- und Vermögensangelegenheiten (Wirtschaftsreferat) (WiRef), Office for Financial, Economic and Asset Affairs
You can find a complete list of the presentations with contact details and addresses here. You can find most of the presentations in HTU-Großraum (overview map).
What is a "Fachschaft", or student association?
A Fachschaft is the representation of students in a particular field of study. It is the first point of contact in case of problems in the course of studies and offers advice, scripts, exam samples and much more. Everyone who works at a Fachschaft, does this on a voluntary basis and in their free time.
They organise your introductory event (= ETUT = First-semester tutorial) and make sure that you get to network with other students (digitally as well as offline). Some run a Discord or Mattermost server to allow you to learn together.
If you have a specific question about your study program, or a course, please contact your student association.
And now we have a small task for you: Click on the homepage of your student association and see what it offers! There is a detailed list on the German version of this site only because the TU only offers Bachelor studies in German language. A complete list of student associations with contact possibilities and addresses can be found here.
How do IT services work at the TU?
What is TISS?
TISS is your homebase during your studies. Here you can find your curriculum, courses, registrations, certificates, etc. You can add and manage courses to your favorites. You can read all news about courses from TISS under “News. You can also subscribe to your timetable in a calendar of your choice.
The Fachschaft Technische Mathematik has created a video (German) on the subject of TISS. There are also TISS help pages for new students.
TISS Tips
You can “Add categories” in the favorites. The button is at the bottom of the website. We recommend that you create several categories (e.g. for each semester). Depending on the settings you enter, the dates will be displayed differently in the calendar you can subscribe to. If you don’t use categories, you’ll get a lot of irrelevant emails.
Attention! Only room reservations are displayed in the TISS. Your actual lecture times may vary. Usually you'll find these in the description of the course.
- current semester Lectures (VO, VU)
- enable all LVA News notification options in the settings, because professors do not always set the “important” flag; E-Mails are ideal, as you will also receive other uni-relevant messages
- some professors use the forum, activate these settings
- activate “Show dates”
- current semester exercises (UE)
- enable all LVA News notification options inthe settings, because professors do notalways set the “important” flag; E-Mails are ideal, as you will also receive other uni-relevant messages
- some professors use the forum, activate these settings
- Deactivate “Show dates”, then only timeslots of the exercises for which you are registered to will be displayed
- planned exams
- activate all LVA News notification options inthe settings
- Deactivate “Show dates”, then only the exam dates for which you are registered will be displayed
- completed courses (here you could still divide them into compulsory, elective and non-compulsory subjects)
- disable all notification options in the settings
- deactivate “Show dates”
- Wishlist (for courses you find interesting)
- disable all notification options in the settings
- deactivate “Show dates”
For other types of courses, you have to try, they are displayed correctly above in your calendar. Move the courses into the right categories. Click on “calendar” in the menu and export the calendar subscription below. Add the file to your preferred calendar. From then on, all data is automatically transferred and updated. For more security, you can renew the token if necessary, then you also have to renew the calendar subscription.
How do I access student emails?
You click in TISS on your name -> TU Webmail for students
Then you can log in to Outlook. The password is the first TISS password until you change it.
What is TUWEL?
TUWEL is our Moodle server for teaching content. Teachers are free to use this platform. It is very flexible and can be used in many different ways. Most of the time you will find course recordings, examination opportunities, and additional material for courses. You can access the statistics on your achievements via the sidebar.
The TUWEL tutorial is offered at the beginning of the semester. And the Fachschaft Technische Mathematik has also created a video about TUWEL in German.
What is an ECTS?
1 ECTS corresponds to 25 hours of learning effort.
For example, a lecture exercise (VU) has this key:
- ECTS Breakdown : 137. 5 hours=5. 5 ECTS
- Attendance lecture (50 hours)
- Attendance practice (14. 5 hours)
- Worksheets (48 hours)
- exam and test preparation, tests, exams (25hours)
What is roomTUlearn?
This is the central administration for studyrooms. In the “roomTUlearn” project, the central teaching and learning room management opens some teaching rooms as learning rooms at certain time slots. Due to COVID-19 security measures, there are a lot to consider at the moment. All information is available on the website.
Where can I find the current orientation guide and information on distance learning?
Here you can find FAQs about Distance Learning and more information. From the beginning/mid of September there will also be the latest orientation guide.
How do I access student software?
You can find the ordering options here. Watch out for the expiration date of the licenses and order them only when you need them. Which licenses or software you'll need, you'll find out in your courses. The use of Microsoft Office and ZoomPro are currently free. For writing mathematical content, e.g. formulae, LaTeX is an advantage. An editor for it, Overleaf Pro, is also available free of charge currenty.
How can I use Zoom for lectures?
A Zoom Pro license is free of charge for all students. Register as described here with your university email address. Install the software on the manufacturer’s page and click on SSO login (Single Sign-On). Type "tuwien.zoom.us". You will then need to log in to TISS to verify yourself.
How can I make use the library?
You can just go inside during opening hours. Note that you have to put your wardrobe and bags in a locker, for those, you need coins as a deposit (1 or 2 Euro coins). You can borrow books as soon as you have activated your student ID as a library card. The seats for studying are limited and the desk is cleared if you are absent for too long.
Most books are available as free downloads. You can also download CatalogPlus from home with an active VPN connection.
We wish you all the best for the start of the semester!
Your HTU - executive board, offices, student associations - always there for you!