Symposium and working groups

In a virtual reality (VR) environment, Johannes Weber helps students practise speaking freely in front of an audience. VR is used in one-to-one counselling, for example, to help students learn how to cope confidently with stage fright. It is also a great asset when preparing for the Linklaters public speaking competition, as it allows students to practise speaking virtually in front of a very large audience.

Nationwide symposium on university-level legal education
“Ten Years of Key Competencies in the German Judges Act”
21 and 22 November 2013

Since the reform of legal education in 2003, the federal legislature has stipulated in Section 5a(3), first sentence, and Section 5d(1), first sentence, of the German Judges Act (DRiG) that key competences must be taken into account in law degree programmes and in examinations. To mark the tenth anniversary of this educational mandate, REGINA hosted a nationwide symposium in Regensburg on 21 and 22 November 2013. The symposium was attended by professors, representatives of mid-level academic staff and students. Educationalists, lecturers from other faculties, as well as representatives from the ministries of justice and the major legal professional associations, rounded off the interdisciplinary symposium. A look at our programme (opens in a new window). (This PDF is not accessible) will give you a better impression.

The public keynote lecture, ‘Brain Research for Lawyers’, was delivered by the renowned researcher and bestselling author Prof. Dr med. Dr phil. Manfred Spitzer.

The results of the symposium can be found here (opens in a new window). (This PDF is not accessible). They were also published in JA 5/2014 and ZDRW 2/2014.

The Bavarian Working Group on Key Competences is an alliance of various universities and higher education institutions aimed at promoting a high-quality programme of events for students in the field of ‘personal development training in interdisciplinary competences and general knowledge’.

The working group comprises around 30 people representing various universities and higher education institutions in Bavaria. Its members belong to the Centres for Key Competences and Studium Generale, as well as the Centres for Careers and Competences and Career Service departments at the various institutions. Johannes Weber represents the REGINA Training Centre on the working group.

The aim of the Key Competences Working Group in Bavaria is to promote exchange between institutions in order to keep abreast of new developments and to facilitate professional development through the mutual sharing of knowledge about the programmes on offer. The working group meets once a semester to explore new areas of personal development in greater depth, discuss topics relating to cross-disciplinary skills and share examples of best practice.

Online lecture by Johannes Weber

More ‘presence’ in online teaching! A contradiction? It is true that at universities and higher education institutions we distinguish between two formats: face-to-face teaching and online teaching. However, lecturers must also ‘show presence’ online – that is, be highly visible, clear, motivating and approachable. This can be achieved through the deliberate use of technology, rhetoric and teaching methods. Johannes Weber (REGINA Training Centre) gave an online best-practice presentation on this topic on 2 March 2021 at the Bavarian Key Competences Working Group.

Working Group Conference in Regensburg

Together with Dr Brigitte Teuchert (Centre for Language and Communication), Johannes Weber (REGINA Training Centre) organised a working group conference at the University of Regensburg on 28 September 2021. The aim of the morning session was to examine specific individual skills (e.g. voice, presentation). Short workshops focused specifically on issues relating to personal impact and presentation. In the afternoon, the REGINA Training Centre (Jessika Lenitski, Lea Paßmann and Johannes Weber) hosted a guided walking tour, during which – in full compliance with COVID-19 guidelines and in the fresh air – participants were not only shown Regensburg’s old town but also discussed issues relating to key skills.

There are diverse and fundamental connections and interdependencies between language and law, which cannot be addressed in isolation by either legal scholarship or linguistics. Rather, a wide-ranging exchange between the various academic disciplines is required. The Language and Law Working Group, whose members come from several faculties at the University of Regensburg, is dedicated to this task. Johannes Weber represents the REGINA Training Centre in this working group.

The working group’s primary aim is to organise interdisciplinary

• on the subject of ‘Language and Law’, and
• to encourage and recognise research through a research award.

Further information is available on the working group’s website (external link, opens in a new window)