ReachHigher – Kirstine Fratz visits UMCH’s Semester Opening

On Monday, February 10, the 2020 summer semester was officially launched at UMCH in Hamburg. In the morning, the students were informed about the schedule for the new semester by the lecturers of the university and the Dean, Assoc. Prof. Simona Muresan Ph.D. In addition, the three students with the best final grades of the previous semester were honored and rewarded. They will soon be able to take part in an international congress for prospective doctors – complete with flight and accommodation. Afterwards there was a joint lunch, consisting of a varied buffet with delicious dishes provided by the catering company Kitchen Guerilla and a colorful UMCH candy bar.

Finally, in the afternoon the highlight of the day took place: Kirstine Fratz, Germany’s best known and most popular researcher on the subject of “zeitgeist” visited UMCH. She is the author of the book “Das Buch vom Zeitgeist – Und wie er uns vorantreibt” (The Book of the Zeitgeist – And how it drives us forward) and is a sought-after speaker. In her book and lectures, she conveys to readers and listeners the extent to which the zeitgeist shapes the entire society and our thinking, acting and feeling. During the event at UMCH, she succeeded in establishing a connection between the broad and supposedly abstract topic of zeitgeist and medicine. Above all, she emphasized the advantages of developing an awareness of the zeitgeist and its influence on everyday life and sharpening one’s own view of the subject. She also believes that one can look positively into the future and should bid farewell to apocalyptic thinking, noticeably infecting the students with her optimistic manner.

During the lecture there was always the opportunity for intermediate questions, which was happily accepted by the students. This resulted in a lively exchange between them and the zeitgeist expert. The lecture was the prelude to UMCH’s ReachHigher series, in which the students are introduced to topics from the areas of mindset and personality development – beyond the curriculum of medical studies. Throughout the event, the atmosphere among the students and other attendees ranged from fascinated to exuberant, making the day a complete success.