Digital Learning Technology Enhancement is progressing

NEWS FROM TÜBINGEN
by Birgit Hallmann

Time is quickly running by and next Sunday we will be celebrating the first of Advent here in Tübingen.

We are in the middle of the busy semester and we have welcomed our first overnight guests to our rooms again.
Our guest this week was Jonas Müller, a doctoral student of Loren Stuckenbruck from the University in Munich. He presented his work on: “The role of Abraham in the Galatian conflict. An introductory question in the context of ancient Judaism“ at the English German Colloquium for New Testament.

Due to a public transport strike, one of our scheduled speakers, Frau Dr. Verena Fugger from Vienna, was unable to travel to Tübingen at the last minute. Thanks to the technology capabilities of our University partners, we were able to shift her lecture to a live online presentation with very short notice.

The renovation and the digital upgrade of our seminar room at the Institute are also progressing very well.

The first furniture has been delivered, the 50+ year-old massive library tables have been disposed of, and all the materials for the digital classroom have been delivered. With the help of Mihail Bolonka from Heiligenkreuz in Austria, we hope to have all of this done before the Christmas break.

We would like to thank everyone, especially Mihail, for their great support in this major project.

1. Before:

2. After:

(If you would like to make a special "end-of-the-year" contribution to help defray the expenses of this mission-critical upgrade, we would be most grateful for this additional help!)

Start of the Winter Semester in Tübingen

NEWS FROM TÜBINGEN

by Dennis Lindsay

The Winter Semester, and with it the new academic year, has now officially begun here Tübingen with a flurry of activities at the University and in the Institute for the Study of Christian Origins. Along with a number of festive and official gatherings of the Theological Faculty (e.g., a "Faculty Cafe" with theology professors and students and a special convocation on Reformation Day, October 31) we are beginning our regular offerings from the Institute. Especially noteworthy is the increasing interest in our German-English Colloquium for New Testament that we offer in partnership with the Protestant Faculty of the University. With almost all of the session time slots and presentations assigned before the start of the semester, Prof. Michael Tilly (our partner from the Protestant Faculty) offered the introductory lecture on the topic: "Faith in Rabbinic Judaism."

We are also making steady progress on the renovation and technology upgrade for our seminar room in the Institute, as reported earlier. We expect everything to be completed during the month of November. We'll keep you posted on this! If you would like to make a special "end-of-the-year" contribution to help defray the expenses of this mission-critical upgrade, we would be most grateful for this additional help!

Digital Learning Education Technology Enhancement

Updates from Tübingen     
by Birgit Hallmann

Digital Learning and Education Technology Enhancement 

During the semester break this summer we were able to pursue a project that had been postponed for some time: The digitization of our seminar room.  We were very fortunate that our partner organization TCM was able to support us with their expertise from the training center in Heiligenkreuz, Austria near Vienna.  The Director of Information Technology there, Mihail Bojonca, was able to come to Tübingen for two days in September to provide a thorough analysis of our technology needs, despite the intensive ongoing courses in Vienna. Here is Mihail’s report from his visit. 

“Date: 8th September 2023

 I had the opportunity to be invited to EES offices in Tübingen, Germany, an affiliate of TCM International Institute. The purpose of my visit was to evaluate the potential for upgrading their work and study room with advanced video conferencing and hybrid learning capabilities. 

Post assessment, I have formulated a specific design that aligns with the room's structure, provided a cost estimate, and recommended necessary modifications. This upgrade is envisioned to strengthen EES's commitment to bridging the gap between researchers and students by eliminating prevailing digital constraints. 

I am grateful for the trust and warm welcome of Birgit Hallman and Dennis Lindsay and for the exciting plans they have for the institute.“ 

Mihail Bojonca, September 8, 2023

 We very much hope that we will be able to complete all further necessary steps by the start of the coming winter semester in late October.

EES Board Chair Meego Remmel in Tübingen

NEWS FROM TÜBINGEN

by Dennis Lindsay

August is a relatively quiet month at the Institute for the Study of Christian Origins, with the University on semester break and most people on vacation. But it is also a time when some important connections can be made, even on the spur of the moment. 

We were delighted this August to welcome Meego Remmel, current Board Chair of the European Evangelistic Society, for a visit to Tübingen. Meego, along with two of his colleagues from the theological seminary in Estonia where Meego teaches, had the opportunity to make a quick trip to Tübingen while attending a conference in Switzerland. 

Dennis and Meego first became acquainted at TCM in Austria during the 1990s when Meego was a student at Haus Edelweiss and Dennis a guest professor. This was Meego's first visit to the Institute and a great opportunity for Dennis to introduce him more fully to the work here—and to the lovely city of Tübingen. 

Dennis Lindsay and Meego Remmel, August 2023

Special guest lecture at the English German Colloquium

NEWS FROM TÜBINGEN

by Dennis Lindsay

 From time to time our Institute for the Study of Christian Origins has the opportunity to partner, not only with the Protestant faculty of the University of Tübingen, but also with other departments in the University. At one of our English-German Colloquium sessions in July, we were able to host a special guest lecture in cooperation with the Archaeology Department within the framework of a major research project on ancient coins, for which they have received substantial grant funding (“Sonderforschungsbereich 1391”).

Guest lecturer Dr. Tine Rassalle, an independent scholar from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, presented her fascinating research on the phenomenon of unexplained massive coin deposits discovered beneath the floors of a number of ancient synagogues (1st to 8th Century) in Israel. This was one of our best-attended Colloquiums this year, with participants attending in-person and online. Anyone interested in reviewing Dr. Rassalle’s research can find more information on her website: https://www.ancientsynagoguecoins.com

With the start of August comes the end of the summer semester and our academic year in Tübingen. Over the next few weeks Institute staff will be taking some vacation time to rest up a bit and then begin to prepare for the next academic cycle which begins in October.