Samba, salsa, studying abroad: the university celebrated its international character

On 23 June 2026, the University of Würzburg had invited all students and staff to its sports grounds at Hubland from 6 pm for the International Evening. To kick off the event, University President Paul Pauli welcomed the guests, whilst University Chancellor Uwe Klug presented staff with their UNIversInternational certificates.

Trophies for the best running teams

Professor Olaf Hoos, Head of the Sports Centre, and Sophia Englert from the Healthy University initiative then presented the challenge cups, donated by the President, to the JMU teams that had been the fastest in the internal university competition at the 2026 Würzburg Residenzlauf.

The running team from the Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science received the trophy for completing the ten-kilometre distance in the fastest time. This was the third time in a row that the faculty had won the trophy – so they may now keep it permanently.

The challenge cup for the team classification over the five-kilometre course went to the team from the Faculty of Management and Economics.

Information on study abroad programmes

At around 40 stands, students were able to find out about study placements in other countries. They received first-hand information from Würzburg students who had already been abroad, or from students who had come to Würzburg from abroad to study.

There was also a varied entertainment programme. Among other things, visitors were able to play Viking chess, listen to international music and, to round off the evening, admire Markus Just’s spectacular fire show.

The evening was organised by the Service Centre InterNational Transfer (SINT). André Kolowrat was in charge of the event.

Samba, salsa, dakba, taiko and more

André Kolowrat estimates that around 1,500 guests were on the premises over the course of the evening. The organiser is delighted that the performing groups were not deterred by the high temperatures and still put on outstanding performances.

The Samba Osenga drum ensemble and the Los Taifunes salsa dance group got the guests up and dancing. Making their debut at the International Evening were the Dakba dance group from the Centre for Languages (ZFS), the kendo group from the Sports Centre and the taiko drummers Todoroki Wadaiko. They, too, enjoyed a lively turnout.

The ZFS also received a warm reception for its exhibition ‘Das ZFS schreibt…’, as did the henna artist Pallak Aggarwal, with visitors queuing up to have tattoos applied using the plant-based dye.