University Days 2025 – Highway to Heaven
This article was originally published in German. The English version is an automatic translation and may contain errors. The German original is authoritative.
From 2 to 5 June, the University Days take place in Würzburg – an event organised by Christian students full of activities, community and, at its centre, evening lectures on controversial matters of faith at the university. The University Days are intended to encourage reflection and promote conversations about faith – so students are particularly invited who have nothing to do with the Christian faith. This year the action days are running under the motto "Highway to Heaven". The week full of activities is organised by the Christian university groups SMD and Campus Connect.
From Monday to Thursday (02–05.06.2025) the University Days take place. The heart of the University Days are the evening lectures at the Neue Uni on Sanderring.
For each lecture, established speakers from across Germany were invited to give a talk on their field of expertise. The lectures are oriented towards popular Christian–scientific questions that critically thinking students may well have asked themselves.
So the topic for Monday evening is "The Big Bang and the Question of God" and on Thursday "The Credibility of the Resurrection" will be in focus.
In addition to the lectures, there are daytime activities and free offers to draw attention to the lecture hall talks in the evening. There will be various sports activities in Ringpark, coffee actions with free coffee in front of various university buildings and free haircuts in front of the Neue Uni. Particularly popular is the food action "Lunch and Talk" in Ringpark in front of the Mensa at Studentenhaus. Here there is free food under pavilions every day from 12–14 o'clock. Furthermore, the speaker of the respective evening lecture will give a roughly ten-minute input that is meant to set the tone for the evening's topic. After that there is time to have a conversation with the speaker and with one another and to enjoy the food.
The aim of the University Days is to promote active exchange about faith. A large proportion of the audience are non-believers, atheists or belong to a religion other than Christianity. After the evening lectures there is a discussion round each time where questions can be put to the speaker. Particularly critical or sceptical questions are welcome here. For some audience members this question round is the highlight of the evening – even more so than the lecture topic itself. Even after the official part there is time to let the topic resonate in a relaxed discussion over snacks and drinks in front of the lecture hall. In everyday life, conversations about faith are rather rare. So the University Days provide an occasion to exchange views with fellow students about personal faith. The evening lectures are also intended to provide new food for thought, which usually deliberately contrast faith and science.
"The University Days are meant to show whether one can believe in an almighty God even as a critically thinking student – but also whether, beyond that, it is not only necessary to remain with faith, but there can indeed also be scientific evidence for the existence of God" – such is the aim of the student action days.