Due to the current budget situation and the potential savings in electricity and heating costs, Freie Universität will be closing its buildings during the academic holidays this year from December 20, 2025, to January 2, 2026.

All university employees should be given the opportunity to take vacation leave or overtime compensation, or work remotely during this time period.

Please note the following: The heating will be turned down across all campus buildings. Please help us by turning down the radiators in your offices to “1” before you leave for the holidays. Please coordinate with your colleagues and do not forget to turn down the thermostats in lecture halls, seminar classrooms, hallways, and restrooms. Please take a moment on your last day of work before things close down at the end of the year and double check: Are all thermostats set to the correct level? Have all electronic appliances and equipment been unplugged (with the exception of the Ricoh all-in-one printers; they should be left on)? Are the lights turned off? Are the windows closed? 

If you work in a laboratory, please note: We would like to remind you, as we do every year, that all hazardous materials must be stored in the appropriate hazardous materials storage cabinets/areas and that nothing should be left in the fume hood(s). Please plan accordingly with your colleagues to make sure these steps are followed.

For additional information, please contact your department’s administrative office or the Sustainability & Energy Unit by phone at +49 (0) 30 838 57551 or by email at schliesszeit@nachhaltigkeit.fu-berlin.de.