How Did European Universities React to COVID-19? Exemplary Results from Germany, Italy and Sweden

In times of a global crisis with limited social contacts due to social distancing, alternative (digital) communication formats offer a way to maintain sharing information as well as interacting socially. Especially with universities’ physical closing, there is a demand especially for students to obtain information digitally. Therefore, the importance of adequate communication via digital channels arises. The pandemic serves as an amplifier towards informational channeling. However, universities vary greatly regarding their process of information sharing. To address these differences, this paper analyzes how European universities reacted to the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and how they dealt with communication towards students. The focus points towards the question on how universities strategies aim to supplement, substitute or reconfigure social interaction. Besides an overview of the general meaning of communication for universities, the paper presents general and country-specific results on the communication of universities during the pandemic and provides a comparative overview of alternative strategies.