Research at HSZG makes a difference in the region and in society. Here, we present selected impact stories: stories about people, breakthroughs, and real change brought about by our work.
Are you conducting research at HSZG and have a story that needs to be told? A successful technology transfer project, a spin-off, or a social initiative? Let’s work together to highlight its impact.
Many people care for a loved one day in and day out, often pushing themselves to their limits in the process. The WELL CARE project aims to support family caregivers so they can manage caregiving more healthily in their daily lives.
Care often begins quietly. At first, it might involve helping with grocery shopping, accompanying a loved one to a doctor’s appointment, or filling out a form. Later, more tasks are added: personal care, organizing services, talking with doctors, and being constantly available. Step by step, these individual acts of assistance can turn into an intense responsibility. This often leaves little room for rest, work, family, and one’s own health.
This is exactly where WELL CARE comes in. In five European countries—Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Slovenia, and Sweden—colleges and universities are collaborating with care organizations and advocacy groups. Each country is developing its own program to support family caregivers and professional caregivers in coping with stress. These programs are being tested with about 100 participants per country and are intended to be continued in the long term through the participating organizations.
In Germany, the free online course “Strengthening Through Experience” is being developed for this purpose. It is aimed at people who are currently providing care or have done so in the past. They bring something to the table that no textbook can replace: their own experience. In the course, they learn how to share this knowledge in a good way and support other family caregivers as trained mentors.
The course consists of six concise modules. Topics include the rights of family caregivers, coping with emotional stress, communication skills, and organizing self-help groups. After completing the course, the trained individuals receive ongoing support through supervision.
This creates support on an equal footing. People who know what caregiving is like from personal experience support others in similar situations. WELL CARE thus demonstrates how caregiving can be made more socially sustainable: through knowledge, sharing, and mutual encouragement. The goal is clear: to enable family caregivers to manage their caregiving situation in a more self-effective and healthier way.
You can find more information about WELL CAREhere.
Germany’s energy supply faces a monumental challenge: more and more electricity is needed—for electric cars, heat pumps, and industrial facilities. At the same time, our grid dates back to the last century. The DC-LabSaxony at Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences and TU Dresden demonstrates how direct current (DC) can overcome this challenge. Here, a real-world laboratory is being created that will make tomorrow’s energy supply possible.
Imagine you’re charging your electric car—but instead of taking an hour, it takes eight hours to fully charge. Or your heat pump consumes so much electricity that it can’t be supplied. This is exactly the problem we face today: Our alternating current (AC) grid is increasingly overwhelmed. It suffers from excessive transmission losses, is prone to disruptions, and can no longer meet modern demands. The result? High costs, inefficient use, and a looming shortage.
But there is a technology that can solve all of this: direct current (DC).
DC isn’t new—but it’s more relevant today than ever. Why?
At DC-LabSaxony in Zittau, that is exactly what is being tested: a realistic medium-voltage direct current grid where partners from academia and industry develop innovative solutions. Here, researchers are testing how AC and DC grids can be intelligently combined. To this end, for example, novel DC circuit breakers, as well as operational management, grounding, and protection concepts, are being investigated. The goal? A power grid that keeps pace with the demands of the present and the future—without costly detours or unnecessary losses.
This project isn’t just a research initiative—it’s about our daily energy supply. Whether at home, in industry, or on the go, DC makes electricity cheaper, more reliable, and more sustainable.
Are you working on DC technologies or related topics? Connect with us—we look forward to exchanging ideas.
The DC-LabSaxony project is co-funded by the European Union and partially financed by tax revenues based on the budget approved by the Saxon State Parliament.
Find more information about DC-LabSaxonyhere
Four universities in Saxony are pooling their expertise in the field of the circular economy at the Schwarze Pumpe industrial site. Here in Lausitz, a center is being established for the recycling of materials that are currently difficult to separate.
Where are the raw materials we’ll use in the future? – Many of them are in waste!
Where are the people shaping this change? – In Lausitz!
The need to keep raw materials in circulation and thus make them reusable for cables, computers, and smartphones is well known. But putting this into practice repeatedly presents us with challenges—for example, the reuse of composite materials made of metals, plastics, and fiber fabrics.
How can we make our sensor systems for sorting waste streams better adapted to the new materials of the future? What disassembly steps are necessary to dismantle cars, refrigerators, and washing machines—ideally fully automatically—and recover functional replacement parts? What processes can help us reuse the carbon bound in waste residues during thermal recycling? Can recycled plastics be processed in a standard machine? Scientists from Chemnitz, Freiberg, Dresden, Zittau, and Görlitz, along with regional companies and experts, will soon be working together to find answers to these questions at the CircEcon site, the Schwarze Pumpe Industrial Park.
At CircEcon, researchers and users will be able to simulate the entire life cycle of these materials in a single location—from shredding and sorting to the creation of a new product. This approach provides us with valuable insights into energy consumption and the use of resources and personnel. Newly developed plant components can be tested and optimized in an industry-like environment without causing production downtime.
CircEcon offers modern workplaces for engineers and scientists who want to make a difference through the circular economy.
More information about CircEcon is available here.
“Water is the coal of the future.” The visionary Jules Verne wrote these words as early as 1870. Today, more than 150 years later, we are successfully turning this quote into a technological revolution for our heat supply through the AQVA HEAT research project.
At the heart of this innovation is a fascinating physical phenomenon known as the triple point: By lowering the air pressure just above the freezing point, water is brought into a state in which it simultaneously vaporizes and forms ice crystals. We are harnessing this unique physical property to develop a completely new method of energy generation. The heat released in the process is used for heating—such as in district heating—while the resulting liquid ice can simultaneously be used for efficient cooling of buildings.
What makes this special is that ordinary surface waters—such as the Mandau River in the city of Zittau, where the project is based—serve as the energy source. Since Germany is currently grappling with the question of how to provide heat quickly and efficiently without fossil fuels, this solution is right on our doorstep. The system promises a sustainable and environmentally sound supply of heat and cooling that works even in remote locations, independent of large municipal infrastructure networks.
The system is currently being tested throughout the year to demonstrate its environmental sustainability. This marks the transition from academic research to large-scale application, which has the potential to drastically reduce the share of fossil fuels in our cities and communities.
We invite you to become part of this energy-efficient future, in which we will actually be heating with ice. Whether as a curious observer of the technology or as a potential partner for an innovative heating supply in your community: let’s tap into the energy of the future together.
The project is funded under the Free State of Saxony’s Energy and Climate Funding Guidelines (FRL EuK 2023, SAB).
More information about AQVA HEAT is available here.
Can conventional fields be real biotopes? A project of the Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences shows: Yes! The video highlights how farmers and researchers in the district of Görlitz are working together to discover that simple compensation areas are often home to an unexpected number of endangered species. It is about the exciting balancing act between economic efficiency and ecology - and about how new ways are found through cooperation to protect nature without jeopardizing the harvest. A brief insight into the agriculture of the future!
Can certain plants make the fields healthier?
Can cold technology replace the warm hand of a caregiver? No - but it can strengthen them! This video shows how high-tech such as exoskeletons (supportive suits) can make the physically demanding day-to-day care work easier. This future becomes tangible in the "Living Lab" in Görlitz: There, senior citizens and carers learn how to overcome their fear of contact. In addition, the new technology navigator is presented, which helps to maintain an overview in the jungle of aids. An exciting insight into how technology can support people without displacing them.
How can modern technology support older people and caregivers?
Will unpleasant blood sampling for alcohol offenses soon be a thing of the past? This video presents a new, conclusive breath alcohol test that the Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences is taking a close look at. The advantages sound promising: the test should not only be faster and cheaper, but even more accurate than the classic blood test and without the need for a needle stick! The researchers' goal is ambitious: A change in the law that allows "blowing" to be used as fully-fledged evidence in court, thus relieving the burden on police and doctors.
Can you measure the alcohol level in your breath?
Are we prisoners of our consumer habits? This video from Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences uses the famous allegory of the cave to show why we need to break out of old patterns if we want a happy future.
The bold thesis: much of what we buy is just a substitute for an unlived life. The project explores how Lausitz can become a pioneer for a new kind of tourism - away from mass consumption and towards genuine experience, creativity and nature. A plea for travel that not only entertains, but also has a lasting effect and brings about change.
Experiences instead of consumption
Is the traditional craft dying out? Not if the Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences has its way! This video shows how state-of-the-art robotics is breathing new life into age-old traditions such as the textile industry.
The message is clear: the robot is not a job killer, but the perfect assistant. It takes over the heavy hauling and monotonous manual tasks. The aim? "More time for craftsmanship" - so that people can once again concentrate on what really counts: their skills, their creativity and the challenging tasks.
More time for the essentials again thanks to robots
