News
"Many changes mastered"
The University Council of Zittau/Görlitz University is being reconstituted. Prof. Drossel has been re-elected as chair.
The University Council (HSR) of the University of Zittau/Görlitz was reconstituted at its meeting on March 13, 2025, in Görlitz. This followed the appointment of more than half of the HSR members by the Saxon State Ministry of Science, Culture, and Tourism (SMWK)—either for the first time or for another term—as their terms of office had ended in mid-February. This necessitated the election of the chair and vice chair.
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Welf-Guntram Drossel was re-elected as chair. The director of the Fraunhofer Institute for Machine Tools and Forming Technology (IWU) in Chemnitz looks forward to continuing his work on the University Council over the next five years.
Hardly any other university in Saxony has undergone as many changes in recent years as the University of Zittau/Görlitz. This has brought with it a host of challenges, such as managing two campuses, changes to the degree programme portfolio, and navigating necessary structural transformation processes. Serving as chair has been a very rewarding and educational experience for me.
”Ms. Andrea Bannert will serve as deputy chair for the next five years. She was appointed as a member of the University Council for the first time by the SMWK. As a Principal Engineer at Infineon Technologies in Dresden, she brings with her a wealth of experience from the semiconductor industry. In addition, the expert in the field of production, control and operations is active on the supervisory board of Infineon Technologies Dresden Verwaltungs GmbH. She finds committee work very exciting and is looking forward to accompanying the HSZG over the next five years.
I would like to express my gratitude for the trust placed in me, and I will contribute my many years of experience in the industry—particularly my more than 20 years at Infineon Technologies Dresden—to the work of the University Council at the University of Görlitz/Zittau.
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Andrea Bannert would like to promote and support the further development and strengthening of the university’s collaboration, particularly with the semiconductor cluster in Saxony. At the same time, she is committed to raising awareness of Lausitz as an innovative region for learners, students, and good jobs, and to fostering its development.
The further development of the Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences is also a major priority for another new member of the University Council. Prof. Dr.-Ing. Bernd Bellair has been a professor of design engineering in the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering at HSZG since 2014.
Most recently, he served as Dean there for six years and thus brings profound insights into the administrative structures of the HSZG. He intends to draw on this experience in his work on the University Council.
I am looking forward to these new challenges, and I would like to begin by thanking the university Senate for the trust they have placed in me. I will represent my experience in teaching, research, and industry—as well as the interests of the faculties and central administrative units—with great dedication in my role on the University Council.
”The Rector of the HSZG, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Alexander Kratzsch, congratulated Prof. Drossel and Ms. Bannert on their election. He is very pleased that Ms. Bannert has immediately assumed the role of vice chair as a new member of the University Council. He also welcomed Prof. Dr.-Ing. Bernd Bellair as a new member of the University Council.
Many thanks to all members of the University Council for their dedication to our HSZG. In particular, I would like to thank the Chair for his kind words of appreciation to our two Prorectors for the work they have done over the past five years.
”Prof. Dr.-Ing. Welf-Guntram Drossel, Director , Fraunhofer Institute for Machine Tools and Forming Technology IWU, Chemnitz – Chair
Ms. Andrea Bannert, Principal Engineer at Infineon Technologies Dresden GmbH & Co. KG, Dresden
Ms. Katrin Bartsch, Chair of the Executive Board of Stadtwerke Weißwasser GmbH
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Bernd Bellair, Professor, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences
Prof. Erik Hahn, Ph.D. (Law), Habil., Ph.D. (Medicine), Professor, Faculty of Social Sciences, Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences
Ms. Martina Weber, Department Head and 2nd Deputy District Administrator of the Görlitz District
Mr. Thomas Zenker, Mayor of the City of Zittau
The duties of the University Council are set forth in Section 91 of the Saxon Higher Education Act. It issues recommendations on shaping the university’s profile and enhancing its achievement and competitiveness, and is responsible, among other things, for drafting a proposal for the election of the Rector, as well as for approving the university’s development plan, the draft budget, and the annual financial statements.
The members were appointed by the Senate and the State Ministry of Science, Culture, and Tourism for a five-year term. The term of the current University Council runs from February 2025 to February 2030. Katrin Bartsch was appointed for the period from October 2021 to September 2026. Prof. Erik Hahn began his five-year term in December 2023.
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