Further steps were added to the cooperation agreement with North-West University, which has been in place since 2013.
Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences and North-West University in South Africa have agreed to take further steps towards cooperation on the basis of the cooperation agreement that has been in place since 2013.
During his recent visit to North-West University at the Potchefstroom campus, the Rector, Prof. Friedrich Albrecht, signed a work plan for the student exchange. The first students from the South African university are expected to join the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science next year. "We are very pleased about this," said Dean Prof. Klaus-Dieter Haim, who accompanied the Rector on this trip.
He continued: "This will further deepen the contacts that have existed since 2004. The Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences has already welcomed doctoral students from the South African university to study at the Institute of Process Engineering, Process Automation and Metrology (IPM). Students and doctoral candidates from our university have also spent time studying there. The student exchange that is now beginning will further strengthen the agreement that has been in place since 2013."
"We are cooperating with the Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences," says Vice-Chancellor Prof. Dan Kgwadi, "because we benefit from their experience in magnetic bearing technology, the university is a reliable partner and we would also like to expand our cooperative relationships to other areas. We are thinking in particular of cooperation in the field of mechanical engineering."
Rector Prof. Albrecht supports this concern. He used his stay in South Africa to see the university's capabilities and facilities for himself and to talk to the Vice-Chancellor and Deans, as well as teaching staff and students. He emphasized that the signing of the work plan between the Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences and North-West University strengthens the already existing close and long-standing relationships in teaching and research.
"We were warmly welcomed at the university and had the opportunity to look around the faculties on the really impressive campus," said Rector Albrecht.
The basis for the cooperation between the two universities is the intensive research collaboration between Prof. Frank Worlitz and Prof. George van Schoor in the field of magnetic bearing technology, which has existed for twelve years. The latter had asked Prof. Worlitz at the time whether he could imagine working with him in the field of magnetic bearing technology. Since then, numerous projects have been initiated and an intensive exchange of research has developed.
Regular visits by Prof. Worlitz to exchange experiences and for teaching purposes followed. As a result, the first South African doctoral students came to the IPM to carry out experiments in Zittau as part of their work. Master's students on the Mechatronics course at Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences have also spent time at North-West University and completed their theses there.
The main campus of North-West University in South Africa is located in Potchefstroom. This is located approx. 130 km west of Johannesburg and is a center for education and culture in the north-west of South Africa.
