Always a close-knit team!
At the seminar group meeting, Golden Diplomas were presented to former students to mark the 50th anniversary of their disenrolment (from university).
It has now become a good tradition for former students of the Engineering School —now known as Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences—visit their old Zittau campus. What does the campus look like today? Is the little kiosk in the basement of our old faculty building still there? Do you remember the carnival party back then in the dorm? And what’s it actually like to be a student today in the 21st century?
These are all questions that occupy the minds of the young people from back then during a visit to Zittau today. With great curiosity, they stroll across the campus, visit labs, or get a tour of the technology in the large lecture halls. When they talk about those days—about their time as students in the former GDR—their eyes light up and they revel in their memories. They talk about cramming for important exams, strict professors, and the dreaded dentist, but also about formative encounters and their first significant experiences.
This late summer, too, several former seminar groups took the opportunity to visit Zittau—the pandemic situation at the time allowed for such gatherings.
"We have always had a close bond. This friendly relationship still exists after 50 years." Bernhard Haase, former student
”This was also the case for a seminar group that graduated with engineering degrees in Zittau 50 years ago. They were personally welcomed in the university’s Senate Hall by the Rector, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Alexander Kratzsch, and the Dean of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Bernd Bellair. A special highlight of such gatherings is the presentation of the Golden Diplomas.
We enrolled in 1968 at what was then the “Dr. Robert Meyer” School of Engineering here in Zittau. We came from all parts of what was then the GDR and wanted—and had to—live in Zittau for the duration of our studies. The male students were all housed in privately arranged rooms. The female students, on the other hand, were assigned a place in the student dormitory. And then the serious side of life began: Mr. Böhme was appointed as the academic advisor for our seminar group. He was like a fatherly friend and always looked out for us. Dr. Filter taught us the fundamentals and specialized knowledge of optimizing thermal power plant processes. Naturally, this subject interested every one of us. I also don’t want to forget Prof. Hampel today. Back then, as a young teaching assistant, he taught us the fundamentals of nuclear physics and nuclear power plant engineering.
A defining moment of our college years was November 11, 1970: We showed up for class in full costume and paraded through Zittau in a carnival procession. That remains an unforgettable memory.
Our class flag remains our trademark to this day. And we have our own anthem, which we still sing today—“What could life give us that’s more beautiful? We were at home in Zittau.”
Who knows what today's students will say about their time studying in Zittau and Görlitz in 50 years' time.
