More guests than ever before

Record attendance at the 2016 graduation ceremony—more than 450 guests gathered in late April to celebrate our graduates’ successful completion of their studies.

A varied program of events awaited the participants, who had traveled from all corners of Germany. In Görlitz, the day began at 11:00 a.m. with a campus tour, which, as in previous years, was led by Sandro Hänseroth. At 12:00 p.m., the campus tour began in Zittau, where Ms. Trillenberg, Prof. Dr. Wiegert, and Prof. Haim welcomed the guests. It was nice for the parents to get to know the place where their children had spent their time; for our graduates, it was interesting to see the inside of academic buildings they hadn’t yet explored during their studies.

At 1:30 p.m., the next highlight awaited the graduates: the formal disenrolment(from university). Professor Christa Heidger, Vice President for Education and International Affairs; Thomas Zenker, Mayor of the district seat of Zittau; and Professor Reinhardt Hassa, Chairman of the Board of the Friends of Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences e. V., welcomed those in attendance and each expressed their hope that the new alumni would maintain a connection to the region and the university that extends beyond their studies.

Dirk Wieltsch of FERCHAU Engineering GmbH presented the Ferchau Award to Jens Maiwald, a graduate of the Industrial Engineering program, for his outstanding achievements in his thesis on the topic: “Development of a Simulation Model for Optimizing the Operation of Combined Heat and Power Plants in Grid-Connected Mode.”

Many proud faces were seen as the graduates were personally bid farewell, by program, by their Deans or faculty members from their respective faculties and by the Vice President for Education and International Affairs. A coffee mug donated by the university’s Friends Association—featuring the university logo and a stylized depiction of the Zittau Mountains—as well as a small bouquet of flowers were presented as farewell gifts.

Following the ceremonial send-off for the graduates of the Faculties of Mechanical Engineering and Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, the 2015 Teaching Award of Zittau/Görlitz University was presented for the first time to the teaching team consisting of Prof. Dr.-Ing. habil. Hans-Joachim Kretzschmar and Dr.-Ing. Ines Stöcker (posthumously).

This was followed by the graduation ceremony for the graduates of the Faculties of Managerial and Cultural Studies, Natural and Environmental Sciences, Social Sciences, and Business Administration and Engineering Management. On this occasion, the latter faculty was once again able to award the 2016 Dr. Rashid A. Al-Makhawi Prize. It was awarded to Luisa Schmidt, a graduate of the Housing and Real Estate Management program, for her outstanding academic achievements and her thesis on “The Dependence of Land Value on the Extent of Building Use on Multi-Family Residential Properties.”

The event featured musical accompaniment by the “Mandau Quartet,” which received enthusiastic applause for its performances. Following the ceremony , the 2016 Graduates’ Tree—a small-leaved linden— was planted in Zittau’s Student Park, and wish balloons were released into the air.

At 6:30 p.m., the festively decorated and beautifully illuminated student canteen opened its doors and welcomed the graduates—dressed just as festively — along with their families, as well as university faculty and guests of honor to the graduation ball. The student canteen team surprised the hungry guests with a fantastic buffet. Later, everyone shook their hips and danced to the live band “Jenix” and partied exuberantly to the sounds of the Star Club DJ team until the early morning hours. At midnight, another special highlight awaited the guests in front of the student canteen: a fire show featuring Dhyana Fire Dance, which drew many enthusiastic spectators despite the cold temperatures.

We would like to take this opportunity to extend a heartfelt thank you—in addition to those already mentioned in the text—to Ms. Kothe and the student canteen team, the Dezibar, the auditorium, the Zittauer Senfladen, our Chancellor Karin Hollstein, Dr. Falk Maiwald and Ralf Schwarzbach from the University Library, the custodians Mr. Beyer and Mr. Wiechert, our hardworking student assistants, the KIA trainees, and the participating university staff and faculty members. We would also like to thank the Friends of Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences e.V. and the HSZG Student Council for their financial support.