State Secretary at the Ministry of Science, Higher Education, and Culture Visits Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences

The State Secretary at the Saxon State Ministry of Science and the Arts, Ms. Andrea Franke, visited the Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences (HSZG) on Friday, August 7, 2020. This marked the long-planned inaugural visit—which had been postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. She was accompanied by the Head of Division 35 for Universities of Applied Sciences and the University of Cooperative Education, Dr. Bruno Bartscher.

Prof. Dr. Martin Knoll, the founding professor of the nursing degree programme, kicked off the event by updating the State Secretary on the progress of the nursing degree programme's development.

Afterward, she was very keen to engage in a dialogue with the University Executive Board on specific topics. In particular, the discussion focused on the challenges facing a university undergoing transformation. In addition to central technical and economic applied research, the HSZG’s specific roles and initiatives within the transformation processes were highlighted, such as social-ecological and sustainability-oriented research (e.g., at the intersection of topics in the Social Sciences and the humanities with those in engineering and the natural sciences). This also included research on socio-demographic, migration, and educational issues (skilled workers, digitalization, integration, inclusion), as well as the HSZG’s research in the field of political education in collaboration with regional organizations, the State Agency and the Federal Agency for Civic Education, adult education centers, etc., as part of its “Third Mission.” In doing so, the HSZG always keeps the “Dreiländereck” region and Europe in view.

The guests also engaged in in-depth discussions with the University Executive Board regarding the HSZG's financial and construction plans.

Ms. Franke then visited the laboratory for high-voltage engineering under the guidance of Prof. Kornhuber, Professor at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science'. Ms. Franke was impressed by the modern equipment and the ongoing research projects.

They then visited the ^LaNDER3 technical center. Cluster Manager Dr. Matthias Kinne explained the ^Lander3 project, the research results already achieved in the start-up phase of the partnership (2017-2020) and projects that are to be implemented in the intensification phase of the partnership from 2021. The discussion also focused on how the partnership can be made permanent from 2025 and how it can support the regional innovation structure. The State Secretary was very interested in the topics within the ^LaNDER3 project on natural fibre composites, decentralized energy generation, raw materials, resources and recycling and discussed them intensively with Dr. Kinne and the research assistants Dr. Maria Schäfer and Annett Kupka.

The Zittau power plant laboratory formed the degree of the visit. Sebastian Braun, Head of Department at the Institute of Process Engineering, Process Automation and Measurement Technology (IPM), gave a guided tour of the laboratory and explained the large-scale testing facilities installed there. He also presented future research projects. Ms. Franke asked interested questions about processes for increasing energy efficiency and the utilization of research results, the practical application of findings from research projects and cooperation with companies. She showed particular interest in the flexibilization of energy systems with thermal energy storage systems and discussed this topic and new research projects with Sebastian Braun and Prof. Alexander Kratzsch.

In all three laboratories, an interesting discussion arose regarding the possibilities for integrating existing technologies into the engineering curriculum at Zittau University of Applied Sciences/Görlitz, particularly the involvement of students in research topics through practical projects and final dissertations, as well as the ever-increasing relevance of these projects for the companies where our graduates find employment after obtaining their degrees.