Where is Lethbridge actually located?

Lethbridge is a small town in the southern part of the Canadian province of Alberta and is one of several Canadian universities that have been collaborating with universities in Saxony for several years as part of a consortium. On the German side, the consortium is coordinated by the Leonardo Office at TU Dresden. To foster these partnerships, the office regularly sends representatives from the Saxon member universities to Canada. As a result, Ms. Kunze, a staff member from our university, was able to travel to Canada last year. The primary goal was to strengthen existing partnerships and explore new opportunities for cooperation. The University of Lethbridge, in particular, gave Ms. Kunze a most warm welcome. She was able to see for herself the excellent academic environment and the diverse campus facilities. It quickly became clear at that time that the Canadian side would reciprocate the visit.

By spring 2017, it was clear that a group of 14 people would be visiting us in August 2017. After an intensive preparation phase, the trip soon took shape, and so—funded in part by the DAAD and the participants’ own funds—twelve Canadian students, along with their two supervisors, were welcomed to the HSZG from August 5 to 11. Under the leadership of Ms. Kunze, a comprehensive and varied program had been organized in advance: from a welcome party on the evening of their arrival at the Dezi Bar, to factory tours at Fit GmbH and Herrnhuter Sterne GmbH, a visit to the Fraunhofer Institute, a boat tour on the Neisse River, guided city tours in Zittau and Görlitz, and a trip to the Zittau Mountains featuring a legendary and historically fascinating tour of Mount Oybin—the program had it all. Since some HSZG students had spontaneously volunteered to serve as “buddies” after the visit was announced, the group was a diverse mix that was good for everyone.

The Canadian students’ trip was also intended to support their academic progress. Therefore, under the guidance of their accompanying tutor, they participated in a course assignment on two evenings during their visit in one of the new seminar rooms in Building Z I and were subsequently impressed by our university’s modern facilities. During the guided tours of our two campuses, we were also able to impress them with our recently renovated “flagship” buildings, including the equipment in the labs and seminar rooms. Thus, not only did the region’s attractions generate enthusiasm, but the many advantages of a smaller university were also highlighted.

As a result of this successful visit, discussions will soon take place between Ms. Kunze (DSI) and the 'Studentenwerk' to explore further group exchanges as well as the possibility of a return visit in the coming years, including funding options through the Dresden 'Studentenwerk'.

Last but not least, it should be noted that the success of visit programs of this kind always depends on the contributions of many people. We would therefore like to express our sincere thanks to:

• Prof. Haim for his lab tour,
• Martina Samp, who interrupted her vacation specifically to introduce the students to Mount Oybin,
• Gregor Hummel for his spontaneous willingness not only to give a lecture on the Faculty of Mathematics, Computer Science, and Physics but also to lead the campus tour in Görlitz,
• Jeremy Cope for a wonderful city tour in Zittau,
• Alina Bulcsu and Diana Müller for their thoughtful pick-up and drop-off services,
• Cornelia Rothe from the Public Relations Office for the campus tour in Zittau and for organizing the visit to the Fraunhofer Institute,
• and, last but not least, our students Patricia Schwarzbach, Markus Veit, Tina Lubke, Lisa Schäfer, and Cilly Herrmann, who—not only at the tripoint—made sure our guests felt welcome here!

Our Canadian guests finally returned home with a wealth of new experiences and, we hope, nothing but good impressions.

Further information is available from the division of Student Services & International Affairs and the International Office.