The format "Fail Forward - For a glass of clarity with ..." offers inspiration and open discussions about doubts, turning points and failure.
Doubts about studying, disorientation and the fear of failure are topics that many people are familiar with - including professors.
In the winter semester 2025/2026, the event series "Fail Forward - A glass of clarity with..." invited students, professors and academics to talk to each other on a total of five evenings. The focus was on personal turning points, upheavals and the question of what can emerge from them.
"Fail Forward " means understanding setbacks not as the end point, but as a learning moment. Failure should be de-tabooed. Seeking support, sharing unpleasant experiences with others and coming to terms with them can help to plan the next steps.
The format was primarily aimed at students in their first semesters, who are often at turning points in their biographies and are dealing with questions about their studies, self-doubt or career orientation. This is precisely where dropout prevention comes in. If doubts are addressed early on, orientation, self-efficacy and suitable support channels can be strengthened before uncertainty turns into withdrawal.
The unifying element of the evenings was the non-alcoholic drink provided by each of the instructors. This ritual created a familiar atmosphere and made it easier to ask personal questions.
The event series started on October 28, 2025 in Zittau. Professor Małgorzata Maćkowiak (Vice President for Education and Sustainability) kicked things off with her keynote speech "Failed, but clever" .
In addition to a personal, biographical insight into her own career and an exciting discussion afterwards, all guests were treated to a cup of hot jasmine tea.
The 'Fail Forward' event showed how much we need to draw strength from others and learn from them how to overcome fear and doubt.
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With the introduction "Welcome to the crooked CV of a statistical outlier!", Julia Ochman, employee at TRAWOS - Institute for Transformation, Housing and Social Spatial Development, gave the guests on 25 November 2025 an unembellished and authentic look at power structures and how academic systems can slow down marginalized groups and first-time academics.
Over a glass of non-alcoholic Aperol, an intensive exchange about class awareness, success factors, but also fears and worries followed. For first semester students in particular, this provided a space to talk about their own doubts.
The evening made it clear how much "failure" can also have structural causes and how important it is to be able to name these experiences instead of individualizing them.
After the second event, it was already clear that this honest and open exchange was needed. Students who didn't attend the evenings themselves got talking to us and the initiators. This showed me once again how important such formats are. They create networking and understanding.
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On December 3, 2025, the DLR_School_Lab opened its doors for "Fail Forward - For a glass of clarity...". At this special location, Dr. Fester (Project Manager DLR_School_Lab University of Applied Sciences Zittau/Görlitz, ZukLOS) was not only able to describe his scientific passions, but also make them directly tangible.
After gaining an insight into his professional career, all guests at the event were given a detailed tour of the premises of the extracurricular learning facility. Over a refreshing blackcurrant spritzer, the guests exchanged ideas in a relaxed atmosphere.
At the DLR_School_Lab at Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences, school pupils, trainees and students get to the bottom of scientific questions - with real experiments, modern technology and plenty of space to do their own research.
In small groups, they carry out experiments on energy, materials and the environment - topics that are closely linked to current research priorities at Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences (HSZG) and the German Aerospace Center (DLR).
On December 17, 2025, Professor of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology at the Faculty of Natural and Environmental Sciences Karin Fester took guests from Europe to North America and Asia in her keynote speech "From rue to tobacco". Following in her biographical footsteps, the biotechnologist spoke not only about her professional milestones, but also about challenges, hurdles and decisions.
In a pre-Christmas atmosphere with a rhubarb spritzer and gingerbread, conversations about cultural differences, copyrights and life choices filled the rooms of Makerspace Zittau.
The Makerspace at the Zittau campus is an open working and learning space for creative ideas, practical projects and innovative technologies.
Together, the makerspace is to be developed into a lively space for exchange, innovation and practical creativity. All pupils, teachers, parents, students and employees of the Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences as well as regional educational partners are therefore cordially invited to get actively involved.
Professor Michel Constantin Hille (appointed Professor of Social Work Sciences, Intervention Approaches, Educational Foundations at the Faculty of Social Sciences) held the final event on January 20, 2026 with a keynote speech on hospice work and the certainty of having to die. With humour, lots of informative content and an alcohol-free shandy, the evening approached this often anxiety-ridden and taboo topic.
In the discussion that followed, biographical stumbling blocks and perspectives on failure were discussed.
The "Fail Forward - A glass of clarity with..." series will continue in the 2026 summer semester. Professor Maćkowiak, Vice President for Education and Sustainability, will once again kick off the series.
Save the date! - On 15.04.2026, the second cycle of the event series "Fail Forward - For a glass of clarity with..." will start in Görlitz.
The aim remains to strengthen the exchange between teachers and students and to reduce inhibitions. This will also help to ensure that orientation is successful and that students do not drop out "silently" due to excessive demands and uncertainty.
Teachers and staff at Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences are cordially invited to participate and perhaps become initiators themselves. Get in touch with the studienerfolg@saxHAW project team !
The series of events was conceived, organized and carried out by the team of the joint project "studienerfolg@saxHAW".
The idea for the format arose from two exchange formats with students that the project had implemented in December 2024 and January 2025: "Pasta & Project Ideas" and "Campus Café".
The offer is strongly promoted and supported by the Student Council of the Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences.
The joint project "studienerfolg@saxHAW" bundles offers that are intended to strengthen academic success at the HSZG and reduce premature drop-outs.
In addition to the redesign of the Studium fundamentale and the implementation of an orientation course, this also includes events that provide motivation, information and alternative courses of action.
Regular meetings were held in cooperation with the five Saxon universities of applied sciences. In January 2026, representatives from all universities visited Zittau.
An insight into the project work and the network meeting can be seen here.
The Vice President for Education and Sustainability, Prof. Dr. phil. Małgorzata Maćkowiak, would like to thank the initiators for their contributions as well as Aline Schulz and the entire studienerfolg@saxHAW team for the conception and organization. Special thanks go to the Student Council of the Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences, who supported the implementation of the formats.
