New interdisciplinary scholarship programme at ZeHS
30.4.2024
On Monday, 29 April 2024, a new interdisciplinary scholarship programme was launched at the Centre for Efficient High-Temperature Material Conversion (ZeHS) with the ceremonial awarding of the certificates. Six scholarship holders will receive around €200 per month with the support of the Stifterverband. In addition to this individual support, there is a fund for joint projects for inviting guest lecturers, funding excursions and more. Joint activities are promoted with the help of the ZeHS Board of Directors.
The next call for applications, which is likely to be aimed at students in the second half of their Master's or diploma programme, is expected for the winter semester 2024/25. "One goal is to expand the scope of the programme together with the Stifterverband through attractive joint activities," says Prof. Dr Dirk C. Meyer, Academic Spokesperson of the ZeHS.
Contact: Theresa Lemser (Theresa [dot] Lemser [at] zehs [dot] tu-freiberg [dot] de (Theresa[dot]Lemser[at]zehs[dot]tu-freiberg[dot]de))
Gessner Award for PhD-student Marieke Stapf
25.4.2024
The Thomas Gessner Award of the Fraunhofer Institute for Electronic Nano Systems (ENAS) will go to the young scientist Marieke Stapf from the TU Bergakademie Freiberg in 2024. The doctoral student at the Institute of Nanoscale and Bio-based Materials (Prof. Yvonne Joseph) is being honoured for her thesis entitled "Chemical sensors based on suspended gate FET structures". The thesis was written in 2022 in collaboration with Infineon Technologies Dresden. At the award ceremony at the Smart Systems Integration conference in Hamburg, the young scientist presented how field-effect transistors can be used for gas sensors. Experimentally, she dealt with the parameters of gas sensor technology (sensitivity, selectivity, response behaviour and service life). The results of the work thus form a building block for smart systems.
The Thomas Gessner Award is a prize for outstanding scientific work in the field of smart systems integration and is awarded by Fraunhofer ENAS. The prize is aimed at national and international master's and doctoral students in the field of smart systems integration whose thesis was graded at least "very good" and was completed no more than two years ago.
Excavation of the Dominican monastery in the Schlossplatz campus upgraded
The Renate and Prof. Dr.-Ing. Georg Unland Foundation made a donation to the university to enhance the excavations of the Dominican monastery of St Pauli (mid 13th century to 1537). The donor couple planted a rose bush in a large French wine barrel, which is now on public display in the lecture theatre building on Schlossplatz.
"In the Middle Ages, rose bushes were often planted in the cloisters of monasteries. The rose has various symbolic religious meanings. For example, it also symbolises the suffering and death of Jesus. A crown of thorns was placed on his head as he suffered," says founder Prof Georg Unland.
The large plant has been standing in the Schlossplatz quarter of the TU Bergakademie Freiberg since the beginning of April and is also clearly visible from the outside. Jens Then, Chancellor of the university, who accepted the donation in April, commented: "Many people interested in history regularly visit the excavations in the university's rooms. The rosebush as a piece of living nature now further enhances the excavations and points to the site's prehistory as a monastery. We are delighted with the donation from the Renate and Prof. Dr.-Ing. Georg Unland Foundation and will look after the rose bush carefully so that it remains at this historic site for a long time to come."
Im Februar 2024 hatten Altrektor Prof. Georg Unland und seine Ehefrau Renate Unland eine neue Stiftung an der TU Bergakademie Freiberg gegründet und der terra mineralia rund 200 neue Minerale übergeben. Die Spende für die Ausgrabungsstätte in der Freiberger Prüferstraße ist nun die bisher zweite Schenkung.
Donation to Freiberg secondary schools: New life for one thousand test tubes
On 11 April, the Institute of Analytical Chemistry at TU Bergakademie Freiberg handed over around 1,000 test tubes, Erlenmeyer flasks and other glassware to the three Freiberg secondary schools Gottfried Pabst von Ohain, Clemens Winkler and Clara Zetkin so that as many pupils as possible can carry out their own experiments in chemistry lessons.
During the current move from the existing chemistry building, the glassware was sorted out by the institutes, as it could no longer be used in the new laboratories in the Clemens Winkler building. "The schools were very interested in the offer and can now enable pupils to participate more in chemistry lessons," says Anne Fischer, technical employee at the Institute of Analytical Chemistry, who initiated the donation.
Erasmus project "Eco-Mining and Innovative Natural Resource Management" makes progress
Together with eight universities from six countries, the Erasmus project EMINReM is modernising study programmes for Master's degrees in the raw materials sector. Following the launch in May 2023, the project partners held a workshop at TUBAF from 25 to 28 March. The meeting aimed to transfer good practice on teaching content and forms on the topic of "Eco Mining" from the European Union partners to the 7 partner universities in Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. Specifically, the Master's degree programmes "SINReM" and "Sustainable Mining and Remediation Management" were presented. In addition to content-related aspects of environmental, health and safety at work, issues relating to online programmes and quality assurance were of particular interest. The workshop included a tour of laboratories, the digital teaching environment at the Institute of Mining and semi-industrial and industrial test facilities. One focus was on forms of learning such as "problem-based learning" with the aim of encouraging students' creativity and independence.
The project is funded as part of the European Union's Erasmus+ Key Action 2 programme. The universities in Freiberg, Jaen (Spain), Kütahya (Turkey) as well as in Zhytomyr, Dnipro and Donetsk (Ukraine), in Almaty and Karaganda (Kazakhstan) and in Tashkent and Navoi (Uzbekistan) are involved. "TU Bergakademie Freiberg has already enjoyed close cooperation with its partners in Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan for many years," emphasised Rector Klaus-Dieter Barbknecht when welcoming the guests, adding that "the international perspective of Freiberg University is expanding with the partners from Spain and Turkey".
TU Bergakademie Freiberg offers unique courses and international degree programmes that disseminate this knowledge worldwide. Students from over 40 countries are currently gaining insights into this scientific field in the Master's degree programmes "Sustainable Mining and Remediation Management" and "Groundwater Management". "The experience gained in teaching content and methods for the responsible extraction and processing of raw materials is now also being exchanged and further developed with the partners in EMinReM," says project manager Carsten Drebenstedt, explaining the University of Freiberg's involvement.
Honorary professorship of Satbayav University for Prof Carsten Drebenstedt
During a conference at the State Technical Research University in Almaty, Kazakhstan, TUBAF Professor Carsten Drebenstedt was appointed honorary professor of Satbayav University. The laudatory speech was given by Rector Professor Meiram Begentayev (in the picture on the left). The Freiberg researcher was honoured in recognition of his many years of continuous collaboration in research and teaching and for his commitment to effective international cooperation. For example, TUBAF and Satbayev University are currently working together on the Erasmus project EMINReM to modernise degree courses in the field of raw materials.
TUBAF becomes a centre for digital teaching and media services
As a member of the Arbeitsgemeinschaft der Medieneinrichtungen an Hochschulen e.V. (AMH), TU Freiberg hosted this year's Spring Conference 2024. 43 members of the universities came to Freiberg or took part virtually under the banner of digitalisation and the use of artificial intelligence. Together, they took stock of new technologies for digital and hybrid teaching. In workshops, the participants discussed new challenges for teachers, learners and staff at media institutions. The trend of development is continuing inexorably towards hybrid teaching programmes - whether you like it or not. Students cannot be forced to be present in the lecture theatre. The life models and realities of students and their demands have become too diverse for this, as summarised in the "World Café" during presentations from the partner universities.
The newly elected AMH Association Chairman Knut Zeigermann also spoke out clearly in favour of the use of AI (artificial intelligence) in the creation of digital teaching content. However, according to Zeigermann, this is by no means a substitute for basic knowledge and an existing infrastructure. Routine tasks will certainly be increasingly taken over by AI in the future. However, AI systems would also need specialised personnel for installation, maintenance and operation. Even the use of a digital set-up with several microphones, a mixing console, webcams and the participation of external speakers in remote conferences often causes anxiety among teaching staff. For Knut Zeigermann, it is therefore clear that AI will by no means replace employees in the field of media services at universities or reduce demand, but that areas of responsibility may shift. The guests were delighted with their stay in Freiberg and were able to take away many impressions and ideas from the guided tours of the new lecture theatre buildings at TUBAF, workshops and presentations at this year's AMH Spring Conference.
10 years of the scholarship programme with Mozambique - a success story that continues
For around ten years, scholarship holders from Mozambique have been coming to TUBAF on a regular basis. The successful programme is now being further developed: At the beginning of March, Susanne Gasda (International University Centre), Manuela Junghans (International University Centre) and Professor Dr Carsten Drebenstedt travelled to Maputo to renew the cooperation with the Ministry of Mineral Resources and Energy of Mozambique (MIREME). The partners signed an agreement that regulates the secondment of up to ten students per year to TUBAF. The students will initially be prepared for the one-year preparatory course to obtain a university entrance qualification and the language requirements. After successfully completing the preparatory course, the students begin their specialised studies at TUBAF. Five cohorts have already completed this preparation; eleven students have successfully completed their studies and are working at TUBAF as doctoral students, among other things, to gain further practical qualifications.
The Freiberg delegation also visited the University of Eduardo Mondlane in Maputo, with which a Memorandum of Understanding has been in place since 2017. In addition to meetings with the German Ambassador to Mozambique Ronald Münch and business representatives, the visit focused on the German-Mozambican Cultural Centre, where the young people are preparing for their move to Freiberg in terms of language skills. The aim of the collaboration is to ensure that the Mozambicans arrive in Freiberg as well prepared as possible.
"H2Giga" lead project: recycling raw materials from electrolysers
The "H2Giga" flagship project of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) aims to promote the series production of electrolysers for hydrogen production in order to support the goal of becoming climate-neutral by 2050, which is anchored in the European Green Deal. Electrolysers are devices that use electricity to split water into oxygen and hydrogen. The latter is the target product and a key building block for CO2 emission-free technologies. Around 10 million tonnes of green hydrogen are to be produced in Germany in stages by 2030, i.e. hydrogen that is generated using renewable energies in order to help reduce CO2 emissions.
12 research teams from the H2Giga project "ReNaRe: Recycling - sustainable use of resources" are addressing this issue and developing innovative recycling and utilisation concepts for so-called proton exchange membrane and high-temperature electrolysers. The aim is to recycle the valuable and critical raw materials used in the electrolyser, such as iridium, ruthenium, rare earths or platinum, on a technical scale in a resource-efficient and environmentally friendly manner and thus keep them in the cycle even after their initial technical use. The "ReNaRe" annual meeting 2024, which took place from 17 to 18 January 2024 with around 30 participants at TU Bergakademie Freiberg, not only provided an opportunity for personal exchange between the researchers, but also emphasised the crucial role of cooperation between the research teams.
Prof. Dr Urs Peuker, coordinator of the "ReNaRe" project at TU Bergakademie Freiberg, continues: "Our project aims to identify possible technical approaches and process routes and to develop initial quantitative results for these with regard to the effectiveness of mechanical, chemical and metallurgical recycling. The focus is on the conceptualisation of possible recycling approaches, which is always a combination of different technologies in different steps."
Review of a successful "ReNaRe" annual meeting 2024 in Freiberg
Project partners:
- DECHEMA Gesellschaft für Chemische Technik und Biotechnologie e. V.
- .V.
- Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH
- Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation (IPA)
- Helmholtz Institute Freiberg for Resource Technology (HZDR-HIF)
- Heraeus Precious Metals GmbH & Co. KG
- Karlsruher Institute of Technology (KIT), wbk Institute for Production Technology
- Öko-Institut e.V., Institute for Applied Ecology
- RWTH Aachen University, Metallurgical Process Engineering and Metal Recycling (IME)
- TU Bergakademie Freiberg, Institute of Ceramics, Refractories and Composites
- TU Bergakademie Freiberg, Institute of Mechanical Process Engineering and Mineral Processing (coordination)
- TU Munich, Straubing Campus for Biotechnology and Sustainability
The diversity of materials - MINT-EC camp "Future Materials" in Freiberg
On 5 March, the four-day MINT-EC camp "Future Materials" starts at the Technische Universität Bergakademie Freiberg. For four days, 20 pupils from schools in the national excellence school network MINT-EC will work on the topic of materials from production to further processing and their use in modern technology.
The camp begins with an introductory lecture on the topic. The students then take part in a guided tour of terra mineralia, the mineral exhibition at Freudenstein Castle in Freiberg. Over the course of the camp, the participants work in groups on a project. A factory tour is also on the agenda. While one half visits BGH Edelstahl Freital, a company in the steel and mining industry, the other half explores the metal processing company Saxonia Galvanik. At the university, the young people will get to know students from the Racetec team and solve puzzles in the "Materials" escape room.
MINT-EC is the national excellence network of schools with upper secondary level and a distinctive profile in M mathematics, I computer science, N natural sciences and T technology (STEM). It was founded in 2000 by employers and works closely with their regional education initiatives. MINT-EC offers a wide range of events and support programmes for pupils as well as training and professional exchange for teachers and school administrators. The network, which currently has 341 certified schools, has been under the patronage of the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs of the Länder (KMK) since 2009. The main sponsors of MINT-EC are the employers' association Gesamtmetall as part of the think ING. initiative as well as the Siemens Stiftung and the Bavarian employers' associations bayme vbm and vbw.
Workshop further develops software for geology and materials science
From 4 to 13 March, scientists from almost 20 countries will meet at a workshop at TU Bergakademie Freiberg to discuss current challenges in the modelling and characterisation of polycrystalline materials. The focal point of the workshop is the open source software MTEX, which has been developed by TUBAF mathematician Prof Dr Ralf Hielscher and an international team for more than 15 years. This software is used worldwide in industry and research to analyse electron microscopy images in materials science, geology and crystallography and exemplifies the interdisciplinary focus of mathematics at TU Freiberg.
- All information about the software
- More about the specialist area of Professor Ralf Hielscher
Merits for cooperation with the University of Zhytomir: honorary doctorate for Carsten Drebenstedt
Professor Carsten Drebenstedt received an honorary doctorate from Zhytomir University of Technology on 15 February 2024 for his services to cooperation between the Ukrainian university and TU Bergakademie Freiberg and for the development of TU Zhytomir. The rector of the university, Vіktor Valeryovich Ewdokimov, thanked TU Bergakademie Freiberg for promoting cooperation, especially in the current difficult times. In his response, Professor Drebenstedt emphasised that investment in education and research is particularly important in times of crisis. He accepted the award on behalf of all those involved in the university cooperation.
Freiberg and Zhytomir have been linked by a relatively new university cooperation programme since 2008. This was followed in 2009 by study trips and conference participation at TU Bergakademie Freiberg, some of which lasted several months and were financially supported by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), as well as the first joint programme in the European Union's ERASMUS programme. TUBAF and the Technical University of Zhytomir have been working together on three projects since 2020.
The TU Zhytomir currently educates 9,000 students in 6 faculties: Business and Services; Mining, Environmental Management and Civil Engineering; Information and Computer Technologies; Computer Integrated Technologies, Mechatronics and Robotics; National Security, Law and International Relations; and Education and Lifelong Learning. For TU Bergakademie Freiberg, there are numerous points of contact in teaching and research.
Network of Jewish university lecturers in Germany, Austria and Switzerland founded
Press release from the Network of Jewish University Teachers:
In Germany, Austria and Switzerland, anti-Semitism at universities has increased dramatically since 7 October. Many Jewish students, lecturers and other university staff no longer feel safe at their universities. Some stay away from the campus out of fear or for security reasons, some can only work there with personal protection. Many hide their Jewish identity and no longer dare to express their opinions freely in the face of massive anti-Israeli protests. In order to counter this increasing anti-Semitism and to give Jewish university lecturers a forum, a voice and the opportunity to speak out together, professors and lecturers from all disciplines at universities and colleges in Germany, Austria and Switzerland came together at the end of 2023. The network currently comprises more than 70 university lecturers. It has set itself the goal of:
- raising awareness of rampant anti-Semitism in all its forms, especially Israel-related anti-Semitism, at universities.
- To work with university management and other status groups to develop effective concepts for combating anti-Semitism and for Jewish life at universities and in research and to implement targeted measures in line with the German government's National Strategy against Anti-Semitism and for Jewish Life.
- To provide an exchange platform for Jewish university lecturers and to network them with other national and international groups.
- To seek cooperation with Jewish students and Jewish members of other status groups at universities and to support them through contact points and
mentoring. - To promote and organise cross-university events and studies on topics relating to Jewish life, Jewish identities and the analysis and combating of anti-Semitism.
We would like to work together with the German Rectors' Conference (HRK) to find effective ways to implement the goals of the HRK's press release on combating anti-Semitism from 15 November 2023. Jewish perspectives on anti-Semitism on campus must be given special consideration. All Jewish university lecturers at universities in Germany, Austria and Switzerland who would like to join and support the network, as well as guests who feel particularly closely connected to the cause, are invited to send an email to Juedische [dot] Hochschullehrende [at] gmail [dot] com (Juedische[dot]Hochschullehrende[at]gmail[dot]com).
Contact person at the TU Bergakademie Freiberg is Dr Ilja Kogan, honorary lecturer for vertebrate palaeontology.
Tel: 0371 488-4559
Mobile: 0162 1562033
kogan [at] naturkunde-chemnitz [dot] de (kogan[at]naturkunde-chemnitz[dot]de)
Further contacts: Deidre Berger, Julia Bernstein, Roglit Ishay, Haya Schulmann, Michael Waidner
Email: Juedische [dot] Hochschullehrende [at] gmail [dot] com (Juedische[dot]Hochschullehrende[at]gmail[dot]com)
First successful appointment from tenure-track programme
Following a positive evaluation, Prof. Dr Björn Sprungk was appointed to the Professorship of Applied Mathematics at TU Bergakademie Freiberg on 31 January 2024. This makes the Freiberg University alumnus, who has been researching and teaching as a junior professor at TU Bergakademie Freiberg since February 2020, the first permanent professor that TU Bergakademie Freiberg has been able to recruit from the tenure track programme. The mathematician works on methods for quantifying uncertainties in simulations and forecasts and teaches students in probability theory and data science.
More about Björn Sprungk (internal area)
By participating in the tenure-track programme to promote young academics, the university is following the recommendation of the German Council of Science and Humanities for a cultural change in line with the Anglo-American tradition. The aim is to give young academics the opportunity to embark on a predictable academic career at an early stage. The federal and state governments are currently funding seven tenure-track professorships at TU Bergakademie Freiberg. A total funding volume of up to one billion euros is available for the junior researcher programme, which runs until 2032.
More about the tenure-track professorships (internal area)
Prof Jana Kertzscher is the new VDE liaison lecturer
On Monday, 29 January 2024, Professor Jana Kertzscher was appointed VDE Confidential Lecturer (Verband der Elektrotechnik Elektronik Informationstechnik e.V.). VDE liaison lecturers represent the association and electrical engineering topics at universities/colleges. In her role, Prof Jana Kertzscher supports students at TU Bergakademie Freiberg on their academic path and is available for discussions - even beyond the scope of their studies. For example, on career planning or social and academic activities. Liaison lecturers also network students and lecturers beyond the academic campus. Students can contact Prof Jana Kertzscher here.