Academic Anniversary Celebration Marked by Pressing Future Questions

President Prof. Manfred Bayer emphasized the significance of the universities in light of the numerous challenges of our time and called for action: „Energy transition, sustainability, the demand for skilled workers – who can we expect to develop solutions for pressing future questions, if not us at the universities?“ For instance, TU Dortmund University wants to establish a ground-mounted photovoltaic plant on the North Campus and a large wind turbine on the South Campus in the near future with the aim of covering future electricity requirements with more renewable energy. In order to achieve the goal of a climate-neutral university by 2035, university buildings also have to be renovated and newly constructed – such as the new University Library, the construction of which is set to begin in 2023.

TU Dortmund University looks back on three challenging years: Prof. Manfred Bayer thanked all TU members for their outstanding commitment during the pandemic – everything from online teaching and the comprehensive testing concept to the 3G checks and the vaccination services on campus. For students and researchers who were and still are affected by the war in Ukraine, the university, along with the Association of Friends of TU Dortmund University (GdF), was able to quickly develop support options in spring 2022. TU Dortmund University still attracts students from all over the world: 5,037 people enrolled at the university for the 2022/23 winter semester – 1.4 percent more than in the previous year. The university now has a total of 32,483 students, maintaining the previous year’s levels. Over the coming years, TU Dortmund University also plans to become even more present in Dortmund’s city center: A building is set to be rented where teaching, student work and cultural events can take place in the heart of the city.

Awards for outstanding performance and extraordinary commitment

The award ceremony at the Academic Anniversary Celebration opened with the TU Dortmund University teaching prizes in three categories. In the new category „Employee Commitment to Supporting Teaching“, Prof. Wiebke Möhring, Vice President Academic Affairs, awarded the teaching prize to Dirk von Kölln, head of the model-building workshop. David Wiegmann, chairperson of the General Student Committee, congratulated Prof. Mario Botsch from the Department of Computer Science for winning the teaching prize in the category „Courses With More Than 60 Attendees“ and Prof. Tessa Flatten, Vice President International Affairs, awarded Dr. Gary Schmiedinghoff from the Department of Physics the teaching prize for „Courses With Up To 60 Attendees“.

Guido Baranowski, chairperson of the GdF, presented the 17 prizes for the year’s most outstanding theses. The prize-winners are: Maximilian Esser, Carolin Sophie Harkort, Annika Schmidt, Gerrit Nolte, Marieke Stolte, Moritz Heinlein, Silas Andreas Fischer, Nathalie Müller, Moritz Lippold, Oliver Berns, Hannes Schwarz, Anke Kistner, Sophie Teborg, Helen Brüx, Katrin Odermann, Jonas Zerweck and Nadine Köhler.

The dissertation prizes were presented by Prof. Nele McElvany, Vice President Research. She was delighted with the outstanding doctoral theses of Dr. rer. nat. Hennes Hajduk, Dr. rer. nat. Johann Erik Kirstein, Dr. rer. nat. Lena Quambusch, Dr.-Ing. Jan Eric Lenssen, Dr. rer. nat. Dennis Andreas Malcherczyk, Dr.-Ing. Heiner Veith, Dr.-Ing. Felix Kolpak, Dr.-Ing. Johannes Klein, Dr.-Ing. Oscar Manuel Baez Villanueva, Dr.-Ing. Jan Liedmann, Dr. rer. pol. Daniel Lukas Neukirchen, Dr. phil. Marc Mertes, Dr. phil. Sandra Danneil, Dr. rer. nat. Annette Rademacher and Dr. phil. Markus Kühnel. Prof. Nele McElvany also paid tribute to Dr. Giovanni Zamborlini from the Department of Physics, who was awarded the inaugural research prize of the TU Dortmund Young Academy.

Keynote speech on migration

TU Dortmund University welcomed Prof. Aladin El-Mafaalani as the keynote speaker. The sociologist and author is a professor of education in migration societies at Osnabrück University and gave a talk on „Migration: The Mother of – or Solution to – All Problems?“. The Academic Anniversary Celebration was accompanied by the musical stylings of the band Groove m.b.H., conducted by Michael Kröger. The evening ended with a reception in the cafeteria. As in previous years, the celebration was supported by the Society of Friends of the Association of Friends of TU Dortmund University.

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