With Market of Opportunities: University welcomes first semester students

Nearly 2,000 people will begin their studies at H-BRS in the winter semester 2024/25. In order to give them a good start and prepare them optimally for their studies, the university organised a welcome event on Monday, 30 September at the Sankt Augustin campus.

University President Hartmut Ihne, whose term of office ends at the end of October, appealed to the new arrivals at the start of the academic year to stand up for themselves courageously and not to belittle themselves: "Don't be afraid to ask questions and make mistakes. Science would not be possible without trial and error".

Afterwards, moderator Jonathan Schmitt, a student in the Department of Engineering and Communication (IWK), led the way to a panel discussion in which representatives from the AStA, student parliament and diversity management provided information about opportunities for participation and sports programmes.

Professor Iris Groß, Dean of the Department of Engineering and Communication (IWK), used a digital survey to get to know the new students better. This revealed that a large number of the newly enrolled students plan to go abroad during their studies. But they are also keen to have fun: After passing a written examination, celebrations are on the programme for most of them. Consequently, the most popular speaker for the graduation speech is the North Rhine-Westphalian rapper Manuellsen.

H-BRS students Tim Breuer and Shalaka Satheesh received prizes for the best bachelor's and master's theses with a gender focus. In their theses, they focussed on the representation of different genders in AI-controlled language and image generators. The prize is awarded annually by the university's Equal Opportunities Office and is endowed with 1000 euros.

After the official part of the ceremony, the 'first-year students' had the opportunity to get an overview of various study-related offers. The student motorsport team BRS Motorsport, the e-sports team Tessa and the Finance Club, among others, presented themselves at the Market of Opportunities in the main building. In addition, important contact points for everyday student life provided information about their services, such as the language centre and the Healthy University.

Background - H-BRS in figures

As of 30 September, 1860 students had enrolled for one of the 41 degree programmes at H-BRS from the winter semester 2024/25. The university is expecting around 2,000 new students by the end of the enrolment period. Just under 90 per cent of these will begin a Bachelor's degree course. Around 9,000 students are expected to be enrolled at H-BRS in the winter semester. This means that the total number will remain stable compared to the previous year. H-BRS has campuses in Sankt Augustin, Rheinbach and Hennef.