Communications and Marketing
The year 2023 at Hochschule Bonn-Rhein-Sieg
The field of chemistry requires new approaches. There, sustainability issues are increasingly coming to the fore. The Department of Natural Sciences has therefore redesigned the degree programme and created many new modules that deal with sustainability. The new degree programme title "Sustainable Chemistry and Materials" reflects the change in focus.
The Department of Computer Science has also established a new Master's degree programme in Cyber Security & Privacy, which meets the great demand for specialists in the field of digital security. As artificial intelligence is a highly topical and socially relevant subject, the university has decided to dedicate a separate institute to this topic of the future. The new application-oriented A2S Institute is located in the Department of Computer Science develops solutions for logistics, healthcare and agile manufacturing, among others.
Good news arrived in March from the Ministry of Culture and Science: The state of NRW approved the space programme for the Sankt Augustin site. This means that the university can start work on the planned new building with around 6,000 square metres of floor space. The additional rooms are needed because the university is in demand and has grown far beyond the number of students once forecast.
The remodelling of the library at the Sankt Augustin site has been completed. New furniture and a modified room layout support communicative learning in groups as well as concentrated work in silence. The remodelling followed a special concept that focuses on a feel-good atmosphere. The new video studio was also inaugurated at the opening ceremony in April. Teachers and students can record their own videos there quickly and easily at the touch of a button.
Research with a view to application
H-BRS has also lived up to its claim of being a research-oriented university in 2023. A research project in which H-BRS was involved made it into the programme booklet of the UN Climate Change Conference in Dubai: Professors Katja Bender and Stefanie Meilinger presented the EnerSHelF project virtually there. They showed how healthcare facilities in developing countries can secure their energy supply with the help of photovoltaics. In the field of disease research, the university was able to announce a very special award shortly before the end of the year: The German Research Foundation is funding the establishment of an interdisciplinary centre for biomedical research. The university's project is one of ten nationwide that the DFG has selected for a new type of funding programme. There is also good news from the "Cyber Campus NRW" project: the pilot phase has been successfully completed and teaching and research on the topic of cyber security will be continued. The Cyber Campus NRW is a collaboration between the Niederrhein University of Applied Sciences and the Bonn-Rhein-Sieg University of Applied Sciences.
Scientists have also made significant progress in the other areas that the university has chosen to focus on. For example, a research group is describing and simulating in detail the future hydrogen grids and their coupling with the electricity grids. Climate-friendly hydrogen is set to play a decisive role in the energy transition. Another example is the innovative tool that cities and local authorities can use to track where rental bikes and scooters are parked in real time. The H-BRS research group has set itself the goal of organising mobility services in a more needs-based and sustainable way. Misleading false reports - often referred to today as fake news - are omnipresent in the digital world and are therefore of great social relevance. In collaboration with other universities, H-BRS is working on innovative methods to automatically recognise fake news. Artificial intelligence plays a key role here - another megatopic of our time that H-BRS is working on intensively.
Record attendance at the company day
The highlight of the H-BRS calendar of events was the official farewell ceremony for graduates in October. At a ceremony with a colourful programme, around 600 now former students celebrated their graduation together with their families in the Telekom Dome. "Be true to yourself! Stand for something!" said University President Hartmut Ihne to the young people. What some of them have already completed lies in the future for others: in September, H-BRS officially welcomed its newly enrolled students. To this end, it organised a new event, the "Market of Opportunities". The "first-timers" were able to gain a comprehensive impression of their new educational institution through information stands, lectures, presentations and discussion rounds. Around 2,200 students enrolled at H-BRS for the first time in the winter semester 2023/24. Of these, around 1920 began a Bachelor's degree programme. Around 9,000 young people from more than 125 nations are currently studying at the three H-BRS campuses, around 40 per cent of whom are female. This means that the total number remains almost stable compared to the previous year.
The university recorded a record number of visitors at the 2023 Company Day: The two-day careers fair attracted 4,400 visitors - more than ever before. A total of 156 companies presented themselves on the Sankt Augustin campus. The Company Day is one of the largest careers fairs in the Bonn/Rhine-Sieg region. The university also offered a "full house" at the "Night of Technology" on 20 October. Numerous people from the region took the opportunity to visit laboratories and institutes and have current research projects explained to them. Visitors were able to see the university's own racing car in action as well as the household robots and the industrial model factory.
As always, the series of events, which took place for the ninth time in 2023, was fully booked: For the children's university, H-BRS invited children aged eight to twelve into the lecture theatres and laboratories. Various topics such as "Making powerful films" or "The secret of coffee roasting" encouraged children to participate, research and listen.
An event organised by H-BRS at the Gustav Stresemann Institute in October dealt with fundamental questions of democracy. The Federal Commissioner for Data Protection, Ulrich Kelber, discussed these issues with students and the audience.
Prizes and awards
It is financial support, but also an honour: 100 H-BRS students received the Deutschlandstipendium scholarship at a ceremony in December. They will now each receive 300 euros a month for one year. Numerous companies from the region sponsor the scholarships. In addition to a very good average grade, the decisive factors for the award are a willingness to take on social responsibility or successfully overcoming obstacles in one's own life and education.
Many university members received prizes and awards in 2023, in a wide variety of fields, as teams and as individuals. Computer scientist Jan Tolsdorf, for example, was awarded the University Society's sponsorship prize for the best doctorate. Delia Radisch, a former trainee at H-BRS, was honoured by the Chamber of Industry and Commerce as one of the best trainees, while Professor Tanja Köhler came third in the nationwide "Professor of the Year 2023" competition in the Humanities, Social and Cultural Sciences category. Research assistant Jannik Brockerhoff received the first VDI sponsorship award for his bachelor's thesis on the topic of human-computer interaction. He has not (yet) received a prize for his doctoral thesis, but he has nevertheless immortalised himself in the H-BRS chronicle: In September, Jascha Knack was the first doctoral student to enrol under the new doctoral law. Bonn-Rhein-Sieg University of Applied Sciences had been working towards the independent right to award doctorates for many years. From the university's point of view, this new opportunity is of paramount importance for applied research.
The team performance to which the H-BRS robotics team owes its world championship title at the Robocup was also outstanding. At the robotics world championship in Bordeaux, the students won the title in the working robot league - and not for the first time. The motorsport team also won places on the podium. At the renowned Formula Student competition in the Czech Republic, the students took first place in the supreme discipline of "Engineering Design" and second place in the prestigious "Cost and Manufacturing" category with their newly constructed electric racing car. Computer hackers from the university ventured high into space. Together with other hackers, they achieved fifth place in the final of the Hack-a-Sat competition in Las Vegas in August. The challenge was unique: the aim was to take control of a satellite orbiting the earth.
Down on Earth, the university's campus garden was honoured with an environmental award from the Association for the Protection of Species, Environmental Protection and Nature Conservation. The campus garden was opened in the summer semester of 2021 and the university uses it for a wide range of educational and experiential activities in the spirit of sustainability. The university's commitment to sustainability and fair trade in other areas was recognised with the Fairtrade University award. For a successful application, universities must demonstrate their commitment to fair trade on the basis of five criteria. The H-BRS initiative "Respekt!" organises campaigns on fair trade and sustainability throughout the year.
Following a decision by the university management, diversity management at H-BRS is to be further developed overall. The establishment of a special commission following allegations of discrimination against a professor serves to review existing structures and identify areas for improvement. Prevention is also an issue here, with the aim of ensuring respectful interaction.
Moving back into refurbished buildings in Rheinbach
The consequences of the flooding of the Rheinbach campus in July 2021 continued to occupy H-BRS in 2023, but the circumstances have changed since 2021. Immediately after the natural disaster, the focus was on finding replacement rooms and organising the continuation of teaching; this year, however, the focus was on continued repairs and moving back in. Parts of the G-building have been released, with the rest to follow by the spring. The refurbishment of buildings E, F and H has been completed. An important goal is within sight by the end of the year: the library on campus and the cafeteria will reopen their doors at the beginning of next year.
2023 marks the end of an eventful year for Bonn-Rhine-Sieg University of Applied Sciences, in which it has fully realised its potential - without coronavirus restrictions - and grown in many ways. At the end of the year, there was another special event that had nothing to do with science but was very close to the hearts of the employees: the Wishing Tree campaign. In Sankt Augustin and Rheinbach there was a Christmas tree in each town, full of children's wish cards.
The cards didn't stay on the trees for long and were turned into presents. Quite a few children had their Christmas wishes fulfilled in this way, which might otherwise have remained unfulfilled.
Press photos for download; Photos: H-BRS
