Man of opportunities - Guido Krause

The concept is as simple as it is interesting: at the beginning of the project day, Guido Krause gives a short lecture on the origin of coffee. Then the class divides into subgroups and deals with measurements, research and the actual roasting. The measurements are very important to the mechanical engineer. Among other things, the students determine the weight and volume of the beans and the pH value. The results are then presented and interpreted. And depending on how old the pupils are, they drink the self-roasted coffee at the end of the day or bring a bag of it home to their parents. Guido Krause, a research assistant in the EMT department and working in the process engineering laboratory, has been offering the coffee project for school classes since 2010. Over time, a lot of equipment has come together. The centrepiece of the project is a beautiful, red-painted roasting machine, which has its home in the aforementioned room B011.

It quickly becomes clear in conversation with Guido Krause that the offer is a matter close to his heart. And that he enjoys working with young people. He himself puts it modestly: "It's not difficult for me to keep the school classes busy."

Guido Krause came to the university in 1999, after completing his studies in energy and environmental protection technology in Aachen and graduating with a diploma. He still remembers his first big task: helping to organise the move from the Technopark to the newly constructed B-building. That also meant setting up the laboratories. "There was nothing here," he recalls. A little later, another task was added that is still associated with his name today: the office of the Representative for Severely Disabled Persons.

Representative for employees and students with disabilities

Initially, in this function, she was only responsible for the concerns of employees and professors, but from 2006 onwards, enquiries from students were added. If the employees are concerned, for example, with advice on the procurement of special office equipment, the students focus on other issues. Guido Krause advises and supports students with handicaps, for example, when they want to claim an extension of time for exams. He estimates that about five percent of students are chronically ill. He regrets that some students only become aware of the disadvantage compensation they are entitled to late in their studies. His motivation for this office is clear to him: he wants to help avoid bad experiences that he himself had to experience as a severely disabled person. "I want to help people. And also show that we are an inclusive university."

He hasn't run out of ideas about what this could mean in practice, even after 20 years in the job. The same applies to the other additional tasks. Currently, for example, he is working on another food project. The idea is that pupils should reconstruct a food product such as nut nougat cream on the basis of the list of ingredients on the label and thereby realise that no natural ingredients are contained. He also has an idea in the pipeline for the older grades: Guido Krause would like to make perfume with them and have them set up a (fictitious) company for production and distribution. For a few years now, there has been a chocolate project that is very popular with the younger ones, in which school classes make their own mixtures. A central learning effect here: It also works with much less sugar.

Anyone who can't resist the smell of fresh coffee and invites himself in for a cup at Guido Krause's will probably hear in conversation how grateful he is for the opportunities the university has given him. "I couldn't have done all this," he likes to say, "if it hadn't been for the will of the faculty."

Initially, in this function, she was only responsible for the concerns of employees and professors, but from 2006 onwards, enquiries from students were added. If the employees are concerned, for example, with advice on the procurement of special office equipment, the students focus on other issues. Guido Krause advises and supports students with handicaps, for example, when they want to claim an extension of time for exams. He estimates that about five percent of students are chronically ill. He regrets that some students only become aware of the disadvantage compensation they are entitled to late in their studies. His motivation for this office is clear to him: he wants to help avoid bad experiences that he himself had to experience as a severely disabled person. "I want to help people. And also show that we are an inclusive university."