Image Is this newsletter not displayed correctly? Then please click here.
Image
TH Wildau International Newsletter: Issue #2
Centre for International Affairs - March 2023

We are pleased to present the 2nd issue of TH Wildau’s International Newsletter.

This newsletter has a special theme: TH Wildau’s solidarity with Ukraine. It has been one year since Russia‘s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 changed the lives of so many.

With that in mind, we have highlighted stories about the resilience of Ukrainians who have continued to conduct research and teach, despite the challenges they face. We have also published articles about members of the TH Wildau community who have chosen to help Ukrainian colleagues and students in any way they can. We continue to stand in #solidaritywithukraine.

There are other regions of the world in crisis as well. The recent earthquakes in Syria and Turkey have left tens of thousands of people dead and many more displaced in a humanitarian disaster. And the people of Iran and Afghanistan continue to suffer at the hands of their governments. We offer our support and thoughts to those who struggle daily, through no fault of their own.

This issue is not only focused on crises. We have news and articles about recent internationalisation efforts, exciting international projects, and upcoming events of potential interest.

The newsletter continues to be accessible from our website here. If you are not already subscribed, you can do so directly on the newsletter website. By way of explanation: We can only send the newsletter to your personal address if you have actively subscribed to it - otherwise we can only send the newsletter to functional addresses in accordance with data protection.

As always, we welcome your feedback, look forward to hearing from you, and hope you enjoy the issue.

Your Newsletter Editorial Team

Table of Contents

  • Upcoming Events
  • #solidaritywithukraine
  • Internationalisation at TH Wildau
  • Portraits

Image
Image
Save the Date: 2023 Wildau International Week from 8 till 12 May
After a successful first edition of its Wildau International Week, the International Office of TH Wildau cordially invites you to the second edition, which will take place from 8 till 12 May 2023. Up to 25 lecturers from partner universities are warmly invited to join the event and get to know TH Wildau, its campus, and the vibrant German capital region of Berlin-Brandenburg.

The programme will include
guest lectures in our different study programmes (a full list of our programmes can be found here), an excursion to the marvellous city of Potsdam, workshops on German language and culture, info sessions for local students interested in studying abroad, and a festive dinner.


Guest lecturers are e
ligible for funding from the Erasmus+ programme of the European Union through their home institution. The main working language of Wildau International Week will be English. Registrations for International Week can be submitted until 9 April using this Registration
Form.

If you have any further questions, please contact Simon Devos-Chernova:            

✉ internationalweek@th-wildau.de

We look forward to welcoming you in Wildau this Spring!

Image

Impressions from the first TH Wildau International Week (2022)

Participation in the 15th Regional Higher Education Fair
in Latin America 2023
Since 2002 TH Wildau has targeted cooperation with German schools in Latin America. Currently, we have partnerships with 20 German schools from Mexico to Argentina (further information on our cooperation partners can be found here).

TH Wildau has visited its partner schools every year since 2003 as part of an information trip. Due to the pandemic, no information trips could take place in 2021 and 2022. However, each school was informed about the study programmes offered by TH Wildau in the form of digital fairs and received information about the application process and support services for international students.

In February and March 2023, the International Office will present TH Wildau on site at a total of 7 German schools in Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador and Bolivia (from 20.02.-10.03.23). We are happy to answer your questions on the application process or any aspect of (student) life in Germany.

The following schools will be visited during the information trip:

20.02.23

German School in Cali, Colombia

Simon Devos-Chernova

22.02.23

German School in Medellín, Colombia

Simon Devos-Chernova

24.02.23

German School in Barranquilla, Colombia

Simon Devos-Chernova

27.02.23

German School in Cuenca, Ecuador

Simon Devos-Chernova

01.03.23

German School in Quito, Ecuador

Simon Devos-Chernova

06.-07.03.23

German School in San Salvador, El Salvador

Carolina Winkler

09.-10.03.23

German School in Santa Cruz, Bolivia

Carolina Winkler

Our experience has shown that applicants from German schools are ideal candidates for studying at TH Wildau because they bring the necessary qualifications for studying in Germany. They have already become acquainted with the German language and culture during their school years - many have even been to Germany before as part of a student exchange - and thus have excellent chances of integrating here and successfully completing their studies. TH Wildau has many years of experience in advising and supporting students from Latin America, and we‘re looking forward to many new applications. Are you studying at a German school and do you have any questions? Feel free to contact us on site!

Image

Back to Top

Image
Wildau Welcome IT School 
for refugee students from Ukraine
After Russia's attack on Ukraine on 24 February 2022, aid activities such as the collection and transport of everyday necessities were initially organised at TH Wildau. However, it soon became clear that humanitarian tasks should be found above all in the core areas of the university, i.e. teaching and research. This is how the idea for the Wildau Welcome IT School for refugee Ukrainian students came about.

In practical terms, the focus was on the field of information technology (IT), as this could be addressed to many students, the implementation did not require any special equipment infrastructure and could be organised well in hybrid format (i.e. in person and online). The aim was to offer a complete 15-week semester with 30 credit points and six modules. These were to be broadly based. The decision fell on the core modules "Web Applications Development" and "Applications of Machine Learning and AI".  More than 30 TH employees contributed to the two modules Cross-Sectional-IT and Interdisciplinary Module. Finally, there were two language modules: "German for Beginners" and "Advanced English for IT".

The admission requirement was that the participants were active students with a Ukrainian residence permit and were already outside Ukraine. After less than two weeks of advertising on social media channels, there were already over 100 interested students, 30 of whom were admitted and eventually enrolled in the Welcome IT School. Surprisingly, there was a relatively high proportion of third-country nationals from Africa. As a result, the programme could not be organised in Ukrainian for the core modules as originally planned but was offered in English instead. 

The programme started 9 May 2022 and ended with the last post-examinations in September, so that finally 13 students acquired certificates. More than half of the participants dropped out during the course, as they took up gainful employment, had to attend integration courses, etc. The idea of introducing some students to the IT industry in the metropolitan region worked and several participants found student jobs in the IT sector after the semester.

On 16 December 2022, the most accomplished students were honoured by Vice President Prof. Dr. Jörg Reiff-Stephan in the presence of Brandenburg's State Secretary Tobias Dünow (picture). The programme was conceived by Prof. Dr. Marcus Frohme. Prof. Dr. Alina Nechyporenko led it and taught the two core modules. Both are members of the Department of Molecular Biotechnology and Functional Genomics.

Image

Picture: Award for the most accomplished graduates. From left: Prof. Dr. Jörg Reiff-Stephan, State Secretary Tobias Dünow, Mykya Bobkov, Dr. Jeffrey Wolf (International Office), Vladyslav Omelchenko, Vladyslav Strelchuk, Oleh Zholubak, Prof. Dr. Alina Nechyporenko, Prof. Dr. Marcus Frohme
Back to Top

Wildau Kharkiv 
IT Bridge (WKITB)
Image
Image: Homepage of the project www.wildau-it-bridge.de 
After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, many research institutions immediately froze their contacts and activities with the Russian Federation. The German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) also put a stop to ongoing Russian projects and instead offered extensive funding in the quickly launched programme "Ukraine digital - securing study success in times of crisis". Up to 250.000€ per project was available for the second half of the year. Prof. Dr. Marcus Frohme was successful as an applicant with the project Wildau-Kharkiv-IT-Bridge, which is currently led by Prof. Dr. Alina Nechyporenko. Her team consists of several employees in Germany and Ukraine.

The aim was to build a platform on which teaching can be offered to students in Ukraine on an inter-university basis. The main partner is the Kharkiv National University of Radioelectronics, which set up a Google Workspace for Education platform. It provides all the necessary functionalities. 60 teachers from a total of eight other universities in Kharkiv teach modules in the IT field there. The WKITB is not only intended to help students whose home universities no longer work or only work partially due to the effects of war but also to provide teachers with additional income. For instance, they were employed as foreign honorary staff at TH Wildau. Especially in the IT sector, there are already strong pull effects from industry in peacetime and thus a brain drain out of Ukraine. This will be reduced by the project. Since the degree programmes in Ukraine are well standardised, students should not have any problems with the recognition of their academic achievements.

After the Wildau-Kharkiv IT Bridge website was set up, 250 thousand students, IT staff and academics in Ukraine were approached thanks to professional social media advertising, so that eventually more than 2.500 students were registered for the courses.

The project also planned to invite up to 20 Ukrainian teachers to Wildau to initiate possible cooperation projects and to get to know German culture. Nine female and one male lecturer accepted the invitation and spent the Christmas period in Wildau and Berlin, where they taught, visited the German DAAD headquarters, and the Ukrainian embassy. A visit to the Christmas market, an invitation to cheese fondue and Feuerzangenbowle rounded off the programme.

WKITB has been acknowledged with a citation in the DAAD Annual Report, was mentioned in a parliamentarian's speech in the Bundestag, and was the starting point of a DAAD community event.

Image

The Sociology Department of Karazin Kharkiv National University has already evaluated the project for 2022 and conducted accompanying research. After surveying around 20% of the student participants and ¾ of the teachers, the WKITB received very good approval ratings despite the difficult accompanying circumstances.

In 2023, the project is continuing as Wildau-Kharkiv IT Bridge II. 

Back to Top

Fostering German-Ukrainian

Cooperation

Dr. Anna Grebinyk completed her PhD under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Marcus Frohme (Research Professor in Molecular Biology and Professor of Biosystems Engineering/Bioinformatics at TH Wildau) in the field of nanomedicine, and in addition to her research, she helped to develop partnerships with six Ukrainian academic institutions.


She joined the German-Ukrainian Academic Society (Die Deutsch-Ukrainische Akademische Gesellschaft, or DUAG) that was founded in 2016 in Berlin with the main goals of fostering academic cooperation with Ukraine, to improve knowledge about Ukraine abroad and vice versa, and to increase the visibility of Ukrainian scientists and their achievements. The DUAG also supports career development of members and early-career researchers in Ukraine, as well as reforms in Ukrainian science. Today, she contributes to the society’s communication and PR activities.

Image
Anna Grebinyk at Preview of the Exhibition “50 Inventions Bestowed by Ukraine to the World” within Annual Meeting 2018 of the German-Ukrainian Academic Society in Dresden. Copyright: Jürgen Lösel / DUAG
In 2021, with the support of the DUAG and together with Prof. Frohme and Prof. Nechyporenko, she organised two German-Ukrainian DAAD Autumn Schools in Kharkiv and Kviv under the title “Lessons in Biomedicine Learnt from Nanotechnology & Artificial Intelligence.” The effort to merge these innovative fields in an event for young scientists was a real success.

Because DUAG was well established before 2022, it was able to respond quickly to the Russian invasion of Ukraine by building an informational online resource, organizing and participating in dedicated events, and establishing support for students and scientists fleeing the war. Dr. Grebinyk led a task force #StandwithUkraine, was elected to the Executive Board in October 2022, and will serve as Treasurer of the Society for the next 3 years.

Dr. Grebinyk is positive about her experience at TH Wildau: “The international environment at TH Wildau is the place where I grew up academically, and I am very thankful for its versatile support for projects in a time of crisis. TH Wildau is also an ideal strategic partner for the systematic long-term reconstruction of the Ukrainian academic system, where international science and education will definitely be a driving force.”
Back to Top

Support for Ukrainian Scientists

Displaced by War

Even before February 2022, some Ukrainians were working as scientists at TH Wildau – mainly in the Molecular Biotechnology and Functional Genomics division. Naturally they served as first contact points for persons arriving from Ukraine after the Russian invasion. But also due to previous joint projects, there were connections between TH Wildau and a number of Ukrainian universities.

Here are some short reports about five scientists and their journey from Ukraine to TH Wildau in 2022:

Image
basic structure of bovine pericardium (heart sac) with all cells removed
Dr. Valeriia Antonova is a medical doctor from Kharkiv. Her village was occupied in the first days of the war and after two traumatising months, she was deported to Russia. Via Estonia she found a way to Wildau, along with her parents and cat. Currently she is working in Prof. Marcus Frohme’s department, together with Prof. Alina Nechyporenko. Dr. Antonova’s expertise in the evaluation of medical images with methods of machine learning contributes to the development of automated diagnostics and decision support systems.

Dr. Dmytro Chumachenko
is an associate professor from the National Aerospace University in Kharkiv with a specialisation in Artificial Intelligence. He was already a visitor at TH Wildau in Winter 2021, where he worked several months in medical A.I. His wife, Halyna Padalko, is a media communications specialist and was hired for the Wildau-Kharkiv-IT-Bridge project. More recently, she started to work in Canada, and Dmytro was able to follow her thanks to a scholarship.

Dr. Nataliya Bilous is a Professor in the Software Engineering Department at Kharkiv National University of Radioelectronics. She was coordinator in a former TEMPUS project with TH Wildau. She is currently working in TH Wildau’s Faculty of Economics, Computing, and Law (WIR). Since Nataliya’s family managed to make it to Italy, she often commutes to see them and to take care of medical issues there.

Nataliia Shchotkina
and Dr. Iryna Skorokhod are both microbiologists from Kyiv and came with their children. Nataliia is at the National Technical University of Ukraine “Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute” and aims to finish her PhD. She works and has published with Dr. Skorokhod from the Center for Pediatric Cardiology of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine. At TH Wildau they are in the group of Prof. Michael Herzog (Polymeric High Performance Materials). Their work contributes to overcome disadvantages of artificial prostheses for cardiac surgery. They investigate the us
e of material from cattle (which is close to human tissue in terms of elasticity) in order to find ways to prevent bio-degradation and calcification when used in a patient (figure).

Many thanks are due to the support from the DAAD, ERASMUS and the VW Foundation. Their funding has permitted these colleagues, in most cases, to live and work at TH Wildau.
Back to Top

Image
TH Wildau's European Business Programme
Welcomes Star Architect
TH Wildau bachelor students in the European Business programme and Prof. Dr. Lydia Göse (Professor for Business Administration, in particular Digital Marketing) had the honour to welcome a special guest to their marketing module. Dr Zhang Yuanchen from the world-renowned architectural company gmp architects (Gerkan, Marg and Partners) attended the lecture of the 1st semester of the European Business program. Dr Zhang is responsible for communication & PR of the company, which designed Berlin's main station and is involved in well-known large-scale projects worldwide.

Born in China, Dr Zhang is fluent in English, German and Chinese and is well-versed in the various cultures, especially in German-Chinese relations. She told the group about her personal career, her motivation, and the many practical intercultural challenges and solutions she has experienced over the years.

She also talked about the company's diverse communication measures and introduced a project that was particularly exciting: in an international competition gmp won the contract to rebuild the decommissioned stainless-steel factory in Shanghai's Baoshan district. The factory, with a length of 860 meters, will be preserved in its striking basic structure and expanded into the new headquarters of the Shanghai Academy of Fine Arts. Using the charm of a former factory and converting it into a modern, innovative, and knowledge-filled teaching facility is very well known to the TH Wildau community😊.
Image
Dr. Zhang Yuanchen of gmp architects
Prof. Dr. Göse and her students would like to thank Dr Zhang formally for her sympathetic and intelligent presentation and look forward to future interactions.
Image
Prof. Dr. Lydia Göse (far left) with students and Dr. Yuanchen
Back to Top

Cooperation project SCIEnC(e) 4 SuRe with the Universidad Tecnológica de La Habana (CUJAE) picks up speed

The long-standing cooperation between the logistics experts of TH Wildau (Prof. Dr.-Ing. Gaby Neumann) and the industrial engineers of CUJAE (Prof. Dr.-Ing. Igor Lopes Martinez) has reached a new level of intensity with the project "Strengthening Competences of Industrial Engineers in Cuba for Sustainable and Responsible Supply Chains - SCIEnC(e) 4 SuRe". Since the beginning of 2021, the DAAD has been funding the project as part of its programme "Subject-related Partnerships with Universities in Developing Countries" with funds from the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). With the industrial engineers (Prof. Dr.-Ing. Thomas Masurat), another subject area of TH Wildau is actively involved in the cooperation.


SCIEnC(e) 4 SuRe aims to improve the education of industrial engineers in Cuba so that they can fulfil their role in sustainable and responsible supply chains. To this end, the range of courses offered at CUJAE in the field of industrial engineering will be further developed in a future-oriented manner and academic capacities (in terms of personnel and infrastructure) will be created for its implementation. A "Cuban-German Competence Centre for sustainable and responsible Supply Chain Management (C3SCM)" is to be established at CUJAE in conjunction with a multinational network of supply chain experts to ensure that the initiated changes, cooperation and exchange relationships continue to have an effect beyond the project.

Image
German-Cuban student group at a project day in a Cuban company

While the first year of the four-year project was still characterised by pandemic-related restrictions, numerous activities could already be implemented in 2022, including:
  • The first modules, updated and realigned with help from TH Wildau, were taught at CUJAE.
  • During three visits by Cuban professors to TH Wildau, various train-the-trainer measures in the form of workshops, laboratories, job shadowing or company visits were on the agenda.
  • Four students from TH Wildau and eight from CUJAE took part in the first joint Winter/Summer School "International Logistics". The TH Wildau students (under the direction of Prof. Neumann and Prof. Masurat) first completed lectures and a business game at CUJAE in February and gained an insight into Cuban practice during a project day in two companies in Havana. In the months that followed, project work in German-Cuban teams ensured that contact did not break off. In July 2022, the Cuban students (under the direction of Prof. Lopes Martinez) visited TH Wildau, where laboratory exercises, a project day at UNITAX Pharmalogistik GmbH, and the final examination were on the agenda.
  • For CUJAE, a Supply Chain 4.0 lab was designed for student internships, workshops for companies and professionals, and a children's university supported by students. Marcus Günzel, laboratory engineer in the intralogistics laboratory at TH Wildau, coordinated the complex procurement processes for model-making machines, IT equipment and a solution for analysing manual work processes.
  • In November 2022, the foundation stone for the multinational network of experts was laid during visits to three Cuban pharmaceutical companies, which were also attended by experts from two German pharmaceutical logistics companies.
An expression and appreciation of this successful development was the honouring in November 2022 of Prof. Dr.-Ing. Gaby Neumann with the CUJAE seal, the highest award to be given by the university, for special services to the further development of the Faculty of Industrial Engineering at CUJAE.

In 2023, the SCIEnC(e) 4 SuRe project will continue at an unabated pace. In addition to the second edition of the joint Winter/Summer School, this time with seven students from TH Wildau and five from CUJAE, and the commissioning of the Supply Chain 4.0 laboratory, the first SCIEnC(e) 4 SuRe Workshop for Sustainable Supply Chains with numerous participants from Cuban companies will be a particular highlight.

Image
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Gaby Neumann with the Rector of CUJAE, Prof. Dr. Modesto Ricardo Gómez
Back to Top

Study trip to the Netherlands:
Cycling, Urban Infrastructure, and more Cycling

From 27th to 30th of November 2022, members of TH Wildau’s master’s programme in bicycle transport planning visited Amsterdam to work with students of Amsterdam University of Applied Science’s (AUAS) built environment programme.

 

On Monday, TH Wildau students and faculty were able to see the modern architecture of AUAS’ new Jakoba Mulderhuis building. They met around 25 students from AUAS who were working on a semester-long project on sustainable mobility.

 

Erik Tetteroo (AUAS, hod works) gave an exciting talk on "Bicycle inclusive urban planning". The presentation showed planning approaches that propose a paradigm shift away from "Car-Oriented Urban Planning". Afterwards, Marjolein de Lange from Amsterdam Bike City welcomed everyone to the city of Amsterdam and gave further insight into the bicycle promotion measures that the city of Amsterdam has planned for the coming years. In the afternoon, Ms. de Lange provided a tour of interesting cycling facilities in Amsterdam - by bike, of course.

On the second day, TH Wildau participants took the train to Utrecht and marvelled at the new train station and the largest bicycle parking garage in the world. There, Simone Jorink from Movares welcomed everyone in the office near the station and described the exciting bicycle projects of the company, especially in regard to bicycle parking. Shortly after the visit to Movares, everyone went to the modern city hall of Utrecht. While there, Bart Budel from the city of Utrecht explained the city's impressive conversion and expansion plans, showcasing how much is being done for the cycling infrastructure in Utrecht. After lunch, the group went on another bike tour. Ruxandra Aelenei (AUAS) showed everyone her hometown of Utrecht and many exciting places for urban and transport planners. On Sunday, after a somewhat rainy bike ride to Harleem, a neighbouring city of Amsterdam, the group returned to Wildau.

The study trip was kindly co-financed by the International Office of TH Wildau and funds from Erasmus+.

Image
TH Wildau Cycling enthusiasts
Further information on the master’s programme in bicycle transport planning can be found here: www.th-wildau.de/radverkehr-studieren
Back to Top


DileMa MINT project: Mentoring for International Students

Shortly before Christmas, the mentoring for international students started in the DileMa MINT project. The new support offer is aimed at all international students who are enrolled at TH Wildau, regardless of whether they already live in Germany or are still in their home country. The mentor is an international student herself and supports students in their entry into the university and in their everyday study life and helps with individual and study-related issues with tips, advice and referral to the responsible contact persons at the TH Wildau. International students can contact her, for example, if

- they can only enter Germany in the middle or towards the end of the semester
- they do not know how and where to register or deregister for exams
- they need support and information on finding accommodation
- they simply want to talk to an experienced international student.
The mentor Thanippulige Hansimala Jayarathne is currently in her 3rd semester studying Aeronautical Engineering/Aeronautical Management and could not be in Wildau in time for the start of her studies: "Before I entered Germany, I had visa problems and could therefore only start my studies at TH Wildau in the 2nd semester. Since I myself had to overcome some difficulties with registering for and deregistering from exams as well as with paying the semester fee on time or finding the right contact person, I believe that I can support international students well when starting their studies at TH Wildau and give helpful tips and advice as well as name the right contact persons." 
Image
Mentor for International Students, Thanippulige Hansimala Jayarathne
Further information on mentoring for international students can be found at www.th-wildau.de/mentoring-international. The mentor can be contacted by e-mail at international.mentoring@th-wildau.de and is, of course, available for discussions and questions during her office hours. Until the end of February 2023, the office hours are always on Mondays from 9:30 to 11:00 in presence LOK21 A1-05 (via Café21) and on Wednesdays from 9:30 to 11:00 in online format. Please feel free to make students who have applied to study at TH Wildau aware of this offer!

Contact Person:                                                                                                                        Christina Jolowicz, DileMa MINT project, christina.jolowicz@th-wildau.de, +49 (0)3375 508 522

Back to Top


TH Wildau becomes Member of the European University Association


The Technical University of Applied Sciences Wildau was accepted to join the European University Association (EUA) as an Individual Full Member by the EUA Council on 28 October 2022.

The EUA represents more than 850 universities and national rectors’ conferences in 49 European countries. EUA plays a crucial role in the Bologna Process and in influencing EU policies on higher education, research and innovation.

By joining, TH Wildau will strategically anchor its internationalisation more strongly throughout Europe.

Back to Top


Announcing the DAAD-funded TH Wildau

Sustainable Mobility Academy

TH Wildau has been awarded funding by the DAAD to establish the ‘TH Wildau Sustainable Mobility Academy’. The project began on 1 January 2023 and finishes on 31 December 2024, with a total project volume of 400.000€. TH Wildau was one of only 11 institutions in Germany to be awarded funding through the DAAD’s HAW.International funding programme and is the only University of Applied Sciences in the state of Brandenburg to be chosen.


The Academy will contribute significantly to the implementation of central goals of the internationalisation strategy recently adopted by TH Wildau: among other things, to enhance international visibility and attractiveness of the university, expand the English-language teaching and research offers, and to strengthen internationalisation of the university.


The umbrella topic of sustainable mobility takes the TH Wildau both back to its very own roots on the campus of a former railway factory and directly into the present and future of the surrounding, increasingly international Dahme-Spreewald and capital region. A number of TH Wildau's practice-oriented partners, for whom sustainable mobility is one of their core economic and political concerns, have agreed to participate in the project, including Tesla, dahme_innovation, the city of Wildau and other 'hidden champions' companies (e.g. Onomotion GmbH) and municipalities from the immediate vicinity (e.g. from neighbouring Zeuthen).

Image
Dr. Jeffrey Wolf, Deputy Head of the International Office and Project Manager for the TH Wildau Sustainable Mobility Academy, introduces the project during the Kick-Off Reception

A Kick-Off reception for local and regional partners was held on the TH Wildau campus on 26. January to mark the beginning of the project. Approximately 35 participants - TH Wildau staff, professors, and lecturers, along with representatives from the Academy’s 14 practice-oriented partners from the region - joined together to learn more about the Academy, to exchange ideas, and to celebrate with food and drinks. The audience was well-known in the region: the mayors of Wildau, Eichwalde, and Schulzendorf were in attendance, as well as representatives from the Dahme-Spreewald business development agency. The head of the DAAD Berlin Office, Kai Franke, was also in attendance, marking his first trip to the Wildau campus.

 

What more concretely is the TH Wildau Sustainable Mobility Academy? The core component is an international and interdisciplinary Sustainable Mobility Summer Academy, which will be held in English at TH Wildau from 4 – 15. September 2023 (under the theme: Approaches to Sustainable Mobility: The Role of Cycling and other Modes of Transport) and again in 2024. The Summer Academy brings together lecturers and students, researchers and administrative staff of TH Wildau and its international partner institutions, as well as employees of practice partners from the region for lectures, seminars, workshops and excursions. A two-day research conference on sustainable mobility is integrated into the Summer Conference.

Image
Karin Schmidt (left), head of the TH WIldau International Office, and Vitaliya Tomm (right), responsible for Double and Joint Degrees in the International Office, talk with a guest
The Summer Academy is complemented by a Continuous Exchange Network, which runs all year round and supports not only incoming students and staff on the Wildau campus but also outgoing students, staff, and faculty. The exchange network offers year-round opportunities to deepen and continuously promote the activities and networks in the field of sustainable mobility established and expanded during the Summer Academy itself in cooperation with our international partners. A special international focus is on partner universities from the European Higher Education Area, with which the TH Wildau has initiated a "European Neighbours Initiative" (ENI) since 2021.

 

Beyond the international mobilities to and from TH Wildau, the project will also take ownership of initiatives on campus and, in cooperation with other university units, ensure that the interests of internationalisation are closely aligned with those of a more sustainable campus.

 

Further details about the project can be found on the project website.

 

If you have questions or would like to participate in the Academy, please contact the project manager for the Academy, Dr. Jeffrey Wolf.

Image
TH Wildau Professors and guests mingle during the Kick-Off Reception
Back to Top

Image
Prof. Dr. Alina Nechyporenko
Dr. Alina Nechyporenko was born in Ukraine and is a professor at the Kharkiv National University of Radio Electronics (KNURE). She is a biomedical engineer with industrial experience in the health and telecommunications sectors. She was member and vice dean of the KNURE Electronic Engineering Faculty. Her Doctor of Sciences (comparable to the german Habilitation) was in IT, and so she is now a member of the Department of Systems Engineering within the Faculty of Computer Science. Her field is mainly data mining and machine learning in signal and image processing. 

With her husband and two children, she came to Berlin in 2019. Not knowing German and without connections to the academic sector here, she found a new “home” at TH Wildau in the Molecular Biotechnology and Functional Genomics division, to which she had previous contacts. In addition to teaching in Ukraine, she started teaching in TH Wildau’s Biosystems Technology Bioinformatics specifically in the subjects of medical engineering and pattern recognition. Now she is employed as a scientific researcher. 

In 2021 she was part of the organising team for two DAAD summer-schools in Ukraine, which laid the groundwork for many activities described in this Newsletter. She hosted several scientific guests in 2021 and later scientific refugees. With the unprovoked invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, her life, like those of many others, was dramatically changed. Initially she helped organise the evacuation, initial medical provision, and placement of some of her elderly family members. Since then, she has also promoted the arrival in Berlin of more than 60 refugees at various times, often hosting them, where possible, in her family’s 3-room flat in Berlin Mitte.

Image

From May until August 2022, she was head of the Wildau-Welcome-IT-School for war-displaced students and is now organising the Wildau-Kharkiv-IT-Bridge. In addition, she organises smaller scientific projects, combining IoT-environments with Artificial Intelligence in order to improve diagnoses and predictions as well as decision support systems for physicians.

Image
Back to Top
Technical University of Applied Sciences Wildau / Technische Hochschule Wildau
Centre for International Affairs / Zentrum für Internationale Angelegenheiten
Hochschulring 1 • 15745 Wildau • Germany

international@th-wildau.de

Legal Notice

Privacy Policy

Vom Newsletter abmelden Unsubscribe from the Newsletter