University President Prof Dr Birgitt Riegraf looks back on six years in office at the traditional New Year's reception
With the university orchestra, award ceremonies and around 400 guests from academia, business and politics, Paderborn University celebrated its traditional New Year's reception on Sunday, 21 January. Prof Dr Birgitt Riegraf looked back on the past year in the Auditorium maximum and used the occasion to review her time in office as University President: "Together, we have initiated and achieved a great deal. We have strengthened Paderborn University in research and teaching, made it more regionally networked and visible and set the necessary course for these developments to continue in the future. In many respects, our university is in a better position today than perhaps ever before. I can only warmly encourage you to continue writing this success story together in the future."
The Excellence Competition organised by the federal and state governments offers an opportunity to demonstrate the university's high-performance research. At the beginning of February, a decision will be made on the Paderborn University's Cluster of Excellence proposals "Computing Quantum Systems" and "Co-Constructing Embodied Understanding and Skills between Humans and Robots", which will determine whether the university will be allowed to submit full proposals. In order to develop the university into a place of excellent research and make it visible, the right framework conditions and support structures are needed, emphasised Riegraf. In this respect, it was pleasing in 2023 that third-party funding increased again compared to the previous year, totalling 65.5 million, and that each of the five faculties was able to host a large collaborative project funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG). The approval of the application for the European university alliance "COLOURS" by the EU was also cause for celebration.
International appeal and anchoring in the region
"International appeal in cutting-edge and broad-based research goes hand in hand with being firmly anchored in the region. In recent years, we have strategically expanded the university's transfer structures in order to optimally dovetail university research with various non-university stakeholders in the region," Riegraf emphasised. One example of this is the Start-up Campus.OWL, which will offer the start-up scene in East Westphalia-Lippe a new home on around 7,000 m² following its opening on 15 February this year.
Another outstanding event was the topping-out ceremony for the PhoQS Lab in November. After the symbolic ground-breaking ceremony in March 2022, the university celebrated this milestone with numerous guests. Scientists from the fields of Physics, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science and Mathematics will work together on a total of four floors. The two mobility projects RailCampus OWL and NeMo.bil also received millions in financial support. Together with the Detmold University of Music and the Ostwestfalen-Lippe University of Applied Sciences, the university also recently opened the KreativInstitut.OWL. The institution networks the creative industries with various scientific disciplines.
Sustainability as a key challenge of the present and future
Riegraf cited the lecture series "UPB for Future", which is focussing on perspectives on the topic of sustainability this winter semester, as an example of the collaboration between academics from all faculties at Paderborn University. October also saw the launch of the Paderborn Research Center for Sustainable Economy (PARSEC), which focuses on the social, environmental and cultural phenomena of sustainability. "In view of global warming and the scarcity of resources, Paderborn University is also facing considerable challenges that need to be mastered now and will probably be even more intense in the future," emphasised the President. With the sustainability office created last year, there is now a coordination centre that bundles existing activities. In March, the SAIL ("SustAInable Life-cycle of Intelligent Socio-Technical Systems") research network also began its work, in which scientists are conducting interdisciplinary research into how AI systems can work sustainably, transparently, safely and resource-efficiently over a long period of time.
Socially just climate protection in times of crisis
Prof Dr Anita Engels also focused on the topic of sustainability in her keynote speech. The Chair of Sociology with a focus on globalisation, the environment and society at the University of Hamburg and member of the Hamburg Climate Council spoke about socially just climate protection in times of crisis. According to Engels, there are many indications that the Paris climate targets will not be met by 2024. Although news technologies have great potential, they cannot suffice on their own and must be accompanied by social transformations. Engels pointed out that wealthier people cause significantly more emissions and costs on average, while financially weaker people suffer more from the consequences of climate change. A fairer distribution of costs, benefits and responsibility is necessary for socially just climate protection. In addition, awareness of climate protection must be raised throughout the population. According to the sociologist, universities could also play an empowering role and have an impact on society through teaching, research and transfer.
Awards and prizes
The festive occasion was also used to honour Paderborn academics and students for their outstanding achievements. The research prize - the most highly endowed prize awarded by Paderborn University - went to Prof Dr Dr Claus Reinsberger, neurologist and head of the Institute of Sports Medicine, and Dr Tanuj Hasija from the Institute of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology at Paderborn University. To predict epileptic seizures, the scientists are developing a new type of system for a so-called "wearable", a device worn on the wrist that provides forecasts in real time.
The New Year's reception was hosted by Ulrich Lettermann from the subject area of music. The university orchestra, conducted by Steffen Schiel, delighted the audience with compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach and Ludwig van Beethoven.
You can find the full speech by Prof Dr Birgitt Riegraf here.
