Faculty of Engineering bids farewell to its graduates

After a standing reception with a photo opportunity, the graduates entered the Audimax to the rhythms of the university big band. The afternoon was moderated by the Vice-Dean, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Stefan Schafföner. Prof. Dr.-Ing. Stephan Tremmel, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering, welcomed the graduates and their families, congratulated them on their achievements and emphasised the social importance of engineers in his speech. Prof. Dr. Nina Nestler, Vice President for Internationalisation, Equal Opportunities and Diversity, conveyed greetings from the university management and pointed out the impact that graduates of the university can have in the world. In his humorous speech, Dr. Stefan Hain, Senior Director of Power Electronic Systems at ON Semiconductor Germany GmbH, emphasised how the methodological skills acquired during their studies and doctoral programmes in engineering will help engineers in their future careers to secure the future of Germany as a centre of innovation. He explained his insights and experiences using the example of power electronics and battery technology.

Student reflections and a paper aeroplane

Graduates Amelie Ferbert, M.Sc., Stephan Kuntze, M.Sc., and Sebastian Schnelzer, B.Ed., reflected on their time at university and the challenges they faced. As befits engineers, there was also a little experiment: guests were asked to build and test paper aeroplanes. In a brief moment, around 400 homemade aeroplanes flew through the auditorium.

The spectacle was followed by the presentation of congratulatory certificates to over 100 graduates in attendance by the Dean of Studies, Prof. Dr. Ruth Freitag, and the Dean. The Vice-Dean also congratulated the graduates and presented them with small gifts to commemorate their studies or doctoral studies. After the ceremony, many graduates happily took the opportunity to pose for photos wearing their new graduation caps.

Awards and honours

Dr Wolfgang Grond (district group leader of VDI Bayreuth-Hof) presented Kristina Lasch, M.Sc., with the VDI Award for the best master's thesis in engineering. Kristina Lasch, who studied energy technology, wrote her master's thesis entitled ‘Techno-economic comparison of a high-temperature heat pump with a reversible ORC for peak load coverage in a geothermal heating plant’ under the supervision of Professor Dieter Brüggemann.

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Gerhard Fischerauer (VDE Bavaria spokesperson for Upper Franconia) honoured Niklas Feistel, M.Sc., who completed his studies in battery technology with distinction, with the VDE graduate award. Prof. Dr.-Ing. Ralf Moos, as course moderator, presented the study prize for materials science and materials engineering to Florian Schomann, M.Sc., who achieved consistently outstanding results in his studies of materials science and materials engineering.

Joshua Kaul, Chairman of the Bayreuth University Group of the Association of German Industrial Engineers, presented the VWI Award for the best thesis to David Süßmann, M.Sc., who, as an industrial engineer, wrote his master's thesis on ‘Investigation of non-isothermal process control in high-speed sintering and its interaction with acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene powder’ under the supervision of Professor Dr.-Ing. Frank Döpper. Katrin Schnell (1st spokesperson for the Engineering Student Council) presented the award for good teaching to Johannes Häring, M.Sc., formerly a temporary academic advisor at the Chair of Mechatronics, and Mareike Kurtnacker (also from the Student Council) presented the award for good teaching to Prof. Dr.-Ing. Stefan Schafföner, Chair of Ceramic Materials.