New students in Kulmbach

Many people in Kulmbach are still getting used to seeing students around town, even though the University of Bayreuth's new Faculty of Life Sciences: Food, Nutrition & Health has officially been offering courses since Winter Semester 2020/21. This is hardly surprising given that, due to the pandemic, the faculty launched its operations in large part under lockdown conditions with few on-site lectures. The welcome ceremony for the bachelor's students held in the town hall was thus more than just a premiere event for the first cohort of the new Food & Health Sciences (B.Sc.) programme. The students were personally welcomed by Kulmbach's mayor Ingo Lehmann and founding Dean Prof. Dr. Stephan Clemens.

"We are very pleased that so many young people are interested in this programme from the very beginning and want to embark on the adventure of moving to a new place and enrolling in an interdisciplinary degree programme that had not existed in Germany before," said Prof. Dr. Stephan Clemens. Even though some lecture halls, seminar rooms, and dormitories are not yet ready to be used, the faculty is nevertheless prepared for the start of lectures. "For our students, the start-up character of the new faculty is both a challenge and an opportunity. Everyone in the new faculty is doing their best to ensure that the adventure succeeds and that a fulfilling, stimulating study experience is possible in Kulmbach."

Many female applicants

Many young people were curious about this study experience: more than 100 prospective students applied. The proportion of women was 78%, and the majority of applicants came from Bavaria. "Following a rather intensive period with a lot of planning and work, it is a very special feeling to welcome our first bachelor's students to the Kulmbach campus," said programme coordinator Prof. Dr. Christian Fikar, Professor of Food Supply Chain Management. "Over the next few years, they will not only learn a lot about the exciting world of food and health sciences, but will also help to shape the university town of Kulmbach in the long term."

The fact that Kulmbach is ready and open for the students is also reflected in the commitment that the town has shown. Making the town hall available free of charge meant that it was possible to welcome the students in an appropriate setting and, above all, to do so in person.

Mayor Ingo Lehmann also had warm words for the new residents of Kulmbach: "I very much hope that you will feel at home here very quickly. Please feel free to come and talk to the locals! The people of Kulmbach are helpful and will certainly have one or two insider tips for you, which is something you should definitely not miss while you're here."

He also looked back on his own student days. "After all, I myself once belonged to the University of Bayreuth as a student. And of course, I not only studied and in the end successfully graduated as an economic geographer. I also got to know my place of study in a completely new way, away from lectures, library visits and seminar papers. For me personally, it was a wonderful and also unforgettable phase of my life."

Local businesses have also shown their support: companies in Kulmbach provided the first-year students with "KulmBags", bags filled with numerous coupons and give-aways from local businesses. The Adalbert Raps Foundation and the Sparkasse Kulmbach-Kronach offered the new Kulmbach students a guided tour of the town following the welcoming ceremony so that they could get to know their new home a little better.