The last assistant excursion to Nuremberg started at the end of August. The aim of the so-called AssEx is for the doctoral students of the Schmalkalden University of Applied Sciences to get in touch and to exchange and network across the boundaries of their respective disciplines. The visit to Nuremberg was framed by a supporting program that began with a visit to the Hoefer & Sohn company.
Hoefer & Sohn, based in Fürth, Germany, is a specialist in plastics manufacturing and precision mold making, offering not only the production of special molds but also in-house production of complex components. After a company presentation, the Schmalkalden doctoral students were given a personal tour by the two owners Martina and Christoph Badock through the newest production facility of the family-owned company founded in 1876 in Fürth. In addition to complex components for modern diesel engines, the fully automated production of eye scopes, which are used in cataract operations, was presented.
Afterwards, the doctoral candidates were given the opportunity to present their projects and receive constructive criticism. The topics and approaches were as broad as the spectrum of subjects at the university itself. One project is concerned with the production of a highly conductive plastic, whereby not only the various, optimal materials and their combinations are to be researched, but also the method of production of the plastic, for example via the additive process of 3D printing. Other projects are dedicated to integrated labeling of injection-molded products, a printing system for 3D electronics integration, and various models of the traceability of decisions of AI-based data processing. Steffi Ludwig from the FH Personal project then wrapped up the day, providing information about the university's offerings to doctoral students.
The second day of the AssEx was rounded off by a visit to the Reichsparteitagsgelände. The megalomania of the National Socialists became tangible in the architecture and the ideology of the Fuehrer cult behind it, as did the intention of mobilizing the masses and the militarization of society. Starting at the planned seventy meter high Congress Hall, the visit led along the 1.5 km long and 60 m wide Great Street to the Zeppelin Grandstand. In contrast, only the foundation stone of the German Stadium with a planned capacity of 400,000 people was realized. The visit to a historical memorial, the concrete experience of gigantonomy on site and the contextualization by a representative of the Nuremberg association "History for All" completed the social program.