Many expectant faces could be seen in the Audimax today as the freshmen of Schmalkalden University were welcomed by President Prof. Gundolf Baier, Mayor Thomas Kaminski and the student council. Schmalkalden, he said, offers many opportunities to be discovered. "Make the university your place," Prof. Baier promoted studying in Schmalkalden. Despite all the rough patches and crises, he said, it is important to keep a cool head and not panic. Trust in oneself and in others is also very important when studying.
Mayor Thomas Kaminski invited the students to come to town. "We are always happy when young people find their way to us in the city." Be it on foot or with the free rental bikes of the FUKS project, with which one can cycle from the campus into the city. The Milchhalle as a new meeting center also offers good opportunities to get in touch with each other. Henrik Buchenau from the student council kept it short, but delivered some news: For example, the former Fischhalle behind the campus is to be renovated and used by the StuRa as a cultural center in the future. "The city has made this property available to us and we are already in the process of cleaning it up," Buchenau said.
Graduate Mareike Heinemann gave the keynote lecture this year. At just 35 years of age, she was appointed professor at Schmalkalden University of Applied Sciences two years ago. She studied business administration at Schmalkalden University, completed a semester abroad in Canada, then worked as a lecturer for special tasks at the University of Applied Sciences in Leipzig, while at the same time completing a master's degree in "International Business and Economics" in Schmalkalden. After completing her master's degree, she earned her doctorate in England in cooperation with Schmalkalden University of Applied Sciences. She gained practical experience at a Frankfurt-based consulting firm in business valuation and valuation of intangible assets such as brands or patents. "I was able to develop well personally," Heinemann says looking back on her time in Schmalkalden and her various activities as a student assistant. Schmalkalden may not be the center of the world, she says, but it doesn't always necessarily need to be. "This is where I made friends for life." And in general, she prefers sitting in a small pub with a worn carpet to sightseeing with hundreds of tourists. It's the little moments that make life, the young professor knows. And Schmalkalden offers the best opportunities for this.
VDWF Award
As part of the matriculation ceremony, the sponsorship award of the Association of German Moldmakers and Toolmakers (VDWF) was presented to Markus Diegel for his outstanding master's thesis. The VDWF prize was presented by Prof. Thomas Seul and laudator Claudia Michel. Markus Diegel started his master's degree in mechanical engineering in 2021 and graduated with a grade of 1.0 in 2023. He wrote his thesis on "Qualification of a novel in-situ marking system for injection-molded plastic components, in particular for application in medical technology" in cooperation with Formconsult Werkzeugbau GmbH.
In addition, the Society of Friends and Sponsors of the Schmalkalden University of Applied Sciences presented scholarships abroad to five students, including Ivan Andres Correa Varela, Mahmyt Mammedgulyyev, Michael Williams Santos, Thomas Vélez Suárez and Darya Kuznetsova.
