For me, FHWS is ...
the space where scientific ideas and visions become reality.
What do you appreciate about FHWS?
At FHWS, I was able to support young people on their path through their studies and in advanced scientific qualifications into positions of responsibility. FHWS provided me with an excellent environment for this with dedicated employees and colleagues and a unique high-voltage laboratory. This resulted in a small scientific universe with the first research-oriented Electrical Engineering master’s programme in Germany, the Institute for Power Engineering and High Voltage Technology, ambitious research projects, publication and collaborative doctorates. I greatly appreciate that this work will continue to be supported by FHWS in the future and will be continued by my successor, Prof. Dr. Markus Zink.
What was the best decision in your professional career and why? What has changed since then?
My high voltage technology textbook was a particular milestone in my scientific work. I initially had no idea how much work it would make. But it then turned out that I was able to provide and continually further develop an entirely new basis for knowledge transfer at FHWS and contact with business and science with it.
What do you think has shaped FHWS the most over the last 50 years?
FHWS has undergone an astonishing transformation from a regional higher education institution designed entirely for teaching into an internationally active “University of Applied Sciences” which has come significantly close to the ideal of the unity of research and teaching through its own research. In the process, the conventional range of programmes has developed into a wide array of tried-and-tested and new degree programmes covering a broad range of modern trends such as focus on research, internationalisation, digitalisation, automation, logistics, renewable energy and e-mobility. It is also worth noting here that course offerings have become more open, both in terms of access to studies and for advanced scientific qualifications in collaboration with universities.
What is your vision of the future for FHWS? What might FHWS look like in 50 years’ time?
Well, to predict the future would certainly be very bold. But of course I hope that the positive developments I’ve mentioned above will continue in the future. High-quality training for engineers, which is particularly close to my heart, research and collaborations with industry at FHWS should contribute to Germany’s leading position when it comes to technology: scientific excellence and practical roots for the professorships, diversity of subjects and technical depth in the range of courses and research activities, good availability of scientific staff and research funds, and great freedom in terms of time and administration in order to bring practice and science together at a high level and offer good prospects for industry collaborations and doctoral projects.
What is your insider tip for the cities of Würzburg or Schweinfurt and why?
As a railway enthusiast, I would recommend a trip on the Saale valley railway from Schweinfurt through Bad Kissingen to Gemünden am Main, a wonderful route along the Franconian Saale river with historical railway technology and many interesting stops on the way.