international - Bergische Universität Wuppertal

UNIreport 

2011/12 

Bergische 

Universität 

WUppertal

Dear reaDer, 

The new UNI Report 2011- 

2012 tells the story of our university, 

its projects, and above 

all the people who work 

and study here. It sets out to 

make you part of this picture. 

Its short, interesting articles 

document the fascinating diversity 

and vitality that mark 

research, teaching, and academic 

life within our walls. 

Recent years have seen a 

resetting of the stage on 

which UW can continue to 

develop into an internationally 

successful research institution. 

Already in 2009 we 

achieved the most dynamic 

growth in external funding of 

all North Rhine-Westphalian 

(NRW) universities. In the 

past 18 months we have 

together expanded our research 

structures, for example 

through the foundation of 

new interdisciplinary centers, 

the establishment of the ‘Reacting 

Atmosphere’ research 

network, and the institutionalization 

of our cooperation 

with Jülich Research Center. 

An important role in the ac- 

quisition of research funding 

has again been played by our 

generous supporters from 

regional industry and society. 

For example, the Dr. Werner 

Jackstädt Center for Interdisciplinary 

Entrepreneurship 

and Innovation Research is 

entirely funded by the Jackstädt 

Foundation. I should like 

to express my profound gratitude 

here to that Foundation, 

and to all other benefactors of 

the University of Wuppertal, 

for their continuing energetic 

commitment. 

That our common efforts 

are worthwhile is demonstrated 

by numerous successes, 

and I would like to single 

out two – one personal, one 

institutional – as especially 

noteworthy examples. The 

doctoral thesis of Paul R. Willems 

from the Department of 

Mathematics was voted the 

best dissertation in numerical 

linear algebra worldwide, and 

the Faculty of Economics has 

been awarded a place in the 

top group of the CHE (Center 

for Higher Education Deve- 

lopment) ranking. 

It is clear that increasing success 

increases the attractiveness 

of Wuppertal not 

only for potential students 

but also for the teachers and 

researchers of our university. 

This is reflected in a surge of 

between 15 and 35 percent in 

the student intake of almost 

every faculty in the past year. 

Applications for academic 

year 2011-2012 indicate a similarly 

high level of interest. 

Coming semesters will see 

a number of special factors 

impacting student numbers: 

above all the reduction in 

length of high school education 

in NRW will double the 

student body seeking university 

admission in 2013. UW is 

well prepared for such developments. 

The new Lecture 

Hall Center provides an ultramodern 

teaching and learning 

environment, and the University 

Library has been extended 

upward to create an 

additional 200 student workstations. 

Nor have student 

accommodation and services 

been neglected: working together 

with the University 

Social Services, UW management 

has extended and enhanced 

facilities to meet its 

responsibility in catering for 

increasing demand. 

A broad and interesting degree 

program offer, many 

partnerships and cooperations 

with universities abroad, 

an excellent all-round 

environment for students, 

attractive research projects 

– these, along with our many 

highly committed students 

and members of faculty, 

make UW what it is. UNI Report 

2011-2012 invites you 

to find out more. Enjoy your 

reading! 

01_UNIWUPPERTAL 

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01_UW_UNIVERSITY oF WUPPERTAL 

Wuppertal – many-sided, innovative, global 

Shaping the future together 

Researching and studying for the future 

organizational structure of the University of Wuppertal 

Faculties and subjects 

Subjects and degree programs 

Aspects 10|11 

UW’s new Auditorium Maximum 

outlook 

At a glance 

02_UW_ACADEMIC 

Hello, we‘re new here 

Robot arms and racing cars – mechanical engineering at UW 

…still more practice? Twin-track degrees in mechanical engineering 

Medical design 

Culture Island or WupperWorkStage? 

Working together for success 

on the track of the classics in the Gulf of Naples 

Developing perspectives 

All-round support 

Taking your doctorate today – the Center for Graduate Studies (CGS) 

Wanted by Wuppertal Municipal Utilities: engineers made in Wuppertal 

Digital futures 

At a glance 

03_UW_RESEARCH 

Renewable energies 

organic solar cells 

Energy from water 

Improving energy efficiency on construction sites 

Safety at big events 

Children are our future 

New thinking for new learning 

Chilies – research against poverty 

The energy revolution 

New Center for Interdisciplinary Entrepreneurship and Innovation Research 

At a glance 

04_UW_REGIoNAL 

In the region, for the region, with the region 

A Bergisch car 

Wanted – qualified employees 

A powerful partner in environmental protection 

Supporting young talent – the Deutschlandstipendium 

The human success factor 

beFIT – aiming for self-employment 

University–Industry Continuing Education Network 

Two Wuppertal landmarks in tandem 

Kita|Concept – Young Enterprise Award for in-house childcare group 

Barmenia Insurances – balancing family and job 

‘Unternehmen Zündfunke’ – lighting a spark 

Science live 

At a glance 

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05_UW_INTERNATIoNAL 

Digging the ancient orient 

International relations 

International University Partnerships 

Partner universities 

Go East! Your semester abroad in China 

Nimen hao! 

How are things in Zambia? 

At a glance 

The absurd Traveler‘s Present Quiz 

06_UW_CAMPUS 

Better living with environmental bonus 

Better eating 

movin‘ on up … 

At a glance 

A family-friendly university 

Books and more – the University Library 

UW goes digital 

07_UW_CULTURE 

all that glitters is not disco 

Alumni culture – a lifelong bond 

University Ball and Graduate Yearbook 

Fluorescent message in bottle from photon gnome 

Sommerloch international festival 

What UW sound(s) like 

Concerts with a difference 

At a glance 

08_UW_FoR SCHooLS 

Thinking about university? Here are some tips … 

Study tips 

Microcomputers from Wuppertal 

Robots set an arm and a leg in plaster 

UW’s Summer University – the exciting woman’s world of science and engineering 

Abitur – then what? 

09_UW_PEoPLE 

Mayor of Wuppertal Peter Jung awarded honorary fellowship 

Honorary doctorate for Peter Vaupel, CEo Sparkasse Bank, Wuppertal 

Society of Friends and Benefactors of the University of Wuppertal 

Awards and honors 

New faculty members 

In memoriam 

10_UW_FACTS 

UW history: milestones 

Facts and figures 

Imprint 

coNteNts 

3

4 

01_ 

UW_UNIVERSITY oF WUPPERTAL 

5

6 

City of Steps: Wuppertal has around 500 stairways totaling more than 12,000 steps. 

UW’s School of Art project 7 stairways embodies the view of 7 artists on their 

steep-sided city. 

University City of WUppertal – 

green anD Creative. 

Set amidst the hills 

and valleys of the 

idyllic Bergisch Land, Wuppertal 

remains, despite its 

position at the center of one 

of Germany’s major industrial 

regions, true its name 

of Green City. With a population 

of around 352,000, it 

is Germany’s seventeenth 

largest city, a modern urban 

center with many different 

facets. Here innovation and 

creative ideas have for centuries 

set the tone. This is the 

home of the world-famous 

Schwebebahn, the suspension 

monorail that since 1898 

has been the city’s trademark 

and a symbol of its progressive 

engineering tradition. 

Mainland Europe’s early industrialization 

began here, 

in the city of Friedrich Engels, 

with technological developments 

in spinning and 

bleaching that drew many 

other industries, notably 

textiles and clothing, to the 

Wupper Valley. Based on the 

old forging tradition, the toolmaking 

and metalworking 

industries had at the same 

time taken great strides in 

the neighboring valleys. And 

it was the twin traditions of 

textiles and toolmaking that 

spread the name of the region 

throughout the world and 

made it rich. The heritage of 

this period is still visible today 

in the elegant turn-of-thecentury 

houses and extensive 

parks to be found in many 

areas of the city. 

Today it is the metalworking, 

chemical and electrical industries, 

along with the automotive 

and service sectors, that 

characterize Wuppertal and 

the Bergisch region: mediumsized 

firms, many of them 

traditional family enterprises 

with high quality products 

and markets across the globe. 

That the textile-dying tradition 

is still alive in the valley 

was demonstrated by the 

saffron-colored curtains of 

Christo’s 7500 ‘Gates’ in New 

York’s Central Park (2005), 

which were dyed in Wuppertal. 

R&D is the city’s daily bread, 

and the University of Wuppertal, 

founded in 1972, is 

no exception. Here research 

has many faces, and the exchange 

of ideas with local 

industry is rich and fruitful. 

With its unique spectrum of 

subjects and departments, 

leading-edge research, and 

regional roots, the university 

on the hill has become an 

indispensable partner within 

the flourishing economic network 

of the Bergisch Land. 

Leisure 

For students Wuppertal has 

many attractions. It offers a 

wide range of leisure activities 

including sports centers 

and facilities for swimming, 

indoor soccer, indoor climbing 

and ropes courses. Its 

approximately 250 sports 

clubs total some 75,000 

members. The city’s many 

parks and wooded areas 

boast almost 500 km of footpaths 

and woodland tracks. 

Wherever you are, there is a 

park or recreational area nearby, 

often with stunning panoramic 

views across the city. 

one such park, lined with mature 

trees and shrubs, houses 

the Wuppertal Zoo. opened 

in 1881 and still ranked as one 

of Germany’s scenically most 

attractive zoological gardens, 

it houses some 4500 animals 

of 450 different species. 

Wuppertal Dance Theater – Pina Bausch: Aida Vainieri in Nur Du (only You). Photo: Ursula Kaufmann. 

City 

The City of Wuppertal 

comprises altogether ten districts, 

all of which possess 

good residential, shopping 

and recreational facilities. The 

twin urban centers of Elberfeld 

and Barmen have longestablished 

stores, fasionable 

boutiques and modern shopping 

malls, as well as daily 

and weekly markets. The old 

quarter of Elberfeld, with its 

art nouveau houses around 

the Laurentiusplatz and Luisenstrasse 

is a picturesque 

setting for a coffee or beer, 

and its cafés, restaurants and 

pubs are the favorite meeting 

place of Wuppertal’s young 

(and not-so-young) set. 

The city is also known for its 

street markets and festivals, 

different in each quarter of 

town, from Vohwinkel, with 

the world’s biggest one-day 

flea-market, to events like the 

Luisenfest in the picturesque 

old quarters, which offer the 

culinary delights and colorful 

international culture of the 

city. Every five years the socalled 

’langer Tisch’ brings 

thousands out of their houses 

to meet, eat and celebrate at 

the 14 km long table that fills 

the valley’s main thoroughfare. 

Art And CuLture 

Wuppertal’s artistic and cultural 

scene is extraordinarily 

lively and international. Pina 

Bausch founded her worldfamous 

Dance Theatre here, 

and it was from Wuppertal 

that Peter Kowald and Peter 

Brötzmann revolutionized the 

international jazz scene. Industrial 

architecture is used 

as a setting for exhibitions 

of contemporary painting, 

sculpture, and video or light 

installations, and the Von der 

Heydt Museum houses a 

unique collection of art from 

the 16th century to today. Its 

temporary and visiting exhibitions 

devoted to Impressionist 

and Post-Impressionist 

art are especially popular. 

Ranging from drama at the 

Municipal Theater to cabaret 

and kleinkunst at the Rex, 

and from classical concerts 

at the Historic Civic Hall to 

rock and pop at the Sports 

and Events Hall (jointly run by 

university and city), or at the 

Live Club Barmen or Waldbühne 

(Woodland Stage), the 

city’s cultural program offers 

something for everyone. A 

lively salsa and tango scene 

has also developed in recent 

years, and Wuppertal’s clubs 

are well-known even outside 

the city. The U-Club, for example, 

was in 2009 again 

elected best club in Germany. 

Wuppertal is also a city of 

cinema: directors like Tom 

Tykwer (Run Lola Run, Perfume) 

and TV detective Horst 

Tappert (Derrick) are from 

Wuppertal, and the city hosts 

a number of small film festivals. 

Several times it has itself 

featured on celluloid, with 

the Schwebebahn foregrounded 

in Knockin’ on Heaven’s 

Door (1997) and the UW campus 

as background for some 

scenes from The Princess 

and the Warrior (2000) and 

The Experiment (2001). 

MobiLity 

Wuppertal’s Schwebebahn 

is more than just a tourist attraction: 

gliding congestionfree 

through the valley, it is 

an indispensable means of 

public transport, carrying 

some 75,000 passengers 

every day to work, school and 

university. 


7

8 

the University of WUppertal– 

shaping the fUtUre together 

The University of Wuppertal 

(UW) is a dynamic, 

future-oriented 

university at the heart of Europe. 

Centrally situated near 

the major cities of Dusseldorf 

and Cologne, and surrounded 

by the rolling hills of the 

Bergisch Land, the ‘green 

university’ is workplace and 

living space for more than 

15,000 people. 

UW’s academic disciplines 

are grouped into seven 

faculties spread across three 

city campuses, all relatively 

close to each other and conveniently 

linked by the city’s 

public transport system. The 

interconnected buildings of 

the main Grifflenberg campus 

make it simple to walk in a 

few minutes from the English 

department to Economics, 

from Physics to Chemistry, 

from German Studies to History 

– or from any of these to 

the ‘Mensa’, the university 

dining hall. At the center of 

the main campus stands the 

university library with more 

than 1.2 million books directly 

accessible to users. 

With their leading-edge 

research, our interdisciplinary 

centers and institutes, 

networked not only amongst 

themselves but internationally, 

make an outstanding 

contribution to the national 

and global reputation of the 

university. 

All UW degree programs 

have now been integrated into 

the two-tier bachelor’s and 

master’s structure, thus facilitating 

the international comparability 

of qualifications and 

enabling graduates to pursue 

a career on the international 

as well as national stage. 

The establishment of two 

specialized entities, the 

Schumpeter School of Business 

and Economics and the 

School of Education, marks a 

new step in the provision of 

up-to-the-minute university 

training. 

The university’s wide range 

of service units and facilities 

for students, staff and visiting 

academics includes the 

Language Center, University 

Sports Program, Student Advisory 

and Counseling Service, 

Careers Service, and a 

number of programs for the 

promotion of young scholars 

and scientists. 

“like a Castle 

bUilt on a hill” 

“Like a castle built 

on a hill” the university 

towers over the 

city of Wuppertal. Set on 

the leafy slopes of the Grifflenberg, 

the main campus 

enjoys a panoramic view across 

the town and the surrounding 

countryside of the 

Bergisch Land – a perfect 

environment for developing 

ideas and projects that will 

shape the future. 

Currently some 250 professors, 

almost 900 other academic 

and non-academic employees, 

and around 14,000 

students from 90 different 

countries study and research 

at UW. Another 700 people 

work on the administrative 

side to keep the complex organization 

up and running. 

Success and excellence of 

achievement demand passion 

and enthusiasm for what 

one is doing. However, successful 

achievement is based 

not only on knowledge and 

highly developed abilities, but 

also on teamwork: innovative 

solutions with future impact 

are generally the product of 

interdisciplinary cooperation. 

Teamwork of this sort calls 

for breadth of vision, a strong 

sense of responsibility, and 

the insatiable will to move 

things on. 

That is the spirit of UW. No 

wonder things are moving 

here. Above average growth 

figures enable the university 

management to look confidently 

and positively toward 

the future. 

Aachen 

Essen 

Wuppertal 

dusseldorf 

bochum 

dortmund 

Cologne 

bonn 

Munster 

Successfully shaping the future 

means concentrating on 

core research and teaching 

competencies. At UW these 

are: 

k Building blocks of matter, 

experiment, simulation, 

and mathematical methods 

k Education and knowledge 

in social and 

cultural contexts 

k Health, disease prevention 

and movement 

k Language, narration and 

editing 

k Natural environment, 

engineering and safety 

k Business, innovation 

and economic change. 

north 

rhine- 

Westphalia 

bielefeld 

Germany 

01 

9

10 

Mobile wireless ultrasound system developed by Industrial Design student Hannes Harms. 

researCh for the fUtUre 

Researching for the 

future at UW means 

investigating climate 

change in the Arctic or the 

structure of matter at CERN 

(Conseil Européen pour la 

Recherche Nucléaire) in 

Switzerland; it means approximating 

conditions immediately 

after the Big Bang and 

evaluating the experimental 

data on the supercomputers 

ALiCEnext in Wuppertal and 

JUGENE in Jülich. 

It means creating materials 

and processes that make 

products better, safer and 

more ecological. It means 

focusing on society and its 

development, as well as on 

the individual. And it means 

improving machines, enhancing 

production processes, 

and analyzing economic 

and political structures 

with a view to understanding 

future requirements. 

All these activities have a 

global dimension, but all of 

them are centered here at 

UW, the regional university 


Many research projects 

are joint ventures 

with local and regional 

companies – from the 

development of the driver 

assistance systems that will 

make automobiles of the 

future safer, to innovative 

products and processes 

based on sus- 

tainable natural resources. 

However, UW is not only 

a reliable R&D partner: our 

Knowledge Transfer office is 

specifically tasked with initiating 

and managing cooperations 

with regional business, 

as well as with new start-ups 

launched from the university 

– including the entire process 

of funding application and acquisition. 

stUDying for the fUtUre 

UW offers its students 

a many-sided, practically 

slanted range of 

subjects that opens excellent 

prospects for their future careers. 

And students also profit 

from our forward-looking 

research and our many contacts 

with regional business. 

Student involvement in UW 

research provides the opportunity 

to apply theoretical 

knowledge in a wide variety of 

stimulating projects. 

The intensive contact 

between university teachers 

and regional enterprises 

underpins the varied, marketoriented 

range of courses and 

the more than 70 degree programs 

offered at UW. These 

include twin-track programs 

with on-the-job training integrated 

into the bachelor’s 

program, as well as a range 

of business engineering degrees. 

The regional business network 

also provides students 

with internships, jobs for 

supplementary income, and 

important contacts for the future. 

In addition, students in 

certain faculties may choose 

to write their bachelor’s or 

master’s thesis in connection 

with their industrial or commercial 

work experience. 

The local dimension of UW’s 

teaching and research is 

complemented by a strong 

international outlook. The 

intensive ERASMUS exchange 

program for students 

and postgraduates 

links UW with almost 100 

European universities, and 

further international partnerships 

exist with some 

65 universities in Europe, 

Russia, Africa, the Far East 

and South-East Asia, North 

and South America, and 

Australia – perfect conditions 

for students seeking 

global cultural experience. 


11

12 

organizational strUCtUre 

of the University of WUppertal 

FACuLties 

A Faculty of Humanities 

B Faculty of Economics – Schumpeter 

School of Business and 

Economics 

C Faculty of Mathematics 

and Natural Sciences 

D Faculty of Architecture, Civil Engineering, 

Mechanical 

Engineering and Safety 

Engineering 

E Faculty of Electrical, 

Information and Media 

Engineering 

F Faculty of 

Art and Design 

G Faculty of Educational and 

Social Sciences 

School of Education 

oFFiCe oF tHe reCtor – 

stAFF units 

Press Office 

UNISERVICE Quality Control Network 

for Study and Teaching 

Knowledge Transfer 

Office 

Academic Staff Training 

Data Protection Officer 

University Communications 

interdisCiPLinAry 

Centers 

A) reseArCH Centers 

Interdisciplinary Center for 

Science and Technology 

Studies: Normative and 

Historical Perspectives 


Applied Informatics and 

Scientific Computing 

Interdisciplinary Center for Technical 

Process Management 

Institute of Polymer 

Technology 

Center for Narrative 

Research 

Bergisch Regional Competence 

Center for Health Management and 

Public Health 

Center for Interdisciplinary Language 

Research 

Center for Research into Childhood 

and Society 

Center for Pure and Applied Mass 

Spectrometry 

Center for Editing and Documentalogy 

Dr. Werner Jackstädt Center for 

Interdisciplinary Entrepreneurship 

and Innovation Research 

b)otHer Centers 

Center for Graduate 

Studies 

Center for Continuing Education 

uniVersity suPerVisory boArd 

reCtor 

Pro-Rector I 

Academic Affairs 

Pro-Rector II 

Research, External Funding and 

Advanced Scientific Training 

Pro-Rector III 

Finance, Planning and 

Information 

Pro-Rector IV 

Transfer and International 

Relations 

senAte 

institutes oF tHe 

uniVersity oF WuPPertAL 

Institute of European 

Economic Relations 

Institute of Environmental Planning 

Institute of Robotics 

Institute of Economic and Technological 

Change 

Institute of Foundation, 

Waste and Water Engineering 

Institute of Civil Engineering 

Institute of Entrepreneurship and 

Innovation Research 

Institute of Applied 

Art History and Visual Culture 

Institute of Safety Engineering 

Institute of Phenomenological 

Research 

Institute of Art, Applied Design and 

Media Design 

Institute of Security Systems 

Institute of Educational Research 

Institute of Linguistics 

Institute of Modelling, Analysis and 

Computational Mathematics 

Office Of the RectOR 

CHAnCeLLor 

CentrAL orGAniZAtionAL 

units 

University Library 

Language Center 

Central Student Advisory 

and Counseling Service 

Information and Media Center 

uniVersity AdMinistrAtion – 

stAFF units 

University Legal Office 

Equal Opportunities Coordinator 

uniVersity 

AdMinistrAtion 

Department 1: Research 

Funding Management, 

Finance, Accounting and 

Procurement 

Department 2: Planning 

and Development 

Department 3: Academic 

and Student Affairs 

Department 4: Organization and 

Human Resources 

Department 5: Facility, 

Safety and Environmental 

Management 

AssoCiAte institutes oF 

tHe uniVersity oF 

WuPPertAL 

Institute of Occupational Medicine, 

Safety and Ergonomics 

Telecommunications 

Research Institute 

European Institute of 

International Economic 

Relations 

Tools and Materials 

Research Association 

Bergisch Regional Institute 

of Product Development 

and Innovation 

Management 

Institute of Biblical 

Archaeology 


13

14 

faCUlties 

anD sUbjeCts 

A 

B 

c 

➔ 

A FAcULtY oF HUMANItIes 

- General and Comparative Literature 

- Linguistics 

- English and American Studies 

- Protestant Theology 

- German Studies 

- History 

- Catholic Theology 

- Classical Languages / Latin 

- Music Education 

- Philosophy 

- Political Science 

- Romance Studies 

B FAcULtY oF BUsINess AND ecoNo- 

MIcs – scHUMPeteR scHooL oF BUsI- 

Ness AND ecoNoMIcs 

- Economics and Business Administration 

- Business Law / Business Psychology 

- Business Education / Methods 

c FAcULtY oF MAtHeMAtIcs AND 

NAtURAL scIeNces 

- Biology 

- Chemistry / Food Chemistry 

- Mathematics / Informatics 

- Physics 

D FAcULtY oF ARcHItectURe, cIVIL 

eNGINeeRING, MecHANIcAL eNGINee- 

RING AND sAFetY eNGINeeRING 

- Architecture 

- Civil Engineering 

- Mechanical Engineering 

- Safety Engineering 

e FAcULtY oF eLectRIcAL, 

INFoRMAtIoN AND MeDIA 

eNGINeeRING 

- Electrical Engineering 

- Information Technology 

- Printing and Media Engineering 

F FAcULtY oF ARt AND DesIGN 

- Industrial Design 

- Media Design / Design Technology 

- Art 

- Color Technology / Spatial Design / 

Surface Technology 

G FAcULtY oF eDUcAtIoNAL AND 

socIAL scIeNces 

- Education 

- Psychology 

- Sociology 

- Sports 

scHooL oF eDUcAtIoN 

D 

e 

F 

G 


15

16 

sUbjeCts anD Degree programs 

as at 08/2011 

• Winter semester only 

❍ Winter semester recommended 

☐ Summer and Winter semester 

▲ Summer semester only 

Subjects 

DEGREE PROGRAMS 

Bachelor Master 

One subject 

Combined BA 

(two subjects) 

Master of Education 

English, Linguistics • ☐ ☐ ☐ 

General and Comparative Literature 

Occupational and Organizational 

Psychology 

Applied Science 


Architecture • • 

Civil Engineering • • • ☐ 

Health and Movement Studies • 

Biology • ☐ ☐ 

Fire Safety Engineering ☐ 

Chemistry ☐ • ❍ ☐ ☐ ☐ 

Computational Mechanical 

Engineering 

Computer Simulation in Science • 

Print and Media Technologies • ☐ 

Printing and Media Engineering • ☐ 

Editing and Documentology • 

Electrical Engineering ☐ • ☐ ☐ 

Energy Engineering ☐ 

European Studies ☐ 

Color, Space and Surface Design 

and Technology 

Master of Science 

• 

Master of Arts 

• 

☐ 

Primary and Lower 

Secondary Schools 

High School 

Vocational Technical 

College 

• ☐ 

French, Linguistics • ☐ ☐ 

Geography • ☐ 

German, Linguistics • • ☐ ☐ 

German Studies and Mathematics 

for Primary Schools 

History • • ☐ 

• 

Applied Design Studies ☐ 

Health Systems Economics and 

Management 

Fundamentals of Science and 

Technology 

Industrial Design • 

• 

• 

Informatics • ❍ ☐ ☐ 

Information Technology ☐ ☐ 

Childhood, Youth, Social Services • 

Art • ☐ ☐ 

Latin • ☐ 

Food Chemistry ☐ 

Mechanical Engineering • • ☐ 

Mathematics ☐ • ❍ ☐ 

Not currently applicable 

☐ ☐ 

State- 

Examination 

• Winter semester only 

❍ Winter semester recommended 

☐ Summer and Winter semester 

▲ Summer semester only 

Subjects 

DEGREE PROGRAMS 

Bachelor Master 

One subject 

Combined BA 


Elements of Mathematics • 

Media Design and Design 

Technology 

Music • 

• 

Applied Science 


Master of Science 

Master of Arts 

Master of Education 

Communications Engineering ☐ 

Educational Science • ☐ ☐ 

Primary and Lower 

Secondary Schools 

Philosophy • • ☐ 

Physics ☐ • ❍ ☐ ☐ ☐ 

Psychology • • 

Political Science • 

Quality Control Engineering ☐ 

Real Estate Management (REM + 

CPM) 

Romance Studies • 

Safety Engineering • ☐ 

Social Sciences • ☐ 

Sociology • • 

Spanish, Linguistics • ☐ ☐ 

Banking ☐ 

Tax Accountancy ☐ 

Human Resources ☐ 

Business IT ☐ 

PE, Sports 

• 

▲ 

High School 

Vocational Technical 

College 

☐ 

☐ ☐ 

Underground Civil Engineering ☐ 

Protestant Theology • ☐ ☐ 

Catholic Theology • 

Business Engineering: Traffic and 

Transportation 

Business Engineering: 

Electrotechnology 

• • 

Business Engineering: Automotive ☐ 

Business Engineering: Energy 

Management 

Business Engineering: IT ☐ 

• 

Economics • • ☐ ☐ 

Economics and Politics (*) ☐ 

Business Mathematics ☐ 

☐ 

Not currently applicable 

State- 

Examination 


17

18 

Good teaching: Prof. Dr. Tobias Langner and Nina Jeanette Hofferberth – two of 

five award-winners of the Bergisch Lion Teaching Prize 2010. 

aspeCts 10|11 

‘berGisCH Lion’ For 

Good teACHinG 

UW has awarded its sixth 

annual ‘Bergisch Lion’ for 

outstanding teaching. After 

evaluation of some 13,000 

questionnaires, the awards 

for 2010 were as follows: 

k In the category ‘more than 

50 course participants’: 

Nina Jeanette Hofferberth 

(German Linguistics) and 

Prof. Dr. Tobias Langner 

(Marketing) – €5000 each. 

kIn the category ‘less than 

50 course participants’: Dr. 

Alexander Weihs (Catholic 

Theology) – €2000. 

kIn the category ‘innovative 

teaching’: Milagros de la 

Torre Cantero (Spanish) – 

€3000. 

k For excellent ranking in 

two separate courses in 

the category ‘more than 

50 course participants’: 

Philipp Hagemann (Safety 

Engineering – Environmental 

Chemistry). 

Good management: Prof. Dr. Margret Wintermantel, President of the German 

University Rectors‘ Conference with Rector of the Year Prof. Dr. Lambert T. Koch. 

LAMbert t. KoCH 

‘reCtor oF tHe 

yeAr’ 2011 

At a ceremony held in Berlin 

in April 2011, the Rector of the 

University of Wuppertal, Prof. 

Dr. Lambert T. Koch, was 

singled out as ‘Rector of the 

Year’ by the President of the 

Association of German Universities, 

Prof. Dr. Bernhard 

Kempen. The President of the 

German University Rectors‘ 

Conference, Prof. Dr. Margret 

Wintermantel, praised Koch’s 

leadership, vision and communicative 

ability, together 

with his respect for differences 

between academic cultures. 

The Rector expressed his 

thanks to the Association for 

the award, saying that he saw 

it less as a personal honor 

than as one awarded to the 

university management team 

as a whole and to many UW 

colleagues. 

unesCo CHAir 

At uW 

The UNESCo Chair of Entrepreneurship 

and Intercultural 

Management at the University 

of Wuppertal has been held 

since its award in 2010 by 

Prof. Dr. Christine Volkmann. 

It is one of seven UNESCo 

chairs in Germany. 

The award entails the promo- 

tion of research and teaching 

in line with UNESCo’s ethical 

and environmental values, related 

to entrepreneurial thinking 

and activity, especially 

among students. Key criteria 

are excellence, innovation 

and international cooperation. 

The new Center for Continuing Education bundles all UW’s continuing and advanced 

education offers. Andrea Bauhus and Prof.Dr. Koubek advertise lifelong learning 

at Masters Day 2011. 

KeeP tHinKinG, 

KeeP LeArninG, 

KeeP eduCAtinG 

In every sphere of life and 

work today we experience 

rapid change: new tasks and 

challenges face us, and to 

meet them we need new 

knowledge. Since early 2011 

UW’s numerous continuing 

and advanced education offers 

have been bundled in a 

new organization, the Center 

for Continuing Education. 

Committed to lifelong learning, 

the Center develops, 

coordinates and manages 

programs in the following 

three areas: 

ContinuinG eduCAtion 

ProGrAM 

This covers all UW educatio- 

nal offers for people and orga- 

nizations outside the universi- 

ty: in-service bachelor’s and 

master’s programs, courses 

leading to the University Cer- 

tificate, pre-university cour- 

ses, courses for informal au- 

ditors, University of the Third 

Age (U3A) programs, and socalled 

‘Knowledge Floaters’ 

(short PowerPoint films). 

CAreers serViCe 

our careers service offers 

relate to personal career de- 

velopment and General Stu- 

dies. We provide information, 

counseling, training and contacts, 

as well as a cross-disciplinary 

program for extending 

awareness of knowledge 

cultures. our Dual Career 

Service aims to underpin the 

compatibility of professional 

and family commitments for 

dual career couples. 

internAL trAininG 

ProGrAM 

An organization is only as in- 

novative and productive as 

the people who work in it. 

UW’s internal training program 

offers courses for the 

university’s academic staff 

in HE teaching skills, personal 

development, and gender 

and diversity management, 

as well as the special programs 

of the Science Career 

Center. 

Prof. Dr. Norbert Koubek 

Center for Continuing 

Education 

University of Wuppertal 

Lise-Meitner-Str. 13 

42119 Wuppertal 

Tel. +49 (0202) 31713-267 

E-mail zwb@uni-wuppertal.de 

kwww.zwb.uni-wuppertal.de 


19

20 

aspeCts 10|11 proudly on a history of more sAFety – An industry 

than 2200 graduates. The WitH A Future 

growing need for safety our R&D is closely inter- 

within a continuously chanmeshed with our degree 

oPeninG oF 

tHe sCHooL 

oF eduCAtion 

The new School of Education 

was officially opened by UW 

Rector Prof. Dr. Lambert T. 

Koch at a ceremony attended 

by some 150 guests at the 

end of october 2010. Ministerial 

Counsellor Dr. Dietmar 

Möhler from NRW’s Ministry 

of Innovation, Science, Research 

and Technology, and 

Ulrich Wehrhöfer from the 

Ministry of Schools, Education 

and Training emphasized 

the pioneering role played 

by the university in the field 

of teacher education: the 

UW School of Education had 

been founded in response to 

a change in the Higher Education 

Act that tasked the 

universities engaged in the 

field of teacher education to 

establish autonomous organizational 

units or centers 

for this purpose. The School 

of Education consists of two 

divisions that work closely together. 

The Joint Degree Program 

Committee coordinates 

teacher education within 

the university’s bachelor’s 

and master’s programs and 

makes decisions at a crossfaculty 

level. The Institute of 

Educational Research bundles 

teaching and research activities 

within the educational 

sciences and offers most of 

the courses that take place 

oPeninG oF tHe 

berGisCH reGionAL 

CoMPetenCe Center For 

HeALtH MAnAGeMent 

And PubLiC HeALtH 

With more than 4 million people 

employed nationwide, the 

health sector is continuously 

developing and offers excellent 

career prospects for 

specialist economists and 

business administration graduates. 

Since winter semester 

2010-2011 more than 50 

students have enrolled in the 

new bachelor’s program in 

Health Systems Economics 

and Management. Combining 

research, teaching and onthe-job 

experience, this fills 

a market niche within the 

health industries. 

The Center was formally opened 

on November 3, 2010 

with an event at the Freudenberg 

Campus Lecture Hall 

Center. The importance of 

the degree programs for the 

Bergisch region, where the 

health sector already employs 

more than 30,000 people, 

was emphasized. For Center 

CEo Prof. Dr. Rainer Wieland, 

“The Center underpins 

already existent competencies 

within the regional health 

economy and raises the research 

profile of the University 

of Wuppertal in health management 

and economics.” 

The Bergisch Regional Competence 

Center has three divi- 

Management and Public 

Health, and the university’s 

degree programs in health 

economics and management. 

Founding members of the 

Center are the Wuppertal 

Academy of Health Professions, 

Barmenia Insurance 

Group, Barmer Health Insurances, 

Bethesda Hospital 

Wuppertal, GHD Healthcare 

Group Germany, Helios Hospital 

Wuppertal, St. Antony’s 

Hospital Wuppertal, Solingen 

Hospital, Radprax Wuppertal, 

Sana Hospital Remscheid 

and St. Joseph’s Foundation 

Hospital Wuppertal. NRW’s 

Ministry of Innovation, Science, 

Research and Technology 

also supports the new 

UW Institute. 

kwww.gesundheit.uniwuppertal.de 

35 yeArs oF risK 

deteCtion At uW 

They are often to be seen 

working on high-tech plant, 

and always they are working 

for people. Whether in heavy 

industry or traditional workshops, 

in refineries or the 

automotive industry, in the 

health industries or across 

the service sector, they are 

there, improving fire protection, 

preventing explosions, 

estimating risks or planning 

production processes and 

plant. They are to be found 

at almost every point in the 

value added chain, from the 

extraction of raw materials, 

through manufacture and 

finishing processes, to recycling 

and final disposal. over 

the last few decades they 

have done much to make our 

worlds and workplaces safer, 

cleaner, user-friendlier, and 

more comfortable. Who are 

they? Safety engineers, of 

ging social, structural and industrial 

framework drove the 

rapid expansion of the original 

department to its present 

scope. This now extends to 

13 disciplines ranging from 

workplace safety and environmental 

protection, through 

fire and population protection, 

to risk avoidance and quality 

control. We are currently turning 

our minds to air transportation 

safety. 

sAFety in reseArCH 

The wide interests of the 

School of Safety Engineering 

are reflected in its research 

activities, which focus on 

such disparate areas as the 

reliability of braking systems 

and the avoidance of needlestick 

injuries on the one hand, 

or the physical and psychological 

impact of changing 

work conditions and the filtration 

of fine dust particles 

on the other. our graduates 

are much sought after by 

companies and public authorities, 

as well as, for example, 

by insurance organizations, 

where their knowledge and 

judgment is indispensable in 

many complex fields. Wherever 

they are employed, UW’s 

safety engineers continue to 

demonstrate the engineering 

competence and professional 

independence that comes 

from 35 years of specialization 

in this field. 

programs, so that students 

benefit from the latest developments 

tested in the field 

of practice. With a graduate 

employment rate of close 

on 100% it is not surprising 

that our alumni provide us 

with top ratings. And these 

are also reflected in the high 

demand for places on our degree 

programs. The Wuppertal 

concept of safety engineering 

evidently works. And the 

forecast for safety engineers 

is very promising in terms of 

growth rates and fields of activity. 

In future, too, our graduates 

can be sure of finding 

an interesting and flourishing 

market for their skills. 

kBachelor of Science Safety 

Engineering (BScS) 

kMaster of Science Safety 

Engineering (MScS) 

kMaster of Science Quality 

Control Engineering (MScQ). 

Prof. Dr.-Ing. B. H. Müller 

School of Safety Engineering 

Tel. +49 (0)202 439-2122 

E-mail muellerb@uni-wuppertal.de 

kwww.site.uni-wuppertal.de 

in this area within the various sions: the regional health net- 

the evacuation of a populati- course. 

disciplines concerned with work, the Institute of Health 

on or workforce. They protect UW has been training safe- 

teacher education. 

us and our environment by ty engineers for more than 

kwww.edu.uni-wuppertal.de 

improving machines, tools, 35 years, and can look back 


21

22 

UW’s neW aUDitoriUm maximUm 

on Wednesday June 

22, 2011 the new Lec- 

ture Hall Center on UW’s 

Grifflenberg Campus was finally 

ready for the ceremonial 

opening. It had taken two 

years to construct the long, 

modern, two-story building, 

which not only offers room 

for the transfer of knowledge, 

and interactive dialogue between 

teachers and students, 

but is also a symbol of UW’s 

newfound vitality, and of the 

innovation, creativity and international 

outlook of the university 

and region. 

These factors were emphasized 

at the opening ceremony 

by UW Rector Prof. Dr. 

Lambert T. Koch, as well as 

by the day’s invited speaker, 

media designer Professor 

Johannes Busmann, whose 

lecture, entitled ‘City – Region 

– University’, began by 

drawing a heart around the 

UW logo on the interactive 

lectern screen. The new Lecture 

Hall Center, he said, offered 

more than technology, 

functionality and modernity; 

it stood for a public awareness: 

for the commitment of 

a university to each individual, 

that she and he be able to 

freely shape their lives, develop 

their talents, and share in 

the knowledge of the world. 

Seen in this light the Center 

was a global marketplace 

where one could marvel at 

the order of the cosmos, the 

beauty of art and culture, the 

power of ideas, and the inventiveness 

of man. 

stAte-oF-tHe-Art 

iCt 

Totaling 3400 sq m, the new 

building contains two lecture 

halls, one with 800, the other 

with 250 seats, as well as 8 

seminar rooms. Lecture theaters 

are equipped with up-tothe-minute 

communications 

technology including wireless 

Internet access (available 

throughout the building), interactive 

workplaces and live 

transmission between the 

two halls. Care has been taken 

during reconstruction to 

provide multifunctional childcare 

facilities, special workrooms 

for disabled students, 

infrared hearing enhancement 

systems in the lecture 

halls, and tactile signage. 

trAnsPArenCy And ContrAst 

The concept, developed with 

great skill by Wuppertal’s Müller 

Schlüter Architectural Bureau, 

stresses the openness 

of a modern, forward-looking 

university. The glass-fronted 

entrance area extends an immediate 

welcome to guests, 

students and faculty, and the 

generous dimensions of the 

foyer with its purist design 

principles provide an attractive 

space for events and exhibitions. 

Leading off the foyer, 

the two lecture theater doorways 

offer striking contrasts 

highlighted in red and orange, 

and further color contrasts, 

now in friendly pastel shades, 

mark the seating arrangement 

inside. The apparently 

random ordering of colors 

considerably softens the anonymity 

of the large 800-seat 

theater. 

CoMFort And dAyLiGHt 

The lecture theater design 

aims to create a stimulating 

teaching and learning environment 

with comfortable 60 

cm wide fold-up seats and 

generous writing spaces – a 

considerable improvement 

on the norm. And the new 

Auditorium Maximum (or 

Audi-Max) is unusual among 

university facilities of this sort 

in enjoying direct daylight. A 

green oasis inside the new 

Center is provided by the University 

Social Services’ new 

ecologically accented coffee 

bar, which offers a range of 

top quality fair-trade coffees 

and bread products from one 

of Germany’s leading bakers. 

In its furnishings and dispo- 

sable goods the innovative 

Cafébar uses only natural or 

recycled materials. 

Vote oF tHAnKs 

With a construction period of 

almost two years, a multiplicity 

of trades and professions 

and more than 300 people 

on the job, the refashioning 

of the former mechanical engineering 

hall was no easy 

task. The fact that the neighboring 

high voltage laboratory 

had to be kept running during 

the entire building period was 

an added complication. UW 

Rector Prof. Lambert T. Koch 

thanked all those who faced 

these challenges and contributed 

to the realization of the 

project: first and foremost the 

architect Michael Müller; the 

head of NRW’s Construction 

and Property Department, 

Rolf Krähmer; the leader of 

the Düsseldorf branch, Hans- 

Gerd Böhme; and project managers 

Monika Brandes and 

Jörg Munsch. A special vote 

of thanks went to UW’s Facility 

Management Department 

under Dr. Dieter Szewczyk, 

Dipl.-Ing. Rolf Deuss and Robert 

Boese. 


23

24 

Interior view of the planned institute and laboratory building on the Grifflenberg Campus. 

oUtlook 

neW buiLdinG 

ProjeCts: uniVer- 

sity LibrAry, nAturAL 

sCienCes, enGinee- 

rinG, HAsPeL CAMPus 

Four major building projects 

are currently under way at 

UW, further underpinning 

the university’s development 

potential. Increasing student 

numbers, and an imminent 

surge in new enrollments due 

to changes in school-leaving 

age, as well as the positive 

achievements of recent 

years, are taking UW on an 

upward course. The State of 

North Rhine-Westphalia and 

university will together be investing 

some €100 million in 

these projects between 2008 

and 2014. 

The new Lecture Hall Center 

on the Main Grifflenberg 

Campus came on stream in 

summer 2011. With 8 seminar 

rooms and two large lec- 

ture theaters (seating 800 and 

250 respectively) the center, 

equipped with ultra-modern 

ICT, provides optimum conditions 

for UW students and is 

at the same time, as UW Rector 

Prof. Dr. Lambert T. Koch 

observes, an important signal 

of “the seriousness with 

which we are meeting the 

challenges of our multidimensional 

growth as a university.” 

student WorK- 

PLACes WitH A VieW 

The extension to the Univer- 

sity Library is due for com- 

pletion in February 2012. The 

new glass-walled reading 

room will provide some 200 

individual workplaces for students 

and researchers as well 

as group workrooms. Built 

atop the present library, the 

extension will offer stunning 

panoramic views across both 

university and city. 

neW buiLdinG For sCientists 

And enGineers 

Chemists, biologists and engineers 

will be sharing the 

brand new 16,000 sq m building 

to be erected on a vacant 

plot on the Gauss Strasse, 

the main university thoroughfare. 

Clearly structured, wellsited 

and architectonically balanced, 

the new institute and 

laboratory building blends 

perfectly into the Grifflenberg 

Campus. It is to consist 

of two offset cubes with an 

attractive forecourt immediately 

opposite the new Lecture 

Hall Center. Costing €70 

million, the science building 

is UW’s biggest current construction 

project, due for completion 

in 2014. 

ArCHiteCture For 

ArCHiteCts 

UW’s downtown Haspel 

Campus is also receiving a 

facelift. Situated on the city’s 

main artery, the Friedrich 

Engels Allee, the new 2500 

sq m building for the School 

of Architecture is due to be 

completed by 2014. Costs 

are calculated at around €11 

million. 

At_A_GLANCE 

toP sPorts ACHieVe- 

Ment At uW 

Ten top sportspeople 

among UW’s students and 

faculty were honored for 

their joint commitment to 

sports and scholarship. In 

2010’s German and international 

championships 

they celebrated successes 

in seven disciplines: American 

football, boxing, judo, 

athletics, mountain biking, 

swimming and surfing. 

Praising the 10 athletes, 

UW Rector Prof. Dr. Lambert 

T. Koch commented: 

“It is no easy matter to 

combine studying with top 

athletic achievement. Both 

fields demand extraordinary 

commitment, strength 

and endurance.” 

kwww.hochschulsport. 

uni-wuppertal.de 

AudretsCH reCeiVes 

sCHuMPeter sCHooL 

PriZe 

In July 2011 the American 

economist Prof. Dr. David 

B. Audretsch (Indiana University) 

was awarded the 

first Schumpeter School 

Prize of the University of 

Wuppertal for his pioneering 

work in the fields of 

entrepreneurship and innovation. 

The biennial prize is 

awarded internationally for 

leading research in Schumpeterian 

economics and 

innovation. Worth €10,000, 

the Schumpeter School 

Prize is donated by the 

Stadtsparkasse, Wuppertal’s 

municipal bank. 

khttp://award.wiwi.uniwuppertal.de/ 

uW PArtnerinG 

HeLMHoLtZ PostGrAduAte 

ProGrAM 

Together with four other 

universities UW is partnering 

Jülich Research 

Center in the Helmholtz 

Interdisciplinary Doctoral 

Training in Energy and Climate 

(HITEC) program. 

Focusing on energy supply 

and its impact on climate 

change, the program is funded 

by the Helmholtz Association 

with €2.4 million 

over a period of six years. 

UW atmospheric physicists 

Prof. Dr. Ralf Koppmann 

and Prof. Dr. Claus Michael 

Volk, as well as atmospheric 

chemists Prof. Dr. 

Peter Wiesen and research 

fellow Dr. Jörg Kleffmann, 

are leading UW’s contribution 

to the program. 

kwww.fbc.uni-wuppertal.de 

eConoMiCs reCeiVes 

exCeLLent rAnKinG 

UW’s Schumpeter School 

of Business and Economics 

provides “excellent 

degree programs”. After 

the School’s success in the 

Center for Higher Education 

Development’s 2009 

rankings, when its economics 

research was judged 

“excellent”, its degree 

program offer and conditions 

of study have now 

been deemed “significantly 

above the average performance 

of competitors” in 

77 out of 80 individual aspects. 

The latest rankings 

are based on student questionnaires.kwww.wiwi.uni-wuppertal.de 

reAL estAte MAnAGe- 

Ment Wins bronZe 

UW’s in-service master’s 

program in Real Estate Management 

& Construction 

Project Management (REM 

+ CPM) was for the second 

year running among the top 

three in this year’s Immobilien 

Zeitung (Real Estate 

News) ranking of German 

universities. Based on a 

survey of student satisfaction 

with their degree 

programs, UW took third 

place. 

k www.rem-cpm.de 

VoCAtionAL trAineesHiPs 

At uW 

As well as the academic 

training provided for its 

14,500 students, UW offers 

training in 14 different 

trades, from mechanical 

systems technician to informatics 

specialist or technical 

draftsperson. In August 

2010 twelve new apprentices 

joined the university, 

making a total of 32 vocational 

trainees. 

kwww.ausbildung.uniwuppertal.de 


25

26 

02_ 

UW_ACADEMIC 

27

28 

hello, We’re neW here! 

5 Degree program start-Ups in a nUtshell 

editinG And 

doCuMentoLoGy 

You have a degree in a textcentered 

discipline and want 

to know how texts and documents 

can be edited scientifically 

and prepared for 

publication? Then you should 

take UW’s four-semester MA 

program in Editing and Documentology. 

on the one hand 

this provides philological 

competencies in editorial theory 

and practice concerned 

with the establishment, production 

and representation 

of texts for cultural transmission, 

and on the other hand 

it will familiarize you with 

modern media technologies 

from the point of view of the 

informatic structure of documents 

and the design of their 

presentation. In line with your 

personal interests you can 

put the emphasis on either 

the philological or the media 

technology aspects of the 

program. UW’s MA in Editing 

and Documentology is unique 

in Germany and provides key 

qualifications for all careers 

connected with texts and documents. 

kwww.edw.uni-wuppertal.de 

HeALtH systeMs eCono- 

MiCs And MAnAGeMent 

In Germany today every ninth 

person in employment works 

in the health sector, and demographic 

aging will further 

increase demand for specialist 

personnel. UW’s interdisciplinary 

BSc program in 

Health Systems Economics 

and Management provides 

a broad basis in economics, 

business administration, 

and methodology, as well as 

specialist knowledge of the 

health system and its many 

actors. The curriculum includes 

medical economics and 

insurance, fundamentals of 

medicine, law, healthcare 

models and healthcare management. 

The program includes 

an internship, regular 

guest lectures by experts in 

the field, and special focus 

days illustrating the relevance 

of course material. 

Career opportunities are 

found on the fascinating interface 

between medicine and 

the economy, in hospitals, 

insurance companies, the 

pharmaceutical industries, 

and politics. 

kwww.gesundheit.uni-wuppertal.de 

oCCuPAtionAL And 

orGAniZAtionAL 

PsyCHoLoGy 

Unique in Germany, the new 

MA program in occupational 

and organizational Psychology 

is UW’s first combined 

continuing education and 

distance learning program. 

Directed by Prof. Dr. Rainer 

Wieland and Prof. Dr. Gerd 

Wiendieck, it aims to equip 

graduates with an understanding 

of the psychological 

dimensions and impact of 

work activities, organizational 

structures and HR development 

measures, and to 

enable them to evaluate and 

shape these aspects. Competencies 

acquired in the interaction 

of people working 

together within organizations 

will qualify graduates for toplevel 

tasks in management 

and consulting. 

kwww.master-organizational-psychology.de 

HeALtH And MoVe- 

Ment studies 

A result of demographic 

change, and of a lifestyle in 

western industrial nations 

marked by rich food and lack 

of movement, is the growing 

need for qualified health advisors 

and sports therapists. 

UW’s MA program in Health 

and Movement Studies provides 

graduates with scientific 

and practical qualifications 

for a career in areas concerned 

with health promotion, 

as well as with rehabilitation 

from and prevention of 

illness, in association with 

sports and movement. 

kwww.zsb.uni-wuppertal.de 

GeoGrAPHy 

Geography has been newly 

added to the already thirty 

subjects that can be selected 

within the framework of 

UW’s Combined BA program. 

Geography is of interest not 

only to future teachers, but 

also for a career in tourism 

development and planning, 

urban and regional marketing, 

city R&D, or political consulting. 

At UW the subject focuses 

on sustainability within an 

interdisciplinary context. 

kwww.fbg.uni-wuppertal. 

de/faecher/geographie/keil/ 

02_UW_ACADEMICS 

29

30 

Green Lion Racing Team 

robot arms anD raCing Cars – 

meChaniCal engineering at UW 

Fascinating projects, 

intensive supervision, 

committed professors, contacts 

with industry built into 

the degree program – many 

students in Germany dream 

of conditions like these. For 

mechanical engineering students 

at the University of 

Wuppertal this is reality. 

PrACtiCAL ProjeCts in- 

teGrAted into tHe Pro- 

GrAM 

In close cooperation with 

companies like Igus and 

Schunk our students develop 

drives for robot arms or build 

a formula racing car for UW’s 

Green Lion Racing Team. 

Projects like these, whether 

voluntary or linked to assignments, 

enable our students 

to apply their knowledge directly 

in practice, and prepare 

them for the nine week industrial 

internship integrated into 

the bachelor’s program from 

the third semester on. 

exCeLLent Conditions 

oF study 

With the best student-professor 

ratio of all mechanical 

engineering programs in the 

State of North Rhine-Westphalia 

(NRW), the University 

of Wuppertal attracts an 

increasing number of future 

engineers. And in order to 

maintain these excellent conditions, 

six program areas 

have appointed new professors 

in the past two years 

(materials technology, technical 

mechanics, technical 

vocational didactics, fluid 

mechanics, mechatronics, 

and engineering design). Research 

as well as teaching 

has benefited from these new 

appointments, for example 

in the field of numerical methods 

for product develop- 

ment, or in the development 

of fail-safe systems. In the 

automotive sector we have 

been working on the optimization 

of ventilation in truck 

and automobile arm-rests 

to prevent heat build-up and 

enhance comfort and safety, 

as well as on the analysis of 

rigidity and tolerance in hood 

locking devices. 

toP CAreer ProsPeCts 

As most master’s, as well 

as doctoral, programs run in 

close cooperation with industry, 

a UW master’s degree 

– for instance in computational 

mechanical engineering 

– with the possibility of going 

on to a doctorate afterward, is 

a springboard to an outstanding 

career. 

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Peter Gust 

School of Mechanical 

Engineering 

Department of Engineering 

Design 

Tel +49 (0)202 439-2046 

E-mail peter.gust@ 


kwww.mbau.uniwuppertal.de 

…still more praCtiCe? 

tWin-traCk Degrees in meChaniCal engineering 

You want to start work 

straight after school but 

at the same time study for a 

degree? UW’s twin-track system 

could be just the thing 

for you. With us you (m/f) can 

combine a BSc in mechanical 

engineering with your training 

as an industrial mechanic or 

toolmaker. The apprenticeship 

takes four semesters, 

the BSc eight. 

HArd WorK, but 

it’s WortH it 

Twin-track students are high- 

ly motivated, because imme- 

diate on-the-job application 

of the theoretical knowledge 

gained at university is an 

ideal medium for successful 

learning. Study conditions on 

the program are also excellent, 

with small fast-moving 

groups in close cooperation 

with industrial enterprises 

leading to enhanced career 

opportunities. Last but not 

least, in the twin-track model 

you earn money as an industrial 

apprentice while you are 

studying. 

soLVinG tHe Hr ProbLeM 

For engineering companies, 

twin-track degree programs 

are an ideal way of ensuring 

an inflow of specialist workers 

trained on the job – a 

solution to Germany’s current 

HR gap in trained technicians. 

Moreover, the link to UW’s 

know-how and leading edge 

research can bring crucial 

knowledge and innovation 

transfer, ranging from applied 

research projects to joint applications 

for research funding. 

As the Bergisch regional continuing 

and advanced education 

center for technical 

trades, the Remscheid Metal 

and Electrical Industries’ Educational 

Center provides the 

complete range of basic and 

specialist training leading to 

the qualified technician’s certificate 

for 30 different trades 

in the metal-working, electrical 

and IT industries of the 

region. Further development 

into a competence center for 

economics and technology 

has brought additional courses 

and seminars in business 

administration, management 

and communication. Technical 

career advisory projects 

for schools, like the Bergisch 

Schools Science and Technology 

Program, complete the 

center’s offer. UW has been 

cooperating with the Remscheid 

Metal and Electrical 

Industries’ Educational Center 

on twin-track degree programs 

since 2007. 

kYou (m/f) can also study 

electrical engineering at UW 

on a twin-track BSc / electronic 

technician’s program. 

remscheid Metal and 

electrical industries’ 

educational Center 

Wüstenhagener Str. 18-269 

42855 Remscheid 

Tel. +49 (0)2191 9387-0 

E-mail info@bzi-rs.de 

kwww.bzi-rs.de 


31

32 

LUFo helps children get to grips with their bronchial asthma – safely and independently. 

meDiCal Design 

Industrial design at UW 

(uwid) combines innovative 

thinking with technical 

and design know-how. Situated 

at the interface of technology 

and art, the program 

focuses on technical products 

and product systems, as well 

as strategic design. uwid students 

may choose to work on 

the development and design 

of innovative medical equipment 

in their final examination 

thesis. 

LuFo suPPorts 

CHiLdren LeArninG 

to CoPe WitH 

AstHMA sAFeLy And 

seLF-reLiAntLy. 

Cornelia Einicke 

“A particularly important aspect 

of asthma management 

with children is closing the 

gap between the theoretical 

possibilities of available therapies 

and the actual success 

of the children applying them. 

My research brought me into 

intensive contact with doctors, 

parents and the children 

themselves, and on the basis 

of this knowledge I could de- 

velop new reality-based userconcepts 

for chronic illness. 

The result is a user-friendly 

future-oriented medical product 

with low technological 

input.” 

Prof. Gert Trauernicht k uwid 

“Asthma management with 

children demonstrates the 

quality of uwid’s innovation 

and development facilities in 

rethinking complex processes. 

Putting herself in the 

position of the child productuser, 

Cornelia Einicke developed 

an adequate product 

architecture that overcame 

the stigma associated with 

conventional products. Her 

solution is not only a pharmaceutical 

breakthrough but 

also substantially improves 

the psychological situation of 

young patients in the context 

of their everyday lives.” 

Medical head-mounted display – Red Dot Concept Award prizewinner 2010. 

sono – MobiLe 

uLtrAsound 

A MobiLe WireLess 

sonoGrAPHy systeM 

For A Wide rAnGe 

oF APPLiCAtions. 

Hannes Harms 

“I chose mobile sonography 

because the increasing quality 

of modern ultrasonic systems 

makes them the noninvasive 

diagnostic tool of the 

future. 

Analysis of modern ultrasound 

diagnostic processes 

involved a great deal of research, 

and I learned a lot 

about the optimization of process 

flow and ergonomics. 

overall I am pleased with the 

results and happy about the 

competent supervision I received 

from my professors.” 

Prof. Gert Trauernicht k uwid 

“Hannes Harms’ ultrasound 

study is a future-oriented design 

concept taking special 

account of increasing mobility 

in ultrasound diagnostics. 

The device shows impressively 

how right and lefthandedness, 

user-intuition 

and high performance can be 

communicated by adequate 

design. All components are 

immediately recognizable as 

part of a diagnostic system, 

and user processes are ideally 

supported by design ergonomics.” 

AuGMented 

interVention 

AssistAnt – MediCAL 

HeAd-Mounted disPLAy 

A system based on a headmounted 

display will soon 

enable surgeons to access 

information in the course of 

an operation in a way hitherto 

impossible. 

The successful project received 

a Red Dot Concept 

Award 2010. 

Kilian Kreiser 

“It was important for me to 

undertake a visionary project 

in the medical sector, where 

there has been enormous 

technological progress. The 

SoNo mobile wireless ultrasound system. 

sector combines immense 

potential with a lack of ergonomic 

solutions incorporating 

high-level design. The project 

was realized in collaboration 

with Munich’s Pilotfish agency.” 

Marc Nagel k Pilotfish 

This Pilotfish application 

takes an innovative step toward 

achieving an augmented 

reality in the world of 

medicine. Centered on the 

operating surgeon, it aims 

to reduce contact problems 

with new technologies. The 

project opens interesting 

vistas for future applicationoriented 

innovations. 

kwww.uwid.uni-wuppertal.de 


33

34 

CUltUre islanD or WUpperWorkstage? 

neW life for WUppertal City theater 

A project by students 

from UW’s master’s 

program in real estate economics 

shows that the future 

of municipal cultural institutions 

is not necessarily as 

gloomy as it seems. Led by 

Prof. Guido Spars, four teams 

set out to develop new concepts 

realizing the potential of 

Wuppertal’s ailing city theater 

premises. Data collection, research 

and analysis, planning 

and calculation went hand in 

hand to put new life and hope 

into a theater associated with 

the name of world famous 

choreographer Pina Bausch. 

CuLture And More – An 

eConoMiC ConCePt 

Based on intensive market 

and location research, the 

four teams pinpointed viable 

post-theater uses for the 

premises. Ideas ranged from 

co-working spaces meeting a 

trend toward temporary office 

use, through development for 

the creative & culture sector, 

to focusing on dance as an 

identity factor, or a downtown 

sport and leisure center. Culture 

Island, WupperWorkStage 

and Start-Up Center 

tap the synergies inherent in 

combining a small stage theater 

with restaurant etc. facilities 

and the range of creative 

culture activities rooted in 

Wuppertal. FUN is a concept 

using the premises efficiently 

for a flexible cultural, leisure 

and sports complex. 

Concept Culture Island – creating a new cultural center for 

Wuppertal incorporating dance, creative workrooms, galleries, 

and theater. 

boostinG PotentiAL For 

inVestors And City de- 

VeLoPMent 

All four concepts indicate 

the economic viability of the 

Wuppertal theater site, which 

is currently running at a loss. 

Even though they confine 

themselves to initial assessments, 

the student projects 

demonstrate the considerable 

potential latent in the site 

for the creative and leisure 

sectors, and above all for 

Wuppertal’s city planners. 

For further details visit the 

department’s homepage at 

kwww.bauoekonomie.uniwuppertal.de/ 

Prof. Dr. Guido Spars and olivera 

obadovic M.A. 

School of Architecture 

Department of Planning and 

Construction Economics 

Supervision of concepts by 

Prof. Dipl.-Ing. Annette Paul, 

Dr.-Ing. Michael Hecker 

Department of Building in 

Context 

Haspeler Str. 27 


Tel. +49 (0)202 439-4261 

E-mail obadovic@uni-wuppertal.de 

kwww.bauoekonomie.uniwuppertal.de 

Working together for sUCCess 

From supporting the 

traditional Borussia 

Dortmund Soccer Club to 

organizing the Düsseldorf 

Bridges Run, Sparda Bank 

West takes sport seriously. 

As Swidbert obermüller, 

Sales Manager at Sparda in 

Wuppertal, who is responsible 

for the bank’s social and 

cultural relations with the city, 

explains: “It has something to 

do with the function of sport, 

despite all the scandals, as a 

model of teamwork, fair play, 

integration, and performance 

leading to success.” 

“And that’s the same up at 

the university”, he continues, 

commenting on the bank’s 

cooperation since 2007 with 

UW’s Sports Center. Sparda, 

for example, sponsored 

the university’s first Dragon 

Boat Cup on the Wupper at 

Beyenburg in 2010. And with 

the dragon boat, a long canoe 

originally from China powered 

by 20 paddlers, successful 

competition is a model 

of teamwork. “That fits the 

image of a cooperative bank”, 

obermüller observes. “our 

customers are also members 

of the bank and profit from its 

business success.” 

But the bank’s support for 

the university does not stop 

there. As a partner of both 

university and region, it also 

sponsors social and cultural 

projects like the exhibition of 

photographs by Guido Adolphs 

in the University Library 

titled Vorbylder (models). 

These powerful portraits of 

women from the Bergisch 

Land represent models of 

a different sort. They were 

auctioned and the proceeds 

donated to organizations 

working with disadvantaged 

children and young people 

from the region. Another 

Sparda project is the regional 

‘Shakespeare Live’ festival, in 

which UW students are also 

actively engaged. 

“We have close links with 

the university,” Swidbert 

obermüller emphasizes, “not 

only because we take a natural 

interest in teaching and 

research, but also because 

we want to be the students’ 

first contact in questions of 

finance. We offer young people 

fair, objective and individual 

advice in all matters of 

money, both during and after 

their time at university.” 

sparda-bank Wuppertal 

Swidbert obermüller 

Sales Manager 

Elberfeld, Bankstraße 3 

Barmen, Werth 65 

Vohwinkel, Kaiserstraße 24 

k www.sparda-west.de 

35

36 

latin – on the traCk of the 

ClassiCs in the gUlf of naples 

The young couple se- 

parates to let the group 

pass, their eyes following 

the energetic backs as they 

clamber up the hillside. Winding 

steeply across stony, 

rock-strewn ground, the track 

narrows until it is almost lost 

in the towering scrub. But 

UW’s classicists press on 

undaunted to their goal, Capo 

Miseno. Their effort is well 

rewarded: beneath them lies 

the magnificent panorama of 

the Gulf of Naples, stretching 

from the metropolis at the 

foot of Vesuvius to the island 

of Capri. It must have been 

here – from here the Roman 

writer Pliny the Elder might 

well have watched the devastating 

eruption of Vesuvius in 

79 CE. 

Classical literature and culture 

Two letters of Pliny, in which 

he describes the event in im- 

pressive detail, have led the 

group to this spot. Two days 

by bus to experience Roman 

literature where it was written: 

that was the point of 

a two-week excursion that 

took 33 UW students of Latin, 

along with four of their 

teachers, from Wuppertal to 

the Gulf of Naples – a good 

third of UW’s Latinists eager 

to see the surroundings in 

which Vergil, Seneca, Tacitus 

and Propertius wrote, and the 

places they described. 

Since 2008 it has been possible 

to take a combined degree 

in Latin at UW. The subject 

enjoys a growing popularity 

especially in view of the acute 

shortage of Latin teachers. 

The Gulf of Naples seemed a 

particularly attractive destination 

for the first major departmental 

excursion: scarcely 

a writer of classical Roman 

literature who did not leave 

some memory of the region 

behind. 

FroM PeriLs oF LoVe to 

MAtriCide 

Ecquid tE mEdiis cEssan- 

tEm, cynthia, Baiis, 

qua iacEt hErculEs sE- 

mita litoriBus? 

do you tHinK oF Me, Cyn- 

tHiA, reLAxinG in bAiAe, 

WHere HerCuLes’ PAtH 

stretCHes ALonG tHe 

sHore? 

Propertius, Elegies 

Thus Pliny was on Cape Mise- 

num. Cicero and Caesar before 

him holidayed in the coastal 

resort of Baiae, the playground 

of the rich, criticized 

for its ostentatious luxury by 

the philosopher Seneca. Here 

the poet Propertius feared 

his beloved might fall prey 

to amorous adventure; here, 

too, Nero murdered his mo- 

ther, Agrippina – a story told 

by Tacitus who, along with his 

fellow historian Suetonius, also 

reports the bizarre goingson 

at the Emperor Tiberius’ 

summer place on Capri. Virgil 

has his hero Aeneas land at 

Cumae where, after inquiring 

of the sibyl, he descended into 

the underworld. He himself 

lived many years in Naples 

and was buried there. Naples 

is also the birthplace of the 

poet Statius, who describes 

not only the new highway to 

the Gulf built by the Emperor 

Domitian, but also a villa near 

Sorrento whose remains are 

still visible today. 

mantua mE gEnuit, cala- 

Bri rapuErE, tEnEt nunc 

parthEnopE; cEcini pas- 

cua, rura, ducEs. 

MAntuA bore Me, CALA- 

briA tore Me AWAy, nAP- 

Les noW HoLds Me. 

i sAnG oF sHePHerds, 

Heroes, rurAL WAys. 

Inscription on Virgil’s grave 

But that is not all. The UW 

classicists saw again and 

again why classical philology 

comprises both Latin and 

Greek. Naples (nea polis = 

new town) was founded by 

the Greeks, and the Greek colonies 

in Ischia and Cumae are 

older still. From here the Romans 

drew their (and our) alphabet. 

Paestum, some three 

hours by bus from Naples, 

has impressive Greek temples, 

and a little further on lies 

Velia (the ancient Elea), where 

Parmenides laid the foundations 

of western metaphysics. 

What drew the wealthy 

Romans and their poets to 

the Gulf of Naples, therefore, 

was also the proximity 

of Greek culture. Right into 

the Common Era the region 

was bilingual, and here in 

Naples, Sorrentum and Baiae, 

in Capri and around Vesuvius, 

the tales of the great writers 

of antiquity are set. 

hic vEr adsiduum atquE 

aliEnis mEnsiBus aEs- 

tas, Bis gravidaE pEcu- 

dEs, Bis pomis utilis ar- 

Bos. 

Here sPrinG endures, 

suMMer is seVerAL 

MontHs LonG, tWiCe tHe 

CAttLe GiVe birtH And 

tWiCe tHe tree Fruits. 

Virgil, Georgics 

our last stop – and now we 

are on our way home – is the 

village of Andes on the River 

Mincio. Here, within sight of 

Mantua, the poet Virgil was 

born. A stone on which he is 

said to have sat has, we are 

told, been removed to the 

museum. But a man on horse- 

back shows us the exact 

place on the dike where it, he 

assures us, once stood – but 

what a long way to come, he 

observes in wonderment (or 

admiration), to see a stone! 

Yet to have experienced the 

broad and fruitful plains of 

Lombardy where the poet 

was born, and the Gulf of 

Naples, unique in geography 

and history, where he spent 

his creative life, will surely 

provide new insight into his 

work, as well as a rich background 

against which the future 

teacher will be able to 

communicate it. 

Prof. Dr. Stefan Freund 

Faculty of Humanities 

Department of Classical Philology 

– Latin 

Tel. +49 (0)202 439-3215, 

-3217 

E-mail freund@uni-wuppertal.de 

k www.fba.uni-wuppertal. 

de/latein/ 

37

38 

Developing perspeCtives – the role of the 

Central stUDent aDvisory anD CoUnseling serviCe 

The university lands- 

cape is growing more 

complex by the day, and pro- 

fessional guidance through 

the information jungle is more 

than ever necessary. From 

initial orientation to onward 

guidance – for instance at the 

bachelor-master threshold 

– UW’s Student Counseling 

Service will give you a knowledgeable 

answer. “How is 

UW preparing for the double 

student intake in the next 

couple of years?” “Are my 

grades good enough for a 

degree program?” “Should 

I apply straight away for a 

master’s program?” Such 

questions as these confront 

us every day. online degree 

program application and organization 

speeds up many 

processes, but – especially 

in view of the range and variety 

of programs increasingly 

on offer – reliable personal 

advice from someone who 

knows their way around remains 

indispensable. This 

goes not only for students 

of all semesters but also for 

school students and – with 

increasing frequency – their 

parents, too. 

orientAtion 

And PsyCHo- 

LoGiCAL suPPort 

The Information Center’s 

trained student advisors provide 

initial information, and 

you will also find a range of 

flyers there, for example on 

UW’s currently more than 30 

master’s programs. 

If questions remain or problems 

arise, you should turn to 

one of our professional student 

counselors. A recurrent 

issue, for instance, is first-semester 

shock: the realization, 

a few weeks into your course, 

that you have to take responsibility 

for your own work 

and progress. This generally 

expresses itself in a vague 

feeling that you have chosen 

the wrong subject(s), or that 

you are over- or under-stretched. 

other frequent topics 

are questions about the various 

program steps and their 

order, or about changing subjects, 

as welll as problems of 

self-organization, or psychological 

problems such as examination 

nerves. The Student 

Counseling Service’s psychological 

counselors will provide 

professional support with 

personal problems, whether 

these are concerned with the 

university or with the broader 

life situation. 

trAininG oFFers 

FroM tHe student 

CounseLinG serViCe 

Seminars such as ‘Learning 

and Work Techniques’, ‘Writing 

Assignments’, or ‘Coping 

with Exam Nerves’ can provide 

useful tips for progress 

in your studies. As you come 

up to graduation, the Student 

Counseling Service also offers 

individually tailored career 

threshold coaching. 

GoinG AbroAd 

In cooperation with UW’s In- 

ternational office the Student 

Counseling Service offers in- 

tercultural counseling for stu- 

dents both coming from and 

going to universities abroad. 

Dr. Christine Hummel 

Central Student Advisory and 

Counseling Service 

Tel. +49 (0)202 439-2595 

E-mail zsb@uni-wuppertal.de 

opening hours 

Mon-Thurs 9:00-16:00, 

Fri 9:00-14:00 



39

40 

all-roUnD sUpport 

As a responsible edu- 

cational institution, UW 

is concerned to support its 

students in every aspect of 

their career. one of these is 

finance. Numerous sources 

of scholarships and funding 

are available for young people 

at university, on the threshold 

of their career, or engaged in 

research. The Student Counseling 

Service advises students 

throughout their time at 

university, with the Careers 

Service focusing especially 

on the step from graduation 

to professional life. UW’s 

start-up initiatives bizeps and 

beFIT offer seminars for prospective 

young entrepreneurs, 

and the Center for Graduate 

Studies provides all-round 

support for postgraduates 

pursuing a doctorate. 

FinAnCinG your studies 

Financing a university degree 

is a major challenge for many 

students and their families. 

It includes living costs, semester 

fees, books and other 

course materials. But financial 

aspects should not deter you 

from studying. A wide range 

of grants and financial assistance 

is available for university 

students, including Federal 

Education Assistance Act 

(BAföG) funding, final year 

loans, general assistance 

funds, bank credits (German 

Reconstruction Bank KfW, 

NRW Bank, or other). At UW 

the Hochschul-Sozialwerk 

(University Social Services) 

provides information and advice 

in this area tailored to the 

individual requirements of the 

student. 

kwww.hsw.uni-wuppertal. 

de k Studienfinanzierung 

GrAnts And 

sCHoLArsHiPs 

dEutschlandstipEndium 

Amounting to €300 per 

month, this scholarship for 

especially talented students 

depends for its availability on 

industrial and other sponsors, 

as it is funded on a 50/50 basis 

by the federal government 

together with private sources. 

univErsity of WuppEr- 

tal foundation 

Launched in 2009, the Uni- 

versity of Wuppertal Found- 

ation offers a limited number 

of scholarships for talented 

students from low-income 

backgrounds. It aims to provide 

ten scholarships of €300 

per month in 2011-2012. 

kwww.uni-wuppertal.de/ 

studium/stipendien 

studEnt funding fair 

Every winter semester UW’s 

Student Union AStA runs a 

Student Funding Fair, with 

information and advice on all 

aspects of financing your studies, 

especially scholarships 

and grants. 

kwww.asta.uni-wuppertal. 

de 

Whatever your project, 

and whether you are 

going for an academic career 

or see your doctorate as a 

springboard to a profession 

outside university, you will 

find practical advice and support 

at UW’s Center for Graduate 

Studies for every phase 

of your postgraduate career. 

FroM initiAL ideA to 

FinAL exAMinAtion 

Backing of this sort is neces- 

sary, because when you start 

you will generally only have 

a subject to write on and the 

will to go through with it. How 

to tackle your project, how to 

use your time most profitably 

in order to achieve your career 

goal – that is often not 

so clear. CGS Manager Dr. 

CGS Welcome Night. The CGS provides all-round back-up tailored to the needs of international doctoral students and 

postdocs, including workshops and excursions, short-term grants, and cross-faculty tutoring funded within the framework 

of the German Academic Exchange Service’s STIBET program. 

taking yoUr DoCtorate toDay – 

the Center for graDUate stUDies (Cgs) 

Janine Hauthal comments: 

“Taking a doctorate today 

means using the period of research 

efficiently to gain qualifications 

that will bring you 

closer to your ultimate goal, 

whether this is a career at university 

or in the world of business 

and the professions.” 

ACAdeMiC And soCiAL 

CoMPetenCe 

The CGS offers seminars 

tailored to the requirements 

of doctoral students, providing 

support not only in the 

do’s and don’ts of writing a 

thesis but also in numerous 

other aspects of academic 

work. Workshops run in conjunction 

with UW’s Center for 

Continuing Education communicate 

key skills and quali- 

fications for starting a professional 

career. 

The CGS’s interdisciplinary 

working groups provide a valuable 

broadening of perspective 

for individual research 

activities and promote postgraduate 

networking. 

GrAnts And orGAni- 

ZAtionAL suPPort 

Doctoral students can apply 

for a travel grant for conferences, 

whether in Germany or 

abroad. Grants and organizational 

support are also available 

for those who seek to organize 

their own methodological 

workshops or postgraduate 

conferences. 

Dr. Janine Hauthal 

Center for Graduate Studies 

Tel. +49 (0)202 439-2702 

E-mail zgs@uni-wuppertal.de 

k www.zgs.uniwuppertal.de 


41

42 

Two generations of combined heat and power know-how at WSW: Volker 

Leonhard, Head of Energy Production, graduated in mechanical engineering 

from UW. His colleague Damian Seget recently completed a BSc in electrical 

engineering. 

WanteD by WUppertal mUniCipal Utilities: 

engineers maDe in WUppertal 

Many specialists em- 

ployed in the enginee- 

ring and technical divisions of 

Wuppertal Municipal Utilities 

(WSW) studied in Wuppertal. 

The knowledge and knowhow 

they gained at UW provided 

a solid foundation for 

their professional success. 

Ingmar Hentsch graduated 

from UW in 1999 as an electrical 

engineer specializing in 

drive control. After initial employment 

in the R&D department 

of an automotive industries 

supplier, he applied in 

2006 for the position of Head 

of the Meter Checking office 

at WSW. “Personal qualities 

and teamwork were required”, 

Hentsch recalls, and he 

mentions the supplementary 

training he had to do to qualify 

as a certified controller. “Important 

for me is the ability 

to analyze and solve complex 

problems. I need that every 

day”, he says – and that was 

also something he learned at 

UW. 

Volker Leonhard, Head of 

Energy Production at WSW, 

studied mechanical engineering 

at UW, graduating in 

1981. “It gave us an excellent 

theoretical basis”, he remembers. 

Asked what he likes 

about his job, he singles out 

the fact that “as a manager 

I am still very close to technological 

issues.” Damian 

Seget’s career has also 

brought an interesting combination 

of theory and practice. 

Until recently a trainee electrician 

at WSW’s combined 

heat and power generation 

plant in Barmen, he had already 

spent several years with 

his present employer before 

taking his BSc at UW in 2009. 

“University was certainly a 

sensible step”, he says. With 

a degree he has many more 

opportunities to apply for higher 

positions. 

As a civil engineer, Volker 

Berges is responsible for 

the coordination of construction 

activities in Wuppertal’s 

electrical power, gas, and 

water supply networks, and 

in the waste water system. 

Dr.-Ing. Christian Kindinger (Civil Engineering), Head 

of Transportation Management at WSW, values his 

contacts with UW. 

Although his main focus at 

degree level was structural 

engineering, his first job after 

graduation in 1986 was with 

a road construction company. 

This was followed by a period 

of general civil engineering 

before he moved to WSW in 

2002. “As a construction manager 

one needs not only specialist 

engineering knowledge 

but also communicative competencies 

and knowledge of 

people,” says Berges. “And 

one only learns that on the 

job.” Nevertheless, he would 

not want to have missed his 

years at UW: “The teaching 

offer there was very broad. In 

the end you may only need a 

fraction of what you learn, but 

you never know beforehand 

Dipl.-Ing. Ludwig Froning (Civil Engineering) came to Wuppertal 

Dipl.-Ing. Ingmar Hentsch is passionate about electrical engineering. As Head of 

to study at UW’s Competence Center for Traffic and Transpor- 

the Meter Checking office he is keen to pass on his knowledge to the younger 

tation generation of engineers. 

02 

which fraction it will be.” 

Civil engineers Christian Kin- 

dinger and Ludwig Froning 

work in an entirely different 

area: municipal transportation. 

Majoring at UW’s Competence 

Center for Traffic 

and Transportation was, Froning 

says, the key to his career: 

“UW’s specialty in this 

field decided me to study in 

Wuppertal.” Graduating in 

1996, he spent five years in 

transportation and road planning 

before moving to WSW, 

where he is now responsible 

for planning bus and Schwebebahn 

(Wuppertal’s unique 

suspension monorail) services, 

and for the bus transport 

infrastructure. Kindinger, 

although a native of Wuppertal, 

admits that the Schwebebahn 

was not the reason for 

him to study engineering: “In 

early semesters I was fasci- 

nated by Alpine tunnel construction 

and saw myself rather 

as an underground engineer.” 

But after an internship with 

WSW he started as a trainee 

in 2003, working his way up 

into his present position as 

Head of Transportation Management, 

where he is, after 

all, also responsible for the 

Schwebebahn. Maintaining 

his links to UW, he completed 

his doctorate there in 2010. 

Carolin Schürmann and An- 

dreas Zafiratos are studying 

electrical engineering on 

UW’s new twin-track program, 

which means that 

alongside their degree program 

they have been employed 

in a perfectly normal way 

since fall 2010 as apprentice 

electronic systems technicians 

at WSW’s Technical operations 

Department. Far from 

scaring them off, the double 

workload is what appeals to 

them: “Employers expect 

university graduates to have 

practical experience, and our 

apprentice training gives us 

plenty of that.” And, they 

add, “if in the end we don’t 

manage the degree, we still 

have our trade qualification.” 

After two years’ training at 

WSW they will take their 

Chamber of Industry and 

Commerce exams. They are 

then granted an extra year to 

complete their bachelor’s degree, 

making four years in all. 

Wuppertal Municipal 

utilities – WsW 

Bromberger Strasse 39–41 


T: +49 (0)202 569-0 

E: wsw@wsw-online.de 

k www.wsw-online.de 

43

44 

Digital fUtUres 

‘Print Goes MediA’ 

is tHe CAtCHWord 

oF uW’s neW MediA LAb 

UW’s MediaLab is dedicated 

to the development of current 

and future applications for 

an increasingly digital world. 

E-publishing, 3D animation, 

augmented reality – these are 

only three of the many topics 

at the focus of interest for 

students of print and media 

technology. The sector has 

changed considerably, and 

career profiles and course 

content have changed with 

it. UW’s new MediaLab gives 

you the opportunity to transform 

what you have learned 

directly into practice. 

The MediaLab is at the same 

time a research center. In 

collaboration with hardware 

and software manufacturers, 

media enterprises and other 

research institutes, our sci- 

entists are working on futureoriented 

applications such as 

IPTV (Internet Protocol TV), 

augmented reality, and multichannel 

publishing, as well as 

evaluating various production 

concepts and competitive 

strategies. 

Prof. Dr. Heinz-Reiner Treichel 

Martina Schneider 

School of Printing and 

Media Engineering 

E-mail martina.schneider@uni-wuppertal.de 

Inside the Freudenberg Campus MediaLab. 

sMArt WorK in 

tHe ibM truCK 

It’s 7 a.m. at UW’s Freudenberg 

Campus when the 

17m long IBM truck draws 

up outside the lecture hall 

center – 36 tons of stateof-the-art 

ICT equipment, 

a mobile confer-ence center 

for mobile technologies. 

UW’s ICT experts join IBM 

staff and representatives of 

NRW’s ICT Cluster Management 

team to discuss the 

shape of tomorrow’s working 

world. 

‘Smart work’ is the motto for 

the latest trends, visions and 

innovations in mobile knowledge 

and networked working: 

the use of Web 2.0 for 

project work, learning computer 

systems, augmented 

reality, and simulation. UW 

students have also developed 

a smart ’campus app’ for the 

Freudenberg Campus, provi- 

ding marker-based positioning 

via smartphone. 

Monika Gatzke 

ICT Cluster Management 

School of Printing and 

Media Engineering 

E-mail gatzke@uniwuppertal.de 

kwww.fbe.uni-wuppertal.de 

kDruck- und 

Medientechnologie 

At_A_GLANCE 

MAster’s dAy / 

studies dAy 

Lectures and information 

stands presented UW’s 33 

master’s programs at the 

university’s first Master’s 

Day on May 25, 2011 – an 

opportunity for undergraduates 

to learn about the transition 

from bachelor’s to 

master’s programs. It was 

also Studies Day, when 

students and faculty join 

forces to discuss the current 

quality development of 

teaching and study. 

kwww.qsl.uniwuppertal.de 

kwww.zsb.uni-wuppertal. 

de 

teACHer trAininG – 

CooPerAtion WitH 

PostGrAduAte 

teACHer trAininG 

seMinArs 

The new NRW law on 

teacher training prescribes 

a teaching practice semester 

in regional schools during 

the master’s program. 

Subject working groups 

from UW are cooperating 

with postgraduate teacher 

training seminars in Düsseldorf, 

Mönchengladbach, 

Neuss and Solingen in the 

development of concepts 

for this period. 

kwww.isl.uni-wuppertal.de 

uW industriAL 

desiGners reCeiVe 

Cebit AWArd 

Two UW industrial design 

graduates were singled out 

for their degree thesis projects 

at this year’s CeBIT 

(Center for office and Information 

Technology) trade 

fair in Hanover. The jury, 

chaired by Prof. Wolfgang 

Sattler of Weimar’s Bauhaus 

University, honored 

Patrick Bliss and Christian 

Wiciok with the Universal 

Design Award for their 

forward-looking designs in 

the leisure and lifestyle category.kwww.uwid.uni-wuppertal.de 

Print And MediA 

AWArd 2010 – FAbiAn 

junGe noMinAted 

‘student oF tHe yeAr’ 

For the second time in 

three years a graduate of 

UW’s master’s program in 

printing and media engineering 

has been elected ‘Student 

of the Year’. Fabian 

Junge (27) came top of his 

category in the sixth annual 

ranking of individuals and 

companies by the Hamburg 

magazine Druck&Medien 

(Printing and Media). 

kwww.druck-medien.net/ 

awards/ 

neW Honors For 

uW’s siFe teAM 

The international organization 

Students in Free Enterprise 

(SIFE) has once again 

selected students from 

UW’s Department of Entrepreneurship 

and Economic 

Development for an award 

– this time the Final Round 

Award in the SIFE National 

Competition 2011. The 

team’s project was titled 

’LED it glow’. Their departmental 

advisor, Christiane 

Blank, received the Best 

National University Advisor 

Award. 

kwww.sife-wuppertal.de 

soLAr House 

redediCAted 

The innovative Solar Decathlon 

House developed by 

an interdisciplinary team of 

40 UW students that took 

sixth place in the Solar 

Decathlon Europe 2010 is 

currently being lived in and 

tested in a research and 

teaching project. A solarpowered 

positive energy 

building whose surplus 

electricity is fed back into 

the grid, the house was 

designed to meet future 

sustainable dwelling requirements. 

It now stands 

at Harald Leipnitz Str. 23, 

Wuppertal. 

kwww.sdeurope.uni-wuppertal.de 


45

46 

03_ 

UW_RESEARCH 

47

48 

These are the goals of 

the energy and climate 

change package agreed by European 

government leaders 

in December 2008. The tragic 

events of Fukushima and 

the ensuing debate on ending 

reliance on nuclear-powered 

energy have raised the profile 

of renewable energies still 

further in German public awareness. 

Already in the 1970s the Club 

of Rome underlined the finite 

nature of energy resources 

less greenhoUse gas 

greater energy effiCienCy 

energy from reneWable 

soUrCes by 2020 

and the grave consequences 

of pursuing current rates of 

extraction. UW researchers 

have also been engaged in 

this field since the 1970s, 

investigating the impact of 

modern society on the natural 

environment. In recent 

years their research has increasingly 

focused on alternative 

energy sources and 

enhancing energy efficiency. 

tHe enVironMent 

Atmospheric research 

has been a key interest of UW 

scientists for more than 30 

years. Concentrating on physical 

and chemical processes 

in the atmosphere, it has contributed 

not only to progress 

in fundamental research but 

also to the development of 

materials and processes that 

will diminish the detrimental 

effects of human action on 

our environment. 

resourCinG, 

storinG And 

distributinG enerGy 

UW scientists and engineers 

are seeking new organic 

methods of resourcing energy; 

they are developing innovative 

materials and processes, 

e.g. organic solar cells 

printed on foil; and they are 

investigating methods of storing 

electricity and thinking 

about intelligent distribution 

networks, the so-called smart 

grids that are necessary for a 

nationwide-and-further supply 

of energy from renewable 

sources. 

enerGy eFFiCienCy 

one cannot speak of 

an ‘energy turn’ without at 

the same time speaking of 

energy efficiency. There is no 

point in generating and supplying 

electricity that remains 

unused. So we are focusing 

on energy efficient materials 

and processes, for example 

organic LEDs (oLEDs). We 

are analyzing the scope of efficiency 

enhancement in different 

production processes, 

and considering the impact 

of these on the environment. 

We are also concerned with 

the development of ‘intelli- 

gent’ zero and positive energy 

buildings and the optimization 

of construction processes 

neW enerGies in tHe 

reGionAL eConoMy 

Water power has been used 

in the Bergisch Land for more 

than 400 years, initially to 

drive grindstones for the toolmaking 

and cutlery industries. 

Now it can be used to 

generate electricity. But water 

is only one among many 

possible sources of renewable 

energy: solar, geothermal, 

wind and biomass energy 

can all contribute to the 

region’s power and heating 

requirements. UW hosted 

the first ‘100% Renewable’ 

congress at its Freudenberg 

Campus in July 2011. 

kwww.transfer.uni-wuppertal.de 

kInformationen für Unternehmen 

kUmweltforum 


49

50 

Polymer pellets – basis of new energy-saving technologies. 

neW solar Cells – organiC anD fine as Cling-film 

one-P (organic Nano- 

materials for Electronics 

and Photonics) is the name 

of a new research project at 

UW. Funded by the EU, 28 

partner institutions from 11 

European countries are cooperating 

in the development 

of innovative high-performance 

organic materials, and 

in the market launch of electronic 

components incorporating 

them. 

organic light sources are al- 

ready being used in everyday 

electronic devices like cell 

phones, MP3 players, electric 

razors, and even the first 

TVs equipped with organic 

light-emitting diode (oLED) 

displays. UW’s current pro- 

ject has been working on the 

production of solar cells from 

similar organic materials. 

These will have the advantage 

over conventional inorganic 

silicon-based cells of 

being as flexible and thin as 

cling-film. So they will be cheaper, 

lighter, and more versatile, 

as well as beneficial to 

the environment. Selection of 

suitable organic materials will 

lower the ecological footprint 

of production processes, as 

well as facilitating disposal 

and recycling. 

orGAniC seMiConduCtors 

MAde 

in WuPPertAL 

The new materials are being 

developed by macromolecular 

chemists at UW’s Institute 

of Polymer Technology. The 

production of these plastics, 

consisting of long molecular 

carbon chains, begins with 

the synthesis of their smallest 

components, the monomers. 

Careful selection and integration 

of monomers in the 

molecular chain enables UW 

chemists to influence the properties 

of the plastic to meet 

the requirements of a variety 

of applications. 

teAMWorK soLutions 

For tHe Future 

From Wuppertal the semiconductors 

are handed on to 

our partners in physics and 

electrical engineering – e.g. 

the Interuniversity Microelectronics 

Centre (IMEC) 

in Louvain (Belgium), one of 

Europe’s biggest nano- and 

micro-electronic research 

centers, or the University of 

Cambridge’s Cavendish Laboratory 

– who test the materials 

for their suitability in specific 

applications like LEDs or 

solar cells. Using the results 

of these tests, UW chemists 

can then modify their materials. 

Close cooperation in the 

exchange of ideas and results 

is essential for the success 

of the project, which involves 

specialists in organic electronics 

from fifteen universities, 

five research centers and 

eight leading corporations. 

soLAr CeLLs by tHe 

Meter 

The flexibility of these new 

semiconductor plastics allows 

them to be produced 

in rolls, which is not only an 

inexpensive way of manufacturing 

large area modules on 

flexible substrates, but is also 

environmentally friendly. Less 

energy and significantly less 

material is needed for the production 

of electronic components 

in this way than is the 

case with conventional high 

temperature technologies. 

Prof. Dr. Ullrich Scherf 

Dr. Sybille Allard 

Faculty of Mathematics 



Technology 

Tel: +49 (0)202 439-3871 

kwww.makro.uni- 

wuppertal.de 

03 

51

52 

energy from Water 

Hydro-energy has been 

used for thousands of 

years. Already in the third 

century BCE the Greeks had 

developed bucket wheels for 

lifting water, and a little later 

the Romans built the first water-powered 

mills. This technology 

was further developed 

and used right up to the 

Industrial Revolution to drive 

flourmills, sawmills and heavy 

forging hammers. Today water 

remains a sustainable and 

reliable source of energy, and 

UW’s Department of Water 

Management and Engineering 

is concerned among other 

things with the production 

and storage of energy in hydroelectric 

power systems. 

tHe ideAL sCenArio – 

HeAVy rAinFALL, 

steeP HiLLs 

Although Germany – apart 

from the Alps and the Cen- 

tral German Uplands – is relatively 

flat, its hydro-energy 

potential should not be underestimated. 

Even a comparatively 

small river like the Ruhr 

has a potential of more than 

300 million kWh per year, 

enough for some 100,000 

households. About 150 medium-sized 

wind turbines 

would be needed to produce 

the same amount of energy. 

But it is not a question of either/ 

or. The potential of this regenerative, 

low carbon footprint 

technology in Germany can 

be raised, but only within limits, 

given the topographical 

and hydrological structure of 

the country, as well as its high 

population density. The issue 

is rather of creating a meaningful, 

minimally invasive 

technological mix with other 

renewable forms of energy. 

Water power can make 

an important contribution to 

covering basic demand, an 

area in which solar and wind 

energies, with their fluctuating 

output, are inevitably deficient. 

it’s siMPLy A MAtter 

oF PotentiAL enerGy 

When water flows through a 

turbine to drive a generator, 

its potential energy is converted 

into electricity, and the 

amount of energy generated 

depends on the volume of 

water and the height through 

which it falls. It follows that 

heavy rainfall areas with large 

height differences – in 

Germany above all the Alps, 

but also the Central German 

Uplands – are ideal for hydroelectric 

plant. Thus a 100MW 

plant on the Upper Rhine, 

for instance at Rheinfelden, 

can, with a drop of only 10 m, 

generate 600 million kWh a 

year – enough for 150- 

200,000 households. 

ProteCtinG GLobAL 

nAture 

Even though hydro-energy is 

particularly valued for its sustainable, 

regenerative qualities 

and low carbon footprint, 

the construction of hydroelectric 

plant involves considerable 

disruption of nature. This is 

not a new insight, but it has 

resulted in a relative neglect 

of the contribution of water 

to the energy mix, not only in 

Germany but also throughout 

large parts of Europe. And the 

global impact on population, 

climate and nature of exploiting 

other energy sources has 

at the same time been long 

underestimated. This is especially 

true of non-fossil technologies 

such as geothermal, 

wind-powered, photovoltaic, 

and bio-fueled power generation 

– above all when the 

environmental disruption is 

far removed in space or time 

from the use of the energy associated 

with it, as in the production 

of bioethanol in Brazil. 

Current opinion in Germany 

is that no technology leaves 

the landscape and natural 

environment untouched. It is, 

then, a matter of finding the 

right balance, and this is by no 

means easy, given the global 

nature of the issues involved. 

Protection of the climate and 

environment is no longer viewed 

as a purely local responsibility. 

In order to calculate 

its total environmental impact 

(including the hidden ‘ecological 

rucksack’) the entire 

global chain of a technology, 

from the extraction and transport 

of raw materials, through 

exploitation, to disposal or 

recycling has to be taken into 

account. 

CArbon-neutrAL, sAFe 

And reGenerAtiVe 

Against this background, 

water power has a lot going 

for it. UW engineers are convinced 

that future hydroelectric 

plant will not produce the 

type of disruption that was 

tolerated in the past. But it 

is still necessary to proceed 

cautiously. The first prerequisite 

is to rejuvenate, optimize 

and extend existing 

plant. Technological updating 

can enhance output whilst at 

the same time improving the 

hydro-ecological profile of a 

system. 

eLeCtriCity stored in 

WAter 

A further advantage of hydroelectric 

systems is that 

the electricity they generate 

can also to a great extent be 

stored, simply by pumping 

water back up to the resevoir. 

Although this requires more 

energy than is produced by 

the fall of water, modern 

technology can achieve efficiencies 

of up to 80%. Moreover, 

the technology is ecologically 

acceptable, effective 

and (in comparison with other 

storage methods) inexpensive. 

The downside is the relatively 

large areas taken up 

by the resevoirs themselves, 

and this raises a central question: 

How much landscape 

can and will society designate 

for such purposes? 

Future options for generating 

and storing energy have 

not yet been fully evaluated. 

Hydroelectric power and storage 

systems are currently 

being discussed alongside 

the production of biofuel 

from cereals, and wind-powered 

production of hydrogen 

from methane. In contrast to 

the general favoring of Norway 

and the Alps as sites 

for hydroelectric generation 

and storage, UW engineers 

are investigating domestic 

German potential and at the 

same time pushing for a revaluation 

of electricity storage 

technology, which would obviate 

the need for transportation 

of electricity over vast 

distances. 

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Andreas 

Schlenkhoff 

Water Management 

and Engineering 

Tel. +49 (0)202439-4234 

E-mail schlenkh@ 


k www.hydro.uniwuppertal.de 


53

54 

improving energy effiCienCy 

on ConstrUCtion sites 

With around 705,000 

employees and an investment 

of some €212 billion 

in 2009, Germany’s construction 

industry plays a major 

role in the nation’s economy. 

Its carbon footprint and use 

of resources are correspondingly 

high. But choice of 

building materials and energy 

consumption are both closely 

linked to costs. Paradoxically, 

the care taken nowadays in 

designing environmentally 

sustainable, energy-efficient 

buildings is not reflected in 

the construction process itself, 

which is often marked 

by a casual attitude to energy 

resources, ranging from 

faulty logistics involving extra 

journeys, through old, ener- 

gy-inefficient machinery, to 

construction site lighting that 

is left on all night. Management 

and employees seem 

not to think of reducing fuel 

consumption or emissions 

(and their associated costs), 

although environmentally appropriate 

behavior could produce 

enormous savings for 

their companies. 

UW’s Interdisciplinary Center 

for Technical Process Management 

is currently engaged 

on a research project for 

the German Environmental 

Foundation to develop concepts 

tailored to the construction 

industry for the enhancement 

of energy efficiency 

on building sites. Titled “The 

Development of Concepts for 

the Enhancement of Energy 

Efficiency and the Reduction 

of Co Emissions on Cons- 

2 

truction Sites”, the project 

aims to investigate the plant, 

methods, and processes used 

in the industry from the point 

of view of energy consumption 

and carbon footprint, and 

to pinpoint organizational, 

technical, and HR-centered 

potentials for improvement 

and optimization. When the 

project is completed, construction 

companies will be provided 

with clear economic as 

well as ecological incentives 

to save natural resources and 

reduce carbon emissions. 

orGAniZAtionAL 

eFFiCienCy 

Good organization in both the 

preparatory and construction 

phase is the basis of efficient 

site management. Shortcomings 

tend to appear in 

the realization rather than the 

making of plans: for example, 

machinery of the right sort is 

not available in the right quantities, 

or materials and equipment 

are left behind at the 

site, causing additional journeys 

with extra fuel costs and 

wages. A particularly weak 

spot from the ecological point 

of view is unnecessary distances 

between suppliers (e.g. 

of prefabricated elements) 

and the construction site. 

teCHniCAL uPGrAdinG 

Technical improvements can 

often be made by selecting appropriate 

construction plant in 

appropriate quantities. Manufacturers 

of modern machinery 

are well aware of the im- 

portance of efficiency and the 

reduction of both fuel consumption 

and emissions: fuel 

savings of up to 50% and Co2 reductions of several million 

tons a year are considered 

realistic in terms of currently 

available technologies. What 

is lacking is acceptance of 

these by the market. A specific 

problem is the difficulty of 

comparing construction machinery 

performances, due 

on the one hand to incomplete 

information from manufacturers, 

and on the other to the 

lack of a generally accepted 

standard for determining the 

fuel consumption of construction 

plant. It is up to the 

relevant organizations and authorities 

to change this state 

of affairs. 

tAPPinG enerGy- 

sAVinG PotentiALs 

Informing and motivating con- 

struction workers across the 

entire spectrum of building site 

trades and professions is a 

major factor in lifting the ecological 

profile. However efficient 

a machine, the influence 

of the operator on fuel consumption 

and productivity increases 

with every new generation 

of equipment. 

A cross-European survey 

conducted by UW’s Center 

for Technical Process Management 

reveals a significant 

deficit in the awareness 

and exploitation of energy 

saving potentials in the construction 

industry. Although 

83% of respondents assumed 

that environmental and 

climatic factors would play an 

increasing role in future projects 

and commissions, this 

awareness was not reflected 

in knowledge of energy 

efficiency and Co emission 

2 

potentials on the building site. 

Approximately one third 

of those questioned could 

say nothing about the level of 

their energy costs at all. 


Technical Process Management 

Pauluskirchstr. 9 


Univ.-Prof. Dr.-Ing. Manfred 

Helmus 

Dipl.-Ing. Selcuk Nisancioglu 

Dipl.-Ing.(FH) Anne 

Christine Randel 

T: +49 (0)202 439-4191 

E: s.nisancioglu@ 


kwww.iz3.uni-wuppertal.de 


55

56 

CAST – passenger-flow simulation in the booking hall of Cologne main rail and local transport station. 

safety at big events 

Hundreds of thousands 

pour into the city of Cologne 

for the fireworks event 

of the year, the Kölner Lichter 

(Cologne Lights). Parking 

space is restricted in the city 

center, so many people use 

public transport: it’s safe, efficient, 

and kind to the environment. 

But what happens if 

the end of the event is greeted 

by a shower of hail? How – 

and how fast – will the train 

station fill up? Might the situation 

become critical? And, 

what is far more important, 

how can such situations be 

avoided or at least kept under 

control? 

VeRSiert – a joint research 

project of Rhineland Public 

Transport with the University 

of Wuppertal and five other 

partners from universities, 

municipal administrations, regional 

public transport providers, 

and R&D – aims to raise 

safety levels at large-scale 

events and improve networking 

between the organizations 

planning and managing 

them. 

Kölner Lichter is only one of 

many such events. Ranging 

from concerts and sports 

meetings to city, district, and 

other parties, they have grown 

significantly both in number 

and size in recent years, 

and with them has grown 

the number of organizations, 

agencies and individuals in- 

volved in planning and managing 

them – and consequently 

also the need for reliable 

information and networking. 

Safety requirements at and 

around the event have at the 

same time assumed entirely 

different dimensions of both 

scope and complexity. 

The partners in the VeRSiert 

project have spent three years 

investigating the planning 

and organization of largescale 

events, with particular 

reference to interdisciplinary 

cooperation, training requirements, 

and ITC back-up. Ways 

have been sought to improve 

communications before, during 

and after an event, and 

to ensure rapid response in 

critical situations. The results 

of the Cologne-based project 

are now ready to be transferred 

to other cities. 

ModeLs And MeAsureMents 

to deteCt 

dAnGer situAtions 

For more than a year, a videobased 

detection, measurement 

and evaluation system 

installed by the research team 

at Cologne’s main railway station 

has been working 24/7, 

providing data on human traffic 

flows. Analysis of this data 

enables Cologne City Transport 

to determine patterns of 

movement that can be used 

to optimize access to and 

from major events. 

A simulation model is used 

to enact various scenarios. 

The data allows predictions, 

for example, of crowd density 

at bus stops or in specific 

buildings, or of abnormal situations 

like sudden changes 

of speed and direction or 

blockages. If predetermined 

limits are exceeded, the system 

will give a warning enabling 

rapid intervention at the 

appropriate place and time. 

The subjective sense of secu- 

rity of the transport system’s 

passengers is a crucial element 

here, so UW’s Department 

of Product Safety and 

Quality Management developed 

a way of determining 

this that takes account of passenger 

densities. Continuous 

measurement allows early 

detection of critical situations 

and the deployment of countermeasures. 

onLine PortAL 

In the interests of efficient 

communication and exchange 

of information between the 

various organizations concerned 

with large-scale events, 

the research project set up 

an Internet portal carrying details 

of plans, procedures and 

duty schedules, as well as the 

contact details of all relevant 

players. other information 

available via this portal ranges 

from storm warnings to traffic 

announcements. 

instruCtions ViA 

CeLL-PHone 

To facilitate rapid and effici- 

ent broadcasting of important 

information, a special mobile 

service system was developed 

to provide visitors via 

their cell-phones with news, 

emergency warnings, and instructions 

– for example indicating 

evacuation routes – on 

behavior in an emergency. 

reCoGniZinG dAn- 

Ger And reACtinG 

APProPriAteLy 

Researchers from UW’s De- 

partment of Road Traffic Plan- 

ning and Engineering conduc- 

ted a nationwide survey of 

municipalities and transport 

enterprises focusing on the 

incorporation of safety measures 

at the planning stage 

of big events. The behavior 

of transport staff in critical 

situations is crucial. A safety 

training concept for staff was, 

therefore, developed and tested. 

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Jürgen Gerlach 

Road Traffic Planning 

and Engineering 

Tel. +49 (0)202/ 

439-4087oder -4088 

E-mail jgerlach@ 


kwww.traffic-transport.org 

kwww.svpt.de 

Prof. Dr.-Ing. habil. 

Petra Winzer 

Product Safety and Quality 

Management 

Tel. +49 (0)202/439-2060 

E-mail fgproqu@ 


kwww.fgproqu. 


Verkehrsverbund 

Rhein-Sieg GmbH 

Glockengasse 37-39 

50667 Cologne 

Tel. +49 (0)22120808-0 

E-mail info@vrsinfo.de 

kwww.nahverkehrrheinland.de 

kwww.versiert.info 


57

58 

ChilDren are oUr fUtUre 

In line with the theore- 

tical and analytic meth- 

ods of current childhood 

research, UW’s Research 

Center for Children in Society 

investigates such issues as 

how childhood is to be understood 

today, how children 

grow up, and what opportunities 

for development are open 

to them in their own environment 

and in our societies as a 

whole. The Center is concerned 

with the role children play 

as social agents in various 

societies, along with its legal 

and political consequences. 

CHiLdren need 

ProteCtion 

Too little is still known about 

childhood and early cultural 

and educational development. 

So Prof. Klaus Schäfer, 

Permanent Secretary at 

NRW’s Ministry of the Family, 

Children, Youth, Culture 

and Sports, sees UW’s Research 

Center as holding a 

unique position: “For political 

decisions we need facts and 

data about what actually goes 

on in childhood.” The current 

debate on the protection of 

children, he observes, shows 

that society needs to face 

up to these issues. He concludes: 

“Here the Wuppertal 

center can help.” 

CHiLdren need ACtiVe 

CoMMitMent 

UW’s Research Center aims 

to create a new platform for 

highly committed interdisciplinary 

research into childhood. 

The Center’s Management 

Board, Prof. Dr. Heinz Sünker 

(Department of Social 

Pedagogy and Politics), Prof. 

Dr. Charlotte Röhner (Department 

of Early Childhood and 

Primary School Pedagogy), 

and Dr. Gertrud oelerich (Department 

of Social Pedagogy), 

is guided by the need to do 

justice to the multiplicity and 

variety of childhood environments 

as well as theoretical 

positions. 

Prof. Dr. Heinz Sünker 

Research Center for Children 

in Society 

Tel. +49 (0)202-439-2295 

E-mail suenker@ 


kwww.sozpaed. 


neW thinking for neW learning 

The human being is a 

learning animal. We 

all learn intensively at the 

beginning of our lives. We 

find our feet, investigate our 

environment and practice 

fundamental techniques of 

grasping, walking, talking 

– of accessing and forming 

our world. Because the immediate 

environment cannot 

provide enough opportunity 

and stimulus for knowledge, 

educational institutions take 

over this function. However, 

long before the PISA international 

surveys we knew that 

teaching does not necessarily 

lead to learning. And that is 

where UW’s new research 

project Con@ct comes in. 

In our media-centered world, 

didactic models of learning have 

lost the leadership role, but 

what alternatives are there? 

Con@ct is investigating informal 

learning processes as yet 

rarely considered to qualify 

as didactic: creative organizations 

like Essen’s Unperfekthaus 

(Imperfect House) or 

Rakete (Rocket) in Wuppertal, 

which provide space for 

cultural and social activity and 

cooperation. The project aims 

to network such centers with 

university researchers and to 

inquire whether their goals 

and methods can be adopted 

to create a didactics and pedagogy 

for the future. 

These groups focus on the 

free and autonomous development 

of the individual, but 

their political aspect also consists 

in communal activity and 

commitment. The facilities 

they offer originate in, and are 

tailored to, the local community. 

Informal, self-motivated 

activity of this sort generates 

learning almost as a 

by-product, which virtually 

guarantees its vitality, and at 

the same time leads to democratic 

participation and social 

competence. Such concepts 

seem to harbor great potential 

for meeting, networking, 

mutual information, and the 

dissemination of knowledge, 

which will in many cases also 

generate economic success. 

Centers of this sort frequently 

offer co-working areas 

complete with infrastructure, 

where different organizations 

can operate in close spatial 

and spiritual proximity, sharing 

ideas as well as advice. 

The UW research network includes 

teams from Denmark, 

Sweden and the UK, as well 

as Germany. An Internet platform 

allows for discussion 

and refinement of project results. 

This has itself become 

a space of joint creativity, 

where projects can be planned, 

documented and published, 

ideas exchanged and 

discussed, and new forms of 

identity and involvement developed. 

Prof. Dr. Maria Anna 

Kreienbaum 

Katharina Knoll 

Faculty of Educational and 

Social Sciences 

(School Theory and General 

Didactics) 

Tel. +49 (0)202 439-2292 

E-mail kreienbaum@uni-wuppertal.de 

kwww.theorie-schule.uniwuppertal.de 

Kvater Huset in Copenhagen 


59

60 

Bolivian project partners (aji = chili) 

Chilies – researCh against poverty 

José Quispe is a chili 

farmer. He has 2 hectares 

of land on a steep slope 

of the Bolivian Andes near 

Colomi. He, his wife Teófila, 

and their four children live 

from the cultivation and sale 

of locotos, a variety of chili 

widespread in the Andes. In 

the past this always got them 

through the year, but now the 

crop brings in too little for 

them to survive. They lack 

basic necessities: cooking oil, 

clothes, medicine, and school 

materials for the children. 

Because of the sparseness 

of the population and the distance 

to local markets, the 

Andean chili farmers do not 

usually sell their produce directly 

but to local middlemen. 

These can dictate the price, 

because the supply is relatively 

uniform and the market 

depends on two factors: the 

size of the annual crop and local 

demand. 

That is generally the case not 

only in Bolivia, but also in Peru 

and along the upper Amazon. 

An international research 

project of the German Federal 

Ministry of Economic Cooperation 

and Development is 

currently dedicated to improving 

the situation of the chili 

farmers. 

soMe 1.4 biLLion PeoPLe 

LiVe todAy in extre- 

Me PoVerty: in soutH 

AMeriCA More tHAn 120 

MiLLion HAVe Less tHAn 

tWo doLLArs A dAy 

The uniformity of what the 

farmers offer stands in sharp 

contrast to the biological diversity 

of chilies in their original 

habitat. In the course of 

the past twenty years, seed 

banks have been established 

in Bolivia and Peru to maintain 

the gene pool, and these 

state-supported programs 

contain more than 900 different 

varieties of chili. But the 

biodiversity present in the gene 

banks is deceptive, as it is 

used first and foremost to provide 

farmers with seed types 

that increase the yield. This, 

however, is not the same 

as increasing the farmers’ income. 

on the contrary, market 

domination by a single 

type of chili brings down the 

price and with it the income 

of the producer. 

QuALity And diVer- 

sity As WeAPons 

AGAinst PoVerty 

Michael Petz, Professor of 

Food Chemistry at the University 

of Wuppertal, explains 

that “the biodiversity of chilies 

can be used to improve 

the farmers’ income in a sustainable 

way”. The research 

project aims to identify, 

among the great number held 

by the gene banks, some 30 

different varieties distinguishable 

for their aromatic, spicy, 

or health-giving qualities. The 

sustained cultivation of these 

premium varieties, along with 

the development of regional 

chili-based foodstuffs like 

jams, dips and spreads, will, 

it is hoped, lead to economic 

improvement for the Andean 

chili farmers. 

nAturAL Wonder- 

WorKers 

Like potatoes, tomatoes and 

tobacco, chilies belong to 

the solanum or nightshade 

family, which includes the 

capsicums, the only plants to 

produce the intensely piquant 

chemical capsaicin. This is 

secreted in the plant’s pods, 

which botanically speaking 

are berries. Capsaicin is 300 

times hotter than piperine, 

which is responsible for the 

spiciness of ordinary pepper. 

The various species of 

capsicum differ markedly in 

piquancy, ranging from zero 

in vegetable capsicums, 

through mild in sweet paprika, 

to the extremely hot 

chilies that yield the extracts 

used, for example, in rheumatic 

plasters. 

Chilies are also rich in vitamin 

C, carotenoids and 

plant phenols, antioxidants 

that function as free radical 

quenchers and are therefore 

valued – among other 

components of a high vegetable 

and fruit diet – for their 

preventive medicinal properties, 

especially with regard 

to cancer, cardiac and circulatory 

diseases, and arteriosclerosis. 

They are also 

thought to retard the aging 

process. 

Food CHeMistry 

in WuPPertAL 

The project is coordinated 

by Bioversity International, 

a global NGo dedicated to 

maintaining the genetic diversity 

of food plants and 

raising the income of small 

farmers in developing countries. 

The interdisciplinary 

team of researchers from 

Germany, Peru and Bolivia 

includes molecular biologists 

responsible for the 

genetic characterization and 

selection of plant types, agriculturalists 

concerned with 

the improvement of cultivation 

and processing methods, 

and economists whose 

task is to determine and 

enhance the scope of local 

and international markets. 

UW food chemists concentrate 

on determining the 

properties and constituents 

of various chili types, from 

color, aroma and piquancy to 

plant phenols and vitamin C. 

Aroma profiles are determined 

by a special testing group 

working in isolated cabins in a 

pure climate room. 

Prof. Dr. Michael Petz 



(Food Chemistry) 

Tel.: +49 (0)202 439-2783 

E-mail petz@uni-wuppertal.de 

k www.lebchem. 


Research project Unraveling 

the Potential of Neglected 

Crop Diversity for High-Value 

Product Differentiation and 

Income Generation for the 

Poor: The Case of Chili Pepper 

in its Center of origin. 

Source of funding: Federal 

Ministry of Economic Cooperation 

and Development 

Total funding: €1.2 million 

Time frame:2010-2013 

Coordination: Bioversity 

International 

kwww.bioversityinternational.org 

Do or die! UW Marketing Manager Katja Indorf takes a late bite at Remscheid 

Research Day 2010. 


61

62 

Dr. Werner jaCkstäDt Center for 

interDisCiplinary entrepreneUrship 

anD innovation researCh 

Flexible organic light-emitting diodes (oLEDs) on steel foil 


the energy revolUtion 

UW’s 9 Interdisciplina- 

ry Centers are dedica- 

ted to cross-faculty research 

into future topics and technologies. 

Among them is the Institute 

of Polymer Technology, 

whose newly constituted 

team is dedicated above all 

to alternative energy production 

and the development of 

energy-efficient light sources. 

But another aspect of the 

institute’s work is developing 

didactic methods that will 

readily convey innovative research 

of this sort to the coming 

generation of scientists. 

Two scientists from the Faculty 

of Electrical, Information 

and Media Engineering, Prof. 

Dr. Thomas Riedl (Electronic 

Components) and Prof. Dr.- 

Ing. Ulrich Jung (Printing 

Process Technologies), have 

recently joined the Institute’s 

team of seven chemists, electrical 

engineers, physicists 

and printing and media engineers, 

giving new impetus 

to current research into new 

materials and components, 

above all for applications in or- 

ganic and printed electronics. 

organic light-emitting diode 

(oLED) displays are already 

well established today, due to 

their low energy consumption, 

wide-angle emission, and 

rapid reaction and brilliance in 

the presentation of moving 

images. However, the ability 

to print these, as well as solar 

cells, on flexible materials 

opens fascinating new possibilities 

both in energy production 

and in lighting. Instead of 

an array of rigid roof-mounted 

panels, transparent solar foil 

covering an entire façade 

might be used in future to produce 

electricity, enhancing 

not only the energy factor but 

also the architectural profile 

of a building. And a new generation 

of oLEDs may one 

day provide us with windows 

that glow at night, using the 

energy of the sun that has 

shone through them during 

the day, or – even more futuristically 

– with TV screens 

integrated into the wallpaper. 

As a competence center in 

the field of functional printed 

materials, the Institute of 

Polymer Technology is fast 

establishing itself as a key 

partner for industry as well 

as academic institutions. It is 

already cooperating actively 

with Philips, Aixtron and the 

University of Cologne in the 

development of NRW’s Center 

for organic Production 

Technologies (CoPT), and is 

also closely engaged in the 

organic Electronics Forum of 

the Federal Ministry of Education 

and Research. 

Prof. Dr. Ullrich Scherf 




Technology 

Gauss Str. 20 

42119 Wuppertal / Germany 

Tel. +49 (0)202 439-3871 

kwww.ifp.uni-wuppertal.de 

Entrepreneurship has 

a long tradition in the 

Bergisch Land, home of the 

so-called hidden champions, 

medium-sized companies 

whose products have been 

successful for generations, 

not infrequently at the forefront 

of the global market. The 

list is long: firms like DuPont 

(paints division) or Delphi, the 

world’s biggest automotive 

supplier, Draka (heat resistant 

cables), Coroplast (industrial 

adhesive tapes) and the metal 

enhancement specialist 

Hühoco. 

Situated between Wuppertal 

and Cologne, the Bergisch 

Land is the center of the German 

automotive supply industry, 

but it has a lot more 

to offer – the world’s number 

one door hinge manufacturer 

is Edscha in Remscheid, 

the Sympatex brand comes 

from Wuppertal, as does the 

leading European supplier 

of woodchip paper, Erfurt. 

A number of health-related 

companies are also based in 

the area: Wuppertal’s Bayer 

Research Center is one of 

the biggest in the world, GE 

Healthcare, world leader in 

X-ray contrast agents, has its 

German HQ in Solingen, and 

Barmer Health Insurances 

has more general patients 

on its books than any other 

German provider. Knipex, 

Knirps, Schmersal, Vaillant, 

Vorwerk, Zwilling – the list 

of household names located 

in the Bergisch Triangle – the 

adjacent cities of Remscheid 

Solingen and Wuppertal – 

could be extended by at least 

25 more companies. 

Where, then, if not here, 

should a Center for Entrepreneurship 


Research be established? 

The Bergisch Land, cradle of 

German manufacturing and 

home to some of Europe’s 

earliest industries, has kept 

its innovative spirit alive right 

into the present. Honoring 

this spirit, the Dr. Werner 

Jackstädt Foundation has 

granted the center that bears 

its founder’s name €1.5 million 

over a period of five years 

to fund its research. 

Working closely together with 

regional enterprises, associations, 

and decision makers, 

the Dr. Werner Jackstädt 

Center will conduct research 

in four related areas: entrepreneurial 

aspects of business 

administration, regional 

and industrial economic 

contexts, entrepreneurship 

and innovation training, and 

business-directed politics. 

Research results from the 

entire economic and business 

spectrum of entrepreneurship 

and innovation will serve 

the future development of regional 

companies, politicians 

and society as a whole. 

Research Center Directors 

Prof. Dr. Werner Bönte 

(Industrial Economics 

and Innovation) 

Prof. Dr. Michael J. Fallgatter 

(HR Management 

and organization) 

Prof. Dr. Christine Volkmann 

(Entrepreneurship 

and Economic Development 

– UNESCo-Chair 

of Entrepreneurship and 

Intercultural Management) 

Prof. Dr. Peter Witt 

(Technology and Innovation 

Management) 

Prof. Dr. Christine Volkmann 

Faculty of Economics – 

Schumpeter School of 

Business and Economics 

Tel. +49 (0)202 439-3982 

E-mail volkmann@wiwi. 


kwww.wiwi.uniwuppertal.de 

63

64 

At_A_GLANCE 

‘reACtinG AtMos- 

PHere’ reseArCH 

netWorK 

Against a background of 

global climate and weather 

change that increasingly 

threatens the basis 

of human life, in particular 

of future generations, and 

whose main cause is seen 

to be anthropogenic greenhouse 

gases, the network 

aims to achieve a better 

understanding of the highly 

complex processes in the 

atmosphere and their many 

determining factors. Key 

atmospheric processes will 

be identified, interactions 

between existing political 

measures examined, and 

suggestions for improvements 

in a changing world 

developed. 

kwww.atmos.physik.uniwuppertal.de/reacting/reacting.html 

WorLd’s biGGest 

neutrino teLesCoPe 

After almost 6 years’ con- 

struction and a decade of 

preparation, the IceCube 

neutrino telescope at the 

South Pole is now ready for 

work. The world’s biggest 

particle detector consists 

of a cubic kilometer of ice 

within which an array of extremely 

sensitive light detectors 

is buried. Weighing 

many gigatons, the instrument 

captures the traces 

of neutrinos from outer 

space that can provide information 

about far distant 

galaxies. 

khttp://astro.uni-wuppertal.de 

reCord dAtA VoLuMe 

FroM LHC 

April 2011: after five 

months the Large Hadron 

Collider (LHC) at CERN, 

the European organization 

for Nuclear Research, near 

Geneva, has started work 

again, and the first weekend 

of the restart provided 

as much data as the entire 

previous year. on the night 

of April 21 a new world 

record for data volumes 

was established, beating 

the previous record, held 

by the Tevatron Collider at 

Fermilab, near Chicago, by 

some 20%. The figures refer 

to the number of proton 

collisions: the more collisions, 

the greater the volume 

of data produced. 

kwww.physik.uni-wuppertal.dekPhysics 

Research 

kParticle Physics 

kExperimental elementary/ 

Particle Physics 

neW HiGH 

FreQuenCy reCord 

A UW research group led 

by Prof. Dr. Ullrich Pfeiffer 

(High Frequency Systems 

in Communications Engineering) 

has set a new high 

frequency record. At the 

International Solid-State 

Circuits Conference in San 

Francisco the group presented 

a system using silicon 

germanium technology 

whose transmitters and receivers 

operate at 820 gigahertz. 

Previously only 160 

gigahertz was possible. 

The advantage of terahertz 

waves over conventional 

high energy radiation (e.g. 

X-rays) is that they do not 

attack biological tissue. 

kwww.ihct.uniwuppertal.de 

k www.dotfive.eu 

k www.ihp-microelectronics.com 

suCCessFuL 

MAiden FLiGHt 

Led by Prof. Dr. Ralf Koppmann, 

UW’s atmospheric 

physicists have developed 

the air sampler MIRAH 

(Measurement of Stable 

Isotope Ratios on HALo), 

which allows high volume 

air samples to be taken 

in the atmosphere. After 

stringent laboratory tests 

MIRAH has now successfully 

completed its first 

airborne mission on board 

the new German research 

aircraft HALo. 

kwww.atmos.physik.uniwuppertal.de 

x-rAys used to inVestiGAte 

tHe ProPerties 

oF MAteriALs 

The atomic structure of materials 

is of great interest to 

physics, chemistry, biology 

and nanotechnology, as 

well as to industry. High intensity 

X-rays filtered from 

synchrotron radiation can 

be used to shed light on the 

precise ordering of atoms 

in various materials. From 

this depends, for example, 

whether steel is hard or 

brittle, whether a surface 

corrodes, or whether a 

particular medicine works. 

Led by physicist Prof. Dr. 

Ronald Frahm, a UW research 

group is working 

jointly with the universities 

of Dortmund and Siegen 

to investigate the atomic 

structure of materials. 

the University of WUppertal 

researCh bUlletin 

… Presented in tHe Current issue: euroPeAn studies 

And reseArCH At uW. HistoriAns, PoLitiCAL sCientists 

And eConoMists CAst CritiCAL LiGHt on euroPe. 

research 

continues 

outPut 

no. 5 now 

available. 


65

66 

04_ 

UW_REGIoNAL 

67

68 

Regional technology and business clusters. 

in the region, for the region, With the region 

A university is good for 

a region. It trains the 

urgently needed managers 

and specialists for regional industries 

and enterprises and 

draws young people into the 

region. And a university is not 

only an educational institution 

and research partner, it is also 

one of the region’s biggest 

employers. 

A lively, innovative, economi- 

cally prosperous and geogra- 

phically attractive region is 

good for a university. It is re- 

garded as an interesting place 

to study and attracts potential 

students. It offers good 

prospects for graduates and 

promotes the development of 

education and research. 

City, region and university are 

closely interlinked and gain 

from each other in many different 

ways. 

reseArCH driVinG 

innoVAtion 

The Bergisch Regional Insti- 

tute of Product Development 

and Innovation Management 

is a joint foundation of the 

University of Wuppertal (UW) 

and regional industry for the 

development of innovative 

products; the Institute of 

Security Systems is a foundation 

devoted specifically 

to innovative product development 

for the lock and key 

industry centered on nearby 

Velbert-Heiligenhaus. Alongside 

classical fundamental 

research and the specific projects 

of individual faculties, 

UW conducts a great deal 

of research in tandem with 

regional enterprises. More 

than 250 professors assisted 

by some 800 other academic 

staff in the university’s faculties, 

research centers and institutes 

provide unique competencies 

on which local and 

regional organizations can 

call within the framework of 

their R&D projects. Especially 

for small and medium-sized 

enterprises the university offers 

excellent opportunities to 

access leading-edge scientific 

know-how for the solution 

of individual problems. 

reseArCH AreAs A to Z 

UW’s research ranges from 

astroparticle physics to zoology. 

of particular interest to 

the industrially focused economy 

of the Bergisch region 

are the science and engineering 

faculties. Whether 

it is a matter of enhancing 

the efficiency of materials, 

of occupational safety, traffic 

and transportation safety, or 

the development of systems, 

products and machines for 

the automotive, toolmaking 

and mechanical engineering 

industries, UW’s research 

covers many areas central to 

the regional economy. other 

special research focuses are 

on health systems, which – 

along with sport, movement 

and preventive medicine – are 

of particular relevance for regional 

health providers; and 

on entrepreneurship, innovation 

and economic change, 

which directly promote the 

economic wellbeing of the 

region. 

kwww.uni-wuppertal.de/forschung 

reseArCH FundinG Ad- 

ViCe For tHe AsKinG 

As well as being a multi-face- 

ted research partner, UW sup- 

ports companies in the quest 

for appropriate research funding 

and related applications. 

Projects geared to enhancing 

regional competitive ability 

and maintaining employment 

have a good chance of qualifying 

for the European Regional 

Development Fund’s 

“Ziel2” Program for the State 

of North Rhine-Westphalia 

(NRW). Another source of re- 

search funding is the Federal 

Ministry of Economics and 

Technology’s Central Innovation 

Program for Medium- 

Sized Industries (ZIM). UW’s 

expert in all questions of European, 

federal, or state funding, 

is Frank Jäger. Contact 

him to find out which program 

is best suited to your research 

project. 

kwww.ff.uni-wuppertal.de 

best PrACtiCe 

Cutting costs, conserving 

resources, protecting 

the environment, while 

at the same time improving 

quality: these are the 

challenges facing manufacturing 

industry today, and 

they call for R&D capacities 

that are often beyond the 

reach of medium-sized companies. 

Cooperation with UW 

can help many regional enterprises 

reach their goal. 

A good example of longterm 

collaboration between 

university-based research 

and regional industry is UW’s 

cooperation with the textile 

manufacturer Anton Cramer 

from Greven – a mediumsized 

enterprise producing 

cotton fabrics for clothing, duvets 

and mattress covers. 

An initial project, oxitex, was 

concerned with the develop- 

ment of an oxidation process 

for de-colorizing the water 

used for dyeing and printing 

textiles. The result enabled 

Cramer to significantly reduce 

water consumption and halve 

heat input. 

The current project, NEWtexINNo, 

seeks innovative enhancement 

methods for the 

development of new technical 

textiles. The project is funded 

by the Federal Ministry of 

Economics and Technology’s 

Central Innovation Program 

for Medium-Sized Industries 

(ZIM). 

Prof. Dr. Joachim M. 

Marzinkowski 

Tel. +49 (0)202 439- 

2497 / -3456 

E-mail marzinko@ 


kwww.uch.uni-wuppertal.de 


69

70 

Automobile cable network layout. Wuppertal houses the German HQ of the world’s biggest automotive supplier, Delphi, responsible for R&D in mobile infotainment 

and automotive safety, as well as all electrical and electronic systems. 

a Bergisch Car eduCAtinG AutoMotiVe 

Suspension technology 

from Vorwerk Autotec, 

mechatronic systems from 

Brose, navigation and communication 

by Delphi, cable harness 

from Coroplast, motors 

from AVL Schrick, and paint 

by Dupont – a complete list 

of automotive suppliers from 

the Bergisch region would 

run to almost 300 entries. 

Virtually everything needed 

for the production of a car is 

manufactured in the sister cities 

of Remscheid, Solingen 

and Wuppertal. 

Not many people realize that 

the so-called Bergisch Tri- 

angle is one of North Rhine- 

Westphalia’s major automotive 

suppliers. one could even 

build a car entirely with parts 

manufactured here: components 

that can be found in 

cars the world over. Almost 

16,000 people work in this 

sector, making automotive 

supply a central pillar of the 

regional economy. 

It is a sector characterized 

by intense competition, especially 

from countries with 

lower production costs. For 

regional enterprises this means 

ever shorter product and 

innovation cycles in order to 

keep the initiative in the face 

of global competition. UW is 

an essential partner in maintaining 

this competitive edge. 

tAiLor-MAde suPPort 

For r&d 

Many examples of coope- 

ration between UW and re- 

gional automotive suppliers 

demonstrate the value of 

the university’s input for the 

development of innovative 

products. The frequently cited 

Active Safety Car, an EUfunded 

project established 

jointly by the university with 

Delphi and other enterprises, 

and the Innovation Lab set 

up together with the local 

company Sachsenröder are 

two such examples. No less 

important, however, are the 

cooperations that run silently, 

with little or no publicity. 

These range from the supervision 

of degree theses and 

internships to joint research 

projects. Good personal contacts 

with UW professors and 

departments help companies 

to quickly obtain the precise 

R&D assistance they require. 

sPeCiALists 

UW is not only an important 

R&D partner for the regional 

automotive industry; it also 

trains the engineers and managers 

the industry in the 

Bergisch Triangle so urgently 

needs. Innovative companies 

often suffer from a lack of 

suitably qualified employees, 

and together with the university, 

the Chamber of Industry 

and Commerce for Wuppertal, 

Solingen and Remscheid 

is making great efforts to 

recruit students for relevant 

degree programs – programs 

that will, through projects and 

practically oriented degree 

theses, bring them into early 

contact with regional com- 

panies. Personal links of this 

sort can, and often do, serve 

as a springboard to a career 

with the company concerned 

. 

FAsCinAtinG tAsKs And 

A Good WorK-LiFe 

bALAnCe For GrAduAtes 

With a view to interesting 

students early in their career 

in the professional prospects 

offered by the regional automotive 

supply industry, the 


Commerce, together with 


organizes visits to enterprises 

in the area – companies that 

offer interesting professional 

prospects for graduates, 

good promotion opportunities, 

wide-ranging responsibi- 

lities, and room for individual 

ideas and decisions. 

Coroplast is a company that 

demonstrates the benefits of 

making a career in the region 

where one has studied. The 

Wuppertal family enterprise 

has been singled out for the 

fourth time by the Corporate 

Research Foundation (CRF) 

for the Top Employer Award, 

a distinction based on the 

job security, remuneration, 

and development opportunities 

it offers its employees, 

together with its corporate 

culture, competitive position, 

and concern to ensure compatibility 

between work and 

family life. 

Klaus Appelt Dipl. Econ. 

Wuppertal-solingenremscheid 

Chamber of 

industry and Commerce 

Heinrich-Kamp-Platz 2 


Tel. +49 (0)202 24 90-0 

E-mail k.appelt@wuppertal. 

ihk.de 

k www.wuppertal.ihk24.de 


71

72 

WanteD – qUalifieD employees 

Graduates armed with 

a bachelor’s degree 

are an attractive proposition 

on the job market: they have 

wide basic knowledge plus 

trans-disciplinary competencies. 

Many UW graduates decide 

nevertheless to proceed 

straight to a master’s degree. 

A current survey by the Association 

for the Promotion 

of Science and Humanities 

in Germany shows this to be 

a nationwide trend followed 

by some 70% of BA and BSc 

graduates. Motives for such a 

decision are above all interest 

in the subject and improvement 

of career chances. 

uW’s CAreer serViCe 

– PrePArinG For A 

ProFessionAL CAreer 

The industries of the Bergisch 

region around Wuppertal are 

keenly interested in establishing 

contact with students 

from the beginning of their 

degree programs. As a step 

toward ensuring a supply of 

well educated young professionals 

for their companies, 

they have founded the 

Bergisch Regional Confederation 

of Qualified Employees. 

UW’s Career Service has also 

set up a range of measures 

encouraging contact between 

students and regional 

enterprises. 

These include 

• individual career counseling 

– person to person advice 

on employment opportunities 

and perspectives; 

• application dossier check – 

for those soon graduating; 

• ‘Key Qualifications for University 

and Career’ – training 

sessions providing key 

competencies as well as 

insights into graduate career 

paths and application 

procedures; 

• company visits organized 

jointly with the Wuppertal, 

Solingen and Remscheid 


Commerce – most recently 

to Wuppertal Municipal 

Utilities and Wiesemann & 

Theis GmbH; 

• experience abroad – recognition 

of an internship 

abroad of at least three 

months’ duration during a 

bachelor’s program is possible 

within the framework 

of the ‘Compact Supplementary 

options’ project; 

• a job and internship database 

containing some 600 job 

offers for students, above 

all from regional employers; 

• an annual Job Congress at 

Wuppertal’s Historic Civic 

Hall. 

Andrea Bauhus M.A. 

Career Service 

Center for Continuing 

Education 

Tel. +49 (0)202 439-3055 

E-mail bauhus@uni-wuppertal.de 

kwww.zwb.uni-wuppertal. 

de kKarriere Services 

a poWerfUl partner in environmental proteCtion 

If you want to work 

on exciting projects 

that are important for the 

future of our society, get in 

touch with AWG Wuppertal 

(Wuppertal Waste Services). 

AWG is all about household 

and industrial waste, recyclable 

materials, and environmental 

protection. As well 

as waste management, this 

includes the collection and 

transport of garbage and en- 

vironmentally friendly processing 

and disposal of waste 

products of every kind. Much 

of this waste material can be 

used – without recourse to 

primary energy – for generating 

electrical and thermal 

energy for the local population. 

AWG is also concerned 

with management systems 

and workplace safety (including 

explosion protection). 

The list of topics is long. 

AWG offers internships for 

UW students from a wide 

range of disciplines – e.g. 

safety engineering, environmental 

protection – that 

open up horizons in many 

directions. Part-time work in 

appropriate technical areas 

can also be a valuable way of 

testing your theoretical knowledge 

in practice. 

As a partner to the university, 

AWG supports UW students 

with specialist know-how, 

not only offering project topics 

but also supporting and 

guiding students in the completion 

of their bachelor’s and 

master’s theses or diploma 

dissertations. 

AWG Abfallwirtschaftsgesellschaft 

mbH 


Korzert 15 


T: +49 (0)202 40 42 - 0 

E: awg@awg.wuppertal.de 

kwww.awg.wuppertal.de 

73

74 

sUpporting yoUng talent – 

the DeUtsChlanDstipenDiUm 

The Deutschlandstipendium(federalregional 

scholarship) supports 

talented young high-performers 

with a grant of €300 per 

month, independent of other 

income. As well as academic 

performance at school and 

university, selection criteria 

include social commitment, 

and special personal achievements 

such as overcoming 

obstacles in one’s personal 

educational history. 

Behind the federal German 

government’s creation of 

the Deutschlandstipendium 

stands the desire to foster a 

new type of benefactor culture. 

For every euro donated 

by a private individual or organization 

the German government 

will provide a matching 

euro – a demonstration of solidarity 

between the state and 

civic society, between past 

and present student generations, 

and between business 

and the university world that 

will strengthen the republic of 

learning and culture. 

beneFACtor inCentiVes 

There are many reasons for 

participating in the Deutschlandstipendium. 

Support for 

gifted achievers in tandem 

with the federal government 

means personal commitment 

to the education of the young 

professionals Germany and 

its regions so urgently need. 

The many benefits for companies, 

charitable foundations, 

and private individuals are 

evident. 

• You support high achievers 

of the coming generation, 

plowing back some of the 

benefits your own education 

gave you. 

• With a monthly donation of 

€150 you create a scholar- 

ship of €300. And of course 

smaller amounts are also 

welcome: the private half of 

the scholarship then comes 

from various donors. 

• The deed of scholarship 

enables you to agree your 

priorities with the university 

and choose the program 

or subject you want to support. 

• You will make contact with 

tomorrow’s top professionals. 

And, in addition to 

financial support, you can 

also offer e.g. internships 

or special training programs 

that will boost interest in 

your company. 

• You will enhance your profile 

within your own regional 

network, as well as with 

the university and its scholarship 

students. 

• You can as a rule set your 

contributions off against 

tax. 

• The Deutschlandstipendium 

is a powerful sign of 

your commitment, and is 

accepted as such. This is 

reflected in the official tag 

you will be entitled to display 

on your letterhead, 

website, and e-mails: 

• “We support the Deutschlandstipendium” 

– a clear 

message to business 

partners, customers and 

friends that you take seriously 

the future of German 

industry and of your own 

regional economy. 

University Communications 

office of the Rector & 

Fundraising 

Annika Thiel 

T: +49 (0)202) 439-3037 

E: annikathiel@uni-wuppertal.de 

kwww.uni-wuppertal. 

de/studium/stipendien/ 

Committed to fostering the next generation: 

Peter Kramer, Managing Director of 

RINKE TREUHAND. 

the hUman sUCCess faCtor 

RINKE TREUHAND, 

a Wuppertal tax, management 

and trust consultancy, 

employs more than 

160 professionals from many 

different backgrounds at its 

three locations in Germany. 

Reflecting its wide spectrum 

of tasks, its interdisciplinary 

competence team includes 

accountants, actuaries, business 

consultants, data processing 

experts, finance specialists, 

mediators, and tax 

lawyers. 

The company’s major focus, 

alongside classical accountancy 

and tax consultancy, 

is business consulting. From 

management decisions to the 

development and implemen- 

tation of future strategies, 

from income and liquidity 

planning, through enterprise 

valuation, to the handing on of 

a business to its successors, 

RINKE covers all aspects of 

its clients’ affairs. In the face 

of constantly changing tax 

and business legislation this 

calls above all for flexibility. 

In all these tasks the human 

factor stands in the foreground, 

as it does, too, in 

RINKE’s many contacts with 

the University of Wuppertal 

and its support for UW 

students and graduates. As 

well as the communication of 

knowledge and practical experience 

through internships 

and seminars, this includes 

At the center of things: RINKE’s HQ in downtown Wuppertal. 

financial backing. Since october 

2009 the company has 

provided a student scholarship 

of €300, payable monthly 

over a period of two years, 

for a high achiever. 

rinKe treuHAnd GmbH 

business and tax 

Consultancy 

Wall 39 


Alexander Flüchter 

Head of Marketing and 

Communications 

Tel. +49 (0)202 2496-444 

E-mail afluechter@ 

rinke-gruppe.de 

k www.rinke.eu 


75

76 

befit – aiming for self-employment 

Many students dream 

of having the key idea, 

the spark that will lead the 

way to a business of their 

own straight after (or even 

before) graduating. If you 

have an idea like this for a 

new product, technology or 

service, but are not sure how 

to go about realizing it, you 

will find help and support in 

the beFIT network. 

beFIT stands for Bergisch Re- 

gional Facility for International 

Technology Start-Ups. Its aim 

is to establish new technology 

and knowledge-based 

enterprises in the Bergisch 

region’s three major cities 

(Remscheid, Solingen and 

Wuppertal) and to link them 

firmly in the region. 

our project partners specialize 

in different aspects of 

business start-ups: 

kInstitute of Entrepreneurship 

and Innovation Research: 

supports the establishment 

and (international) growth of 

business ideas and spin-offs 

from a university background. 

kKnowledge Transfer office: 

supports international student 

and graduate start-ups 

for up to five years after graduation. 

kWuppertal and Solingen 

Business Promotion: helps 

with the acquisition of startup 

capital and orders, as well 

as with finding a suitable location, 

and coordinates projects. 

kBergisch Regional Development 

Agency: links young entrepreneurs 

and established 

companies with each other. 

kWuppertal Technology Center 

(W-Tec) and Solingen Center 

for Technology Start-Ups: 

help young entrepreneurs 

acquire (international) orders 

and contact networks. 

Institute of Entrepreneurship 

and Innovation Research 

Tel. +49 (0)202-3272 

E-mail sg@be-fit-online.de 

Nuket Hakverdi Dipl.-Ök. 

Knowledge Transfer office 

Tel. +49 (0)202-3383 

E-mail nh@be-fit-online.de 

kwww.be-fit-online.de 

kwww.facebook.com/be.fit. 

online 

Since July 2010 the 

Technical Academy 

Wuppertal has been 

cooperating with UW in the 

University–Industry Continuing 

Education Network. A 

first highly successful project 

was a six-week preparatory 

course for 20 students who 

already held admission qualifications 

for a university of 

applied science. The course 

aimed to boost these up to 

the level required for admission 

to UW. After passing examinations 

in mathematics, 

physics and English, 90% of 

participants went on to enroll 

for a degree in one of UW’s 

engineering faculties. 

Wuppertal’s Technical Academy prepares engineering students for university entrance. 

University–inDUstry ContinUing 

eDUCation netWork 

The success of this pilot 

project has led to a surge in 

demand. The first course offered 

for the present year is 

already full, and attempts are 

being made to set up a second 

parallel course to enable 

more young people with 

university of applied science 

entrance qualifications to 

take the further step to a UW 

degree. 

innoVAtiVe ContinuinG 

eduCAtion tAiLored to 

deMAnd 

The Continuing Education 

Network seeks to intensify 

joint activities in the field of 

continuing education and es- 

pecially to improve the provision 

of innovative courses 

tailored to regional business 

and education requirements. 

In this context the network is 

now planning joint in-service 

bachelor’s programs majoring 

in engineering, as well 

as continuing education programs 

leading to a University 

Certificate. 

technische Akademie 

Wuppertal e.V. 

Hubertusallee 18 


Tel: +49 (0)202 74950 

Fax: +49 (0)202 7495202 

E-Mail: taw-elberfeld@taw.de 

kwww.taw.de 


77

78 

tWo WUppertal lanDmarks in tanDem 

The tower of the Spar- 

kasse (Municipal Sa- 

vings Bank) in downtown 

Wuppertal and the castle-like 

towers of the university up on 

the hill have one thing in common 

– they rise out of the city 

skyline and from many vantage 

points simply cannot be 

overlooked. UW has been cooperating 

with the Sparkasse 

now for many years, and each 

year sees new projects and 

events that demonstrate and 

intensify the close alliance of 

learning and science with the 

world of business. 

The cooperation covers many 

fields. A particularly close relationship 

is maintained with 

UW’s Schumpeter School of 

Business and Economics, and 

2011 saw the first award of 

the Schumpeter School Prize, 

established by Wuppertal’s 

Sparkasse for outstanding 

research in economics and 

innovation. 

An intensive dialogue bet- 

ween the worlds of business 

and the university is essential, 

and as such is pursued 

actively by both sides. Since 

2004, Business Leaders and 

Start-Up Day, run by the university 

in conjunction with 

Wuppertal Business Promotion 

and the Sparkasse in the 

glass foyer of the Sparkasse 

tower, has been an annual 

event not only for top regional 

management, but also 

for young entrepreneurs or 

those preparing to launch 

their own company. A comprehensive 

seminar program 

offers practical hints and help 

in compact form for everyday 

business use, as well keynote 

addresses by wellknown 

figures from business, 

sport or TV. Between the lectures 

periods are set aside for 

informal communication, and 

the event offers regional companies 

a unique opportunity 

for making contacts and exchanging 

ideas. It has proven 

itself as a forum in which learning 

from practice provides 

the key to central questions 

of company management. 

Emphasizing the regional role 

of the Sparkasse, Supervi- 

sory Board Chairman Dr. h. 

c. Peter H. Vaupel put it like 

this: “We in the Sparkasse 

are aware of the responsibility 

we bear for the city and 

region of Wuppertal. In various 

events we offer business 

leaders a forum in which they 

can meet and develop their 

contacts and networks.” 

Awarded annually in a formal 

atmosphere celebrating innovative 

entrepreneurship, the 

Wuppertal Business Prize is 

another opportunity for developing 

and extending professional 

networks. 

Students also gain from the 

close links between indus- 

Business Leaders and Start-Up Day 2011 in the glass atrium of Wuppertal’s Sparkasse Bank. 

try, bank and university. Internships 

and supervision 

of bachelor’s and master’s 

theses bring new ideas and 

impulses into the life of the 

bank and other regional enterprises 

and, as market leader, 

the Sparkasse in turn provides 

a comprehensive banking 

service tailored to the needs 

of students, including special 

products such as educational 

credits. 

A further aspect of the co- 

operation between bank and 

university is the frequent 

exhibitions held in the main 

Sparkasse building for UW 

projects and faculties. For 

example 2011 saw the first 

‘social market’ organized by 

SIFE (Students in Free Enterprise), 

where schools, clubs 

and other social initiatives and 

organizations from Wuppertal 

were able to meet business 

leaders and managers from 

the city and region and present 

their case for appropriate 

support. 

The twin landmarks of the 

city have developed their cooperation 

at many levels. Today 

they constitute a powerful 

team demonstrating and 

realizing the significance of a 

close collaboration between 

industry, banking, and the scientific 

concerns of the university 

for the city of Wuppertal 

and the entire Bergisch region. 

stadtsparkasse 


Islandufer 15 


T: 0202/488-0 

E: info@sparkassewuppertal.de 

kwww.sparkassewuppertal.de 


79

80 

kita|ConCept – yoUng enterprise aWarD 

for in-hoUse ChilDCare groUp 

It’s a topical issue – to 

create a lasting balance 

between work and (family) 

life. This will help German 

companies recruit and keep 

the young professionals they 

need. Regional enterprises 

are increasingly concerned 

to implement family-friendly 

measures, and the organization 

of suitable nursery 

and childcare places stands 

at the head of the list. It is 

no surprise, therefore, that 

Kita|Concept, a Wuppertal 

company specialized in this 

field, was singled out in october 

2010 for the Young Enterprise 

Award, a section of the 

Wuppertal Business Prize. 

Kita|Concept is a consultan- 

cy devoted to the creation 

and management of tailormade 

childcare facilities for 

individual companies. Their 

services range from online 

surveys to ascertain demand, 

through concept development, 

finance and funding 

consultancy, and all-round 

project management, to the 

construction of turnkey facilities. 

They will also, if required, 

take on the role of legal 

governing body and coordinate 

the management and 

operation of the facility. 

The demand is high. The 

UW graduates who developed 

this business idea whilst 

still at the university are now 

successfully operating nation- 

wide. Customers like Barmenia 

Insurances, the Main- 

Kinzig Hospital Group, the 

Schmidt & Clemens Group, 

and UW itself rely on the 

know-how of the young Wuppertal 

entrepreneurs. 

Enterprises and organiza- 

tions interested in setting up 

in-house childcare facilities 

should contact Kita|Concept 

for a preliminary consultation. 

This will be free of charge. 

Kita|Concept GmbH 

Lise-Meitner-Str. 5-9 


T: +49 (0)202 299 868-10 

E: info@kita-concept.de 

kwww.kita-concept.de 

barmenia insUranCes – 

balanCing family anD job 

FLexitiMe ModeL 

boosts eMPLoyee 

sAtisFACtion 

Barmenia employees enjoy 

flexible working hours, with 

models ranging from trustbased 

working time, through 

teleworking, part-time work, 

job and desk sharing, to annual 

work-time accounts. 

eAsinG tHe return 

to WorK 

Barmenia is serious about the 

work-life balance of its employees, 

helping them especially 

to return to their workplace 

after parental leave. A detailed 

meeting and discussion 

prior to recommencing work 

seeks a solution suited to 

each individual’s circumstances 

by offering, for example, 

part-time employment options. 

Barmenia is equally concerned 

to support the proud 

father who seeks to play an 

active role in looking after his 

child, encouraging him in his 

application for paternity leave. 

job seCurity WitH 

bArMeniA’s WorK- 

LiFe AGreeMent 

Barmenia’s family-friendly 

work-life agreement ensures 

a fundamental balance between 

job and family commitments. 

It offers security and 

the promise that the company 

will remain true to its 

family-friendly principles in 

future. The official company 

agreement governs not only 

questions of parenthood but 

also other issues central to 

family life like care for sick or 

aging relatives. 

our eMPLoyees’ CHiLdren 

Are in Good HAnds 

– FroM ‘bArMinis’ … 

Straight back to work after 

the birth of your child? 

Barmenia’s in-house day 

nursery caters for its youngest 

members in spacious 

surroundings. our so-called 

‘Barminis’ are cared for from 

their fourth month to the age 

of three years by qualified 

nursery staff. And the facility 

remains affordable, because 

the company makes a contribution 

to the costs. 

… to KinderGArten 

A cooperation with the nearby 

French-German Kindergarten 

provides day care for 

employees’ children between 

the ages of 3 and 6. Here the 

children are brought up bilingually 

by French native speakers. 

And here, too, Barmenia 

makes its contribution to the 

costs of meals and childcare. 

barmenia insurances 

(Health, General, and 

Life) 

Kronprinzenallee 12 – 18 


T: +49 (0)202 438-2250 

E: info@barmenia.de 

k www.myjobbarmenia.de 


81

82 

‘Unternehmen zünDfUnke’ – lighting a spark 

For more than 15 years 

the Kinderhaus Luise 

Winnacker (Luise Winnacker 

Children’s House) has been 

working together with UW 

students. Unique in Germany, 

its ‘Unternehmen Zündfunke’ 

is a socio-educational project 

involving future teachers in 

caring for children and adolescents 

with behavioral and 

educational problems. UW’s 

Matthias Wisniewski, a student 

of history and sports sciences 

aiming for a teaching 

degree, has worked for the 

Kinderhaus for three years. 

once a week he is in charge 

of children from a special 

needs school. Here he talks 

to UNIREPoRT about his experiences. 

FroM roWdies to Wor- 

KinG GrouP 

In summer 2008 I started at 

the Kinderhaus with a group 

of 7 year-old children from 

the Königshöher Weg primary 

(grade) school. At first I simply 

couldn’t believe what I saw: 

we needed two hours just to 

sit in a circle and get to know 

each other – and I’m talking 

of six children! I asked them 

to tell each other about their 

hobbies and their favorite 

food, but they kept on winding 

each other up, and any 

serious conversation was impossible. 

The language they 

used with each other was also 

rough in the extreme, and 

discipline seemed a completely 

unknown concept. I realized 

soon enough that I had to 

put in some basic educational 

work. After the introductory 

circle we took off shoes and 

went into the wild-games 

room to let off steam, but it 

wasn’t long before fist-fights 

began. 

Later I handed out snacks 

prepared by the school, and 

again the kids thought only 

of themselves. They took 

more than they could eat 

just so that the next person 

wouldn’t get a bigger helping 

than theirs, which for me was 

incredible. I decided the only 

thing to do was to introduce 

a few rules and set some 

limits: next time each child 

was only allowed two pieces 

and then the food box had 

to be handed on to the next 

person. That way everyone 

got the same. To my surprise 

it worked – indeed so well 

that I could soon allow them 

to help themselves from the 

box, and even without super- 

vision they still only took two 

pieces. 

I was concerned to promote 

teamwork in the group, and 

I began to set them tasks 

that they could only fulfill by 

working together. So I told 

them we were going out into 

the woods. I was again astonished 

to learn that most 

of them had never (or hardly 

ever) been into the forests 

that surround Wuppertal – 

another reason to show them 

something of the Bergisch 

Land. At first they were skeptical, 

especially when we 

immediately set out in the 

rain; but they soon realized 

what fun things one can do 

outdoors. We built dens and 

dams and went on paper 

chases. The kids got together 

and soon started to become 

friends – something that grew 

even outside the Kinderhaus. 

one day I fixed a climbing 

rope to a steep slope. Some 

children were immediately 

afraid of the challenge “Me? 

Go up there? I’ll never make 

it.” The beginning was difficult; 

there were tears and 

many of them soon gave up. 

It was the easy option. But I 

didn’t let go, and soon we were 

climbing up and down some 

very steep ravines. If someone 

didn’t dare, the others 

would encourage him or her. 

In other words, instead of 

mocking they began to support 

each other, clapping and 

cheering. At the end of every 

climb and every descent 

we formed a circle again and 

congratulated ourselves on 

what we’d done. A sense of 

community grew, and with it 

courage and self-confidence. 

Suddenly no challenge was 

too much, no cliff-face too 

steep. If there was a problem, 

they would all help. Simply 

great! 

When winter brought the 

first snow I wanted to take 

the group out sledding, but I 

found that hardly anyone had 

gloves. I was surprised that 

their parents had sent them 

out like that at all. In the end 

only three of them were allowed 

to go, anyway: most of 

the parents thought it was too 

cold for sledding. 

on another occasion we 

set out for the open-air pool 

in the neighboring town of 

Remscheid. In my early days 

with them I would never have 

dreamt of doing such a thing, 

without discipline, without 

manners, and without any 

sort of group spirit. But now 

I trusted them completely – 

and I was right. They enjoyed 

it so much and were so grateful 

that they didn’t even want 

to go home. Understandable 

enough, when you reflect 

that some of them had never 

been to a pool before. 

My year with the gang was 

wonderful. Your heart beats 

faster just to see the kids’ 

faces when the Kinderhaus 

bus comes round the corner. 

They really appreciate what 

we’ve done with them, and 

for them, week after week. 

And that makes me happy, 

too: it shows the effort was 

worth it. 

Matthias Wisniewski 

Kinderhaus Luise 

Winnacker e.V. 

Rutenbecker Weg 159 


Tel. +49 (0)202-741206 

kwww.unternehmenzuendfunke.de 

‘Unternehmen-Zündfunke’ 

has won a number of 

awards, among them: 

First prize, West German 

Radio’s ‘Children’s 

Rights’ competition 2010 

First prize, ‘Bürgertal’ 

(Valley Citizens) competition, 

Wuppertal 2009. 

83

84 

sCienCe live 

UW’s annual Research 

open Day is when 

Wuppertal’s citizens are invited 

to enter the fascinating 

world of scientific and tech- 

eLeCtriCity FroM 

GiAnt soLAr-tHerMAL 

PoWer PLAnts 

Bundled together by a circular 

glass collector, the rays of 

the sun heat the air trapped 

beneath. The hot air flows up 

a central chimney containing 

turbines that drive electrical 

generators. It sounds simple, 

but plant like this can only 

be constructed economically 

in desert regions: the collectors 

must be at least 3 km 

across and the chimneys 500 

m high. Such gigantic proportions 

make huge demands 

on the material and design 

of the chimneys. Recent UW 

research has focused on the 

stability and structural feasibility 

of reinforced concrete 

towers of this height. 

nological research. University 

and city unite in pursuit of a 

specific theme. This year it 

was energy. 

buiLdinG tHe Future 

– Zero And PositiVe 

enerGy Houses For 

tHe 21st Century 

Built for Madrid’s 2010 Solar 

Decathlon, UW’s experimental 

positive energy house 

now stands in Wuppertal- 

Lichtscheid. 

kTurning an art nouveau villa 

into a mini power station: 

Equipping Wuppertal’s turn 

of the (19th) century houses 

with combined heat and power 

generation units. 

kStudent apartments with 

ecological bonus: Better living 

in a prize-winning student hall 

(dormitory). 

inteLLiGent 

PoWer netWorKs 

Renewable energy power 

plants cannot be turned up or 

down at will: their output depends 

on the level of sunlight 

or wind. But the sun doesn’t 

always shine, and wind sometimes 

blows and sometimes 

doesn’t. So UW engineers 

are investigating questions of 

power storage and distribution. 

What will intelligent power 

networks of the future look 

like? Will there be a happy 

hour for electricity when the 

wind blows? 

soLAr CeLLs And LAMPs 

bAsed on orGAniC 

MAteriALs – A soLution 

oF tHe Future 

Powerful, flexible solar cells 

are easily produced using organic 

foils and low-cost processes 

based on large-area 

printing technology. organic 

light-emitting diodes (oLEDs) 

represent another breakthrough 

in low energy lighting 

and brilliant TV screens. 

kwww.uni-wuppertal.de/ 

researchkKnowledge Transfer 

officekResearch Day 

At_A_GLANCE 

neW CAMerA- 

ControLLed robot At 

HAnoVer trAde FAir 

A newly developed robotcamera 

system was presented 

at the Hanover Trade 

Fair by Prof. Dr.-Ing. Bernd 

Tibken, together with Dr.- 

Ing. Adnan Abou Nabout, 

from UW’s Department of 

Automation Engineering. 

The system enables a robot 

to recognize the shape of 

2D objects, pick them up, 

and place them precisely 

where required. 

kwww.lart.uni-wuppertal. 

de. 

ProduCt deVeLoPMent 

LAb oPened in 

soLinGen 

The Bergisch Regional Institute 

of Product Development 


Management, an associate 

institute of the University of 

Wuppertal, has opened a 

new laboratory for product 

development in Solingen. 

State-of-the-art methods 

such as eye-tracking will 

enable products to be examined 

from ergonomic, 

engineering and design viewpoints 

to determine and 

optimize esthetic and functional 

aspects. 

kwww.bergisches-institut.de 

boLd And oriGinAL 

Visions For tHe 

reGion 

‘InnoIntegral – Cut and 

Tools’ is the name of a regional 

innovation initiative 

combining top level training 

and research with start-up 

support for young entrepreneurs, 

and the creation 

of attractive work environments 

and other incentives 

to retain talent in the region. 

A partner project of Inno- 

Integral within the frame- 

work of the European Regi- 

onal Development Fund’s 

“Ziel2” Program for NRW 

is ‘Intelligence in Metal’, 

set up by the Tools and 

Materials Research Association 

(Remscheid), another 

UW associate institute, in 

cooperation with Solingen 

Business Promotion. 

kwww.intelligenzinmetall. 

de 

bronZe AGe Hits 

sWiMMinG PooL 

Together with regional provider 

Hugo Lahme GmbH 

and the NRW Efficiency 

Agency, UW is researching 

improvements in the anticorrosive 

properties of metals 

used for underwater 

faucets etc. in swimming 

pools. Representatives of 

university and industry met 

to discuss current conditions 

practical and technological 

challenges, as well 

as the ultimate target. 

kwww.innovationsallianz. 

nrw.de 

souVenirs, souVenirs 

In cooperation with the 

Bergisch Regional Development 

Agency, UW Industrial 

Design (uwid) students 

have been developing souvenirs 


The region has a lot to offer 

tourists and seeks to widen 

its repertoire of gifts. The 

students’ designs ranged 

from marketing regional 

delicacies, through reworking 

products of the ribbon 

industry as fashion accessories, 

to an industrial tour. 

kwww.uwid.uniwuppertal.de 

kProjektekWS 2010/2011 

neW bLood For tHe 

‘berGisCH triAnGLe’ 

24 UW students from Prof. 

Christine Volkmann’s seminar 

on ‘Industrial Clusters 

and Structural Development 

in the Bergisch 

Land’ took part in an industrial 

tour of the 3 cities of 

Remscheid, Solingen and 

Wuppertal (the so-called 

‘Bergisch Triangle’). Prof. 

Volkmann comments: “We 

seek to familiarize our students 

with their region and 

present it to them as an attractive 

economic area with 

interesting, future-oriented 

industries and employers.” 

khttp://volkmann.wiwi.uniwuppertal.de/ 

kwww.zsb.uni-wuppertal. 

de kCareers Service 


85

86 

05_ 

UW_INTERNATIoNAL 

87

88 

Digging the anCient orient 

UW’s Institute of Bibli- 

cal Archaeology has its 

headquarters on Wuppertal’s 

hilltop Freudenberg Campus, 

but its research takes place 

in the Middle East, above all 

in Israel, Jordan and Palestine. 

Institute director Professor 

Dieter Vieweger is at the 

same time head of the German 

Protestant Institute of 

Archaeology. Founded in 

1898 by Kaiser Wilhelm II, 

this latter institute is managed 

by the German Protestant 

churches and is a recognized 

research unit of the German 

Archaeological Institute. 

Vieweger is passionately de- 

voted to research in the Holy 

Land, above all at the archaeological 

site of Tall Zira’a in 

northern Jordan, one of the 

most important settlements 

on the ancient trade route 

from Egypt through Palestine 

to Syria and on into Mesopotamia. 

There he and his colleagues 

are investigating the 

topographical and geopolitical 

structures of a key area of 

ancient Palestine. “Scarcely 

anywhere can the history of 

this region be so thoroughly 

discovered as at Tall Zira’a”, 

Vieweger observes. “Here, 

at the meeting point of the 

Palestinian and Syrian worlds, 

the cultural developments 

and political changes so often 

set in motion from the north 

can be particularly well documented.” 

Excavations at Tall Zira’a be- 

gan in 2001, and they are set 

to continue until 2028. To 

date only some 5% of the hill 

has been uncovered. At the 

center of the ancient settlement 

is an artesian well, a 

unique natural feature in the 

ancient orient and one that 

made Tall Zira’a a coveted location, 

with its promise of abundant 

fresh water. From the 

mid fourth century BCE (Early 

Bronze Age) until 1880 CE the 

hill was almost continuously 

inhabited, and the towns and 

villages left behind can be excavated 

– an unbroken chain 

of cultural history unique in 

northern Palestine. 

To the west of the River Jor- 

dan the Wuppertal archaeolo- 

gists are digging into ancient 

oriental history at the heart 

of Jerusalem’s old City, a 

stone’s throw from the Church 

of the Holy Sepulcher. “Beneath 

the floor of the German 

Protestant Church of the Redeemer”, 

Vieweger states, 

“there are some old archaeological 

excavations which are 

of considerable importance 

for history, as well as for an 

understanding of the New 

Testament.” He restarted excavations 

there in 2009, laying 

out an archaeological park 

some 14 meters beneath the 

church. 

Vieweger continues: 

“Visitors to Jerusalem 

should be able to see the 

historical development of the 

city through the different excavated 

levels and their outlying 

extensions, and to understand 

the implications of the 

project.” The work is supported 

and funded by the German 

Foreign Ministry. When 

it is complete, visitors will be 

able to walk along the moat 

below the city walls, which 

date from the time of Herod 

the Great and Jesus of Nazareth. 

They will see that the 

nearby Rock of Golgotha was 

part of a Roman quarry. Here 

there is clear evidence not 

only of the massive ruins left 

after the destruction of Jerusalem 

by the Roman army in 

70 CE, but also of the walls of 

the reconstructed city from 

the time of the Emperor Hadrian 

(117-138), and of the buil- 

dings constructed around the 

Church of the Sepulcher under 

Constantine (306-337). At 

the end of their tour, visitors 

will cross the mosaic floor of 

Santa Maria Latina, a church 

from the time of the Crusades, 

to reach the wonderful 

inner courtyard of the present 

day Provost’s House of the 

Church of the Redeemer at 

the center of the old City of 

Jerusalem. 

institute of biblical 

Archaeology 


Rainer-Gruenter-Straße 21 


T: +49(0)202-439-1004 

k www.bai-wuppertal.de 

k www.tallziraa.de 

Prof. Dr. Dr. Dr. h.c. Dieter 

Vieweger took his doctorate 

in old Testament theology 

and archaeology and went 

on to teach at various universities. 

In 2009 he was awarded 

an honorary doctorate by 

UW’s Faculty of Humanities. 

Every year Vieweger accompanies 

students and young 

academics on teaching courses 

– first offered by the 

German Protestant Institute 

of Archaeology in 1903 – in 

Syria, Jordan, Palestine, Israel, 

Egypt and Cyprus. Students 

of theology, archaeology, 

ancient history and allied 

disciplines are introduced to 

the methods and results of 

archae-ological and cultural 

scholarship related to the Hoy 

Land and the entire Levant. 

As well as his specialist 

books and research reports, 

Prof. Vieweger has written 

children’s books (‘The Mystery 

of Tell’, ‘Jerusalem Adventure’), 

as well as a politico-historical 

study of the Near East 

conflict (‘Disputed Holy Land 

– What Everyone Should 

Know about the Israeli- 

Palestinian Conflict’). 

89

90 

INteRNAtIoNALUNIVERSITY PARTNERSHIPS 

(not including ERASMUS program and departmental cooperations*) 

•International university partnerships 

•International university partnerships with student exchanges 

•No partnerships 

• Germany 

UNIVeRsItY PARtNeRsHIPs oVERVIEW 


91

92 

internAtionAL UNIVERSITY PARTNERSHIPS 

(not including ERASMUS program and departmental cooperations*) 

stAte uniVersity 

egypt Ain Shams University, Cairo 

Helwan University, Cairo 

Minia University, Minia 

Algeria Ecole Nationale Polytechnique, Algiers 

Université M´Hamed Bougara de Boumerdes, Boumerdes 

Argentina Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata (UNMP), Mar del Plata 

Australia Australian National University (ANU), Canberra 

bangladesh University of Dhaka, Dhaka 

brazil Universidade Federal do Parana (UFPR), Curitiba 

Chile Universidad Academia de Humanismo Cristiano, Santiago 

Universidad de Chile, Santiago 

France Université Jean Monnet, Saint-Etienne 

Ghana Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi 

united Kingdom Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU), Manchester 

University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen 

india Anna University, Chennai 

Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras, Chennai 

indonesia Universitas Brawijaya, Malang 

iran Isfahan University of Technology (IUT), Isfahan 

Shiraz University, Shiraz 

israel Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva 

japan ochanomizu University, Tokyo 

osaka Institute of Technology, osaka 

osaka Prefecture University, Sakai-Shi 

Shizuoka University, Shizuoka-shi 

Canada Bishop’s University, Sherbrooke, QC 

Kyrgyzstan American University - Central Asia, Bishkek 

Kyrgyz State National University Bishkek, Bishkek 

Arabaev Kyrgyz State Pedagogical University, Bishkek 

Korea Soonchunhyang University, Asan 

Cuba Instituto Superior de Diseno (ISDI), Havana 

Morocco Université Mohamed V – Agdal, Rabat 

*ERASMUS is one of the main pillars of university education within the framework 

of the EU’s Lifelong Learning Program (LLP). In 2009-2010 UW had 130 

ERASMUS partnerships with 99 European universities. 

For a complete list visit k www.internationales.uni-wuppertal.de/outgoing/erasmus/partnerhochschulen/ 

Mexico Universidad Autónoma de Quéretaro, Querétaro 

Peru Universidad de Lima, Lima 

Poland Wroclaw University of Technology, Breslau 

State School of Higher Professional Education, Legnica 

russia Baltic Fishing Fleet State Academy, Kaliningrad 

Kaliningrad State University of Technology (KSTU), Kaliningrad 

Lomonosov Moscow State University 

Moscow State University of Printing 

Rostov State University of Civil Engineering 

St. Petersburg State University of Economics and 

Finance (FINEC), 

Ural State University (USU), Yekaterinburg 

switzerland Hochschule für Technik, Zürich 

Université de Lausanne (UNIL), Lausanne 

Züricher Hochschule der Angewandten Wissenschaften (ZHAW), Winterthur 

singapore National University of Singapore (NUS), Singapore 

slovakia Technical University of Kosiše (TUK), Košice 

spain Universidad de Deusto, Bilbao 

south Africa University of Stellenbosch, Matieland 

ukraine National Technical University of Ukraine (NTUU), Kiev 

Ukrainian Academy of Printing (UAP), Lviv 

usA East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania (ESU), East Stroudsburg 

University of Cincinnati (UC), Cincinnati, oH 

uzbekistan Tashkent Institute of Textiles and Light Industry (TITLI), Tashkent 

PrC Beijing Institute of Graphic Communication (BIC), Beijing 

Beijing Institute of Technology (BIT), Beijing 

Beijing Normal University (BNU), Beijing 

Central South University of Technology (CSU), Changsha 

China University of Mining and Technology (CUMT), Xuzhou 

Graduate University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (GUCAS), Beijing 

Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST), Wuhan 

Hubei University of Technology (HBUT), Wuhan 

Jianghan University (JHU), Wuhan 

Peking University (Beida), Beijing 

Wuhan University (WHU), Wuhan 

belarus Belarusian State University of Informatics and Radioelectronics (BSUIR), Minsk 


93

94 

partner Universities 

UniversiDaD De granaDa 

Since January 2011 UW students 

have been able to study in 

the heart of Andalusia (southern 

Spain), thanks to a cooperation 

agreement concluded 

Located at the geographical 

center of Sweden, 500 

km north of Stockholm, the 

within the framework of 

the ERASMUS program 

between UW’s School of 

Civil Engineering and the 

University of Granada’s 

miDsWeDen University 

young MidSweden University 

is spread over three 

campuses: Härnösand, 

Escuela Técnica Superior de 

Ingenieros de Caminos, Canales 

y Puertos. 

Founded in 1531, the Uni- 

versity of Granada now has 

almost 80,000 students at its 

four campuses in the city and 

its dependencies in Ceuta 

and Melilla. Its annual intake 

of some 1500 exchange students 

makes it Europe’s most 

popular ERASMUS destination. 

Almost 240,000 people live 

in Granada. The city has definite 

student flair, with pubs, 

discos, and, of course, tapas 

bars in almost every street, 

as well as many parks. Whether 

skiing in the Sierra Neva- 

Sundsvall, and Östersund. Today 

it offers a wide range of 

subjects from the humanities 

and social sciences, but its 

pre-history as an HE institution 

goes back through 150 

years of teacher training in 

Härnösand. 

The university counts some 

15,000 students, who attend 

campus for intensive teaching 

phases lasting several weeks, 

and for the rest of the time 

study on their own using material 

available online or otherwise. 

UW’s School of Education 

concluded a university 

partnership and ERASMUS 

exchange agreement with 

MIDSweden University in 

fall 2010. Initial joint projects 

da or exploring the Alhambra 

or the Carthusian monastery 

La Cartuja in the north of the 

city, you will find plenty to do 

in your free time in Granada. 

kwww.ugr.es 

tiP from Jaouad El Aasmi: 

It’s advisable to brush up your 

Spanish before going to Granada, 

as Andalusian Spanish 

takes some getting used to 

– the endings of most words 

are swallowed and people 

speak very fast. 

have been applied for, and 

student and faculty exchanges 

are already possible. 

kwww.miun.se 

esCola sUperior 

Desenho inDUstrial 

(esDi) in rio De janeiro 

Established in 1963, the Escola 

Superior de Desenho Indus- 

Inaugurated in 1997 by Hillary 

Clinton, the American University 

of Central Asia (AUCA) 

trial (ESDI) in Rio de Janeiro 

is Brazil’s (and South 

the ameriCan University 

of Central asia 

in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, 

counts some 1200 

students. Set in pleasant 

America’s) oldest design 

school. The degree program 

in design takes five years 

and covers graphic as well as 

product design. Since 2005 a 

one year master’s in design 

has also been offered. 

ESDI is situated at the center 

of Rio’s pulsating downtown, 

near the historic Lapa district. 

The compact campus contains 

research units, teaching 

rooms, photography and computer 

studios, and metalworking, 

woodworking, and printing, 

as well as model building 

workshops. ESDI labs provide 

facilities for practical projects. 

Longstanding contacts between 

Prof. Dr. Brigitte Wolf 

of UW’s School of Industrial 

parkland surroundings, it offers 

degree programs in the 

humanities and social sciences, 

economics, political science, 

journalism and communication, 

as well as software 

engineering. Around 90% of 

the courses are held in English. 

Dating from winter semester 

2010-2011, UW’s international 

partnership with AUCA 

is based on close relations 

in the field of childhood research 

built up by Prof. Dr. 

Doris Bühler-Niederberger of 

UW’s School of Social Sciences. 

The partnership enables 

advanced UW students with 

good achievement levels to 

apply to AUCA for their se- 

Design (uwid) and ESDI faculty 

members have given rise 

to a continuous exchange of 

students and staff as well as 

intensive research collaborations. 

kwww.esdi.uerj.br/english 

kwww.facebook.com/pages/Esdi-Escola-Superiorde-Desenho-Industrial 

mester abroad. Help with 

enrollment and visa formalities, 

as well as with accommodation, 

will be provided by 

AUCA’s International Student 

Center. The intensive academic 

life of the American University 

is complemented by 

a stimulating campus scene 

– including a Black Forest bakery. 

kwww.auca.kg 


95

96 

go east! yoUr semester abroaD in China 

HoW About A triP 

to tHe FAr eAst? 

Whether you are a student, 

researcher or faculty member, 

we at UW International 

office will be happy to provide 

all-round information and 

advice. 


International office 

Gauss Str. 20, 

42119 Wuppertal, Germany 

T: +49 (0) 202 439-2406 

E: roller@verwaltung. 


kwww.internationales. 


CHinA–nrW uniVersity 

ALLiAnCe 

UW is a founder member of 

the China-NRW University 

Alliance, a joint initiative of 

six North Rhine-Westphalian 

universities that seeks to play 

an active role in shaping relations 

with China and its universities. 

Under the overall direction 

of the University of Cologne, 

UW has, together with the 

universities of Bielefeld, 

Münster and Paderborn, and 

the Technical University of 

Dortmund, maintained an office 

in Beijing since 2007. 

The Alliance website provides 

an information platform for all 

interested parties, whether 

Chinese or German. For 

example, German students 

looking for funding for an ex- 

change visit to a Chinese university 

or for an internship or 

other work experience opportunity 

in China will find all relevant 

information here. The 

annual Summer School also 

provides useful information 

and more. 

kwww.china-nrw.de 

China–NRW office 

Contact Ms Lan QIU at the 

China–NRW office in Beijing: 

DAAD German Universities 

Unit 1616/1718, Landmark 

Tower 2 

8 North Dongsanhuan Road 

Chaoyang District 

Beijing 100004 

PRC 

Tel. +86-10-65906656 

E-mail lan.qiu@uni-koeln.de 

sCHoLArsHiPs 

The PRC provides govern- 

ment scholarships to fund 

exchanges. Asia Exchange 

provides information on scholarships 

and on exchange semesters 

in Asia. The Taiwan 

Summer Institute Program 

offers short-stay internship 

scholarships for young German 

students of the natural 

sciences and engineering. 

kwww.china-nrw.de/ 

stipendien/ 

Supplementary funding for 

study, internships or specific 

courses (including language 

courses) in China and other 

countries can be applied for 

within the framework of the 

PRoMoS scholarship program. 

kwww.internationales.uniwuppertal.de/outgoing/auslandsstudium/foerdermoeglichkeiten/promos/ 

Further information about 

studying in Asia and the relevant 

funding opportunities 

is available on the German 

Academic Exchange Service 

(DAAD) website: 

kwww.daad.de/ausland/index.de.html 

k 

www.auslandsstipendien.de 

sHAnGHAi suMMer 

sCHooL 

The China–NRW Universi- 

ty Alliance runs an annual 

month long summer school 

in Shanghai. Held during the 

semester vacation, this offers 

students free of charge 

an intensive course in basic 

Chinese, together with the 

opportunity to get to know 

the country and its people. In 

addition, participants seeking 

practical or work experience 

in China have access to the 

China–NRW internship service. 

kwww.china-nrw.de/ 

summer-school/ 

LeArninG CHinese 

UW’s Language Center of- 

fers courses in Chinese. Four 

basic courses held by native 

Chinese speakers familiarize 

students with the Chinese 

alphabet, pronunciation and 

grammar and introduce them 

to conversational Chinese – 

all you need in preparation 

for your visit. You will learn to 

read and write Chinese characters, 

and in seminars on 

Chinese culture you will be 

prepared for the cultural differences 

you will encounter – 

essential information to ease 

the acclimatization process. 


Tel. +49 (0)202 439-3304 

E-mail audio@uni-wuppertal.de 

k www.sli.uni-wuppertal.de 

Intensive courses in Chinese, 

Japanese and Korean are also 

offered by the NRW Language 

Center at the University of 

Bochum. Discounts of up to 

75% are allowed on course 

fees for students enrolled at 

a German university. 

University of Bochum NRW 


Laerholz Str. 84 

44801 Bochum 

Tel. 0234 6874-0 

E-mail info@lsi-bochum.de 

kwww.landesspracheninstitut-bochum.de/das-lsi 

so – into the country and 

out with your language! 


97

98 

nimen hao! 

At the beginning of the 

year I began to think 

seriously about spending my 

semester abroad in the Middle 

Kingdom (zhong-guo). Now 

I’m here, at Henan University, 

right in the middle of China. 

I’ve been in Kaifeng, a small 

city of a million or so inhabitants 

in Henan province 

for three weeks now. If one 

counts the outlying districts, 

about five million people live 

here. I said ‘small city’ because 

Kaifeng, in contrast to 

Zhengzhou, which I visited 

last weekend, really is an insignificant 

dot on the map – at 

least by Chinese standards. 

I haven’t explored the whole 

city yet – just the corner where 

I live and downtown. The 

danger of getting lost in such 

a vast expanse of streets is 

still too great. I live in a sort of 

university guest house directly 

opposite the main entrance 

at the South Gate of the old 

campus. The Gate itself is a 

real eye-catcher: a group of 

old buildings in traditional Chinese 

style with flowers, palm 

trees and lawns. This part of 

the university contains the 

humanities and social sciences, 

and around 10,000 students 

live and work here. The 

campus itself is like a small 

town. It has everything you 

could wish for, from laundry 

to supermarket, from mobile 

phone store to food stalls of 

every description – my favori- 

te is the popcorn tuk-tuk. 

I’m working here for four 

months at the International 

School of Education, teaching 

German as a foreign language. 

There are three of us: Guo, 

who speaks excellent German; 

his pronunciation in particular 

is superb. He teaches 

the grammar sections of the 

course book. Zhang teaches 

vocabulary, and I, as native 

speaker, take the exercises in 

phonetics. 

A glance at the course schedules 

would make most German 

students feel very restricted 

in the amount of 

free time they’d have at their 

disposal. Whilst in Germany 

students are protesting 

about the increasing rigidity 

of bachelor’s programs, a 

school-like system is practiced 

in China without demur, 

probably because there has 

never been anything different. 

Students are divided up into 

classes and they take all their 

courses together without any 

freedom to choose either 

lectures or seminars. once 

they have decided what subject 

they want to study, they 

are given a printed schedule 

which they have to follow. As 

well as their major subject, 

they all have to take English, 

sports, and something one 

could roughly translate as ‘political 

history’. My students in 

the Sino-German project take 

16 hours of German a week 

instead of English; the other 

18 hours are for the compulsory 

sports and political history 

classes, as well as their 

major, which is either economics 

or natural science. 

The ambition of Chinese students 

is impressive. This is 

easier to understand in the 

overall situation: in Henan 

province as many as a million 

young people a year want 

to enter university, but only 

a hundred thousand can be 

taken, and they, of course, 

are the best. There are also 

tuition fees to be considered 

– these can be up to 15,000 

Yuan (c. €1,500) a year. That, 

I hardly need say, is a lot of 

money in China. Many students 

have wealthy parents 

or come from families that 

are determined to send their 

son or daughter to university, 

whatever the cost. So the 

pressure on students is immense. 

Student life as we know it in 

Germany does not exist in 

China. There are no student 

cafés or pubs to meet in. The 

universities are all campuscentered, 

and most students 

live there, too. They spend 

their free time in clubs or 

workshops, which they often 

start up themselves in order 

to pursue common interests. 

Student parties are also fairly 

rare events. My students invi- 

ted me to a Halloween party 

organized by a student club. 

The room was furnished with 

chairs and tables on which 

stood snacks and (non-alcoholic) 

drinks. In the middle 

of the room and on the stage 

there was space for students 

to perform dances and 

songs – one girl performed a 

traditional Chinese dance in 

front of some 200 other students. 

This was followed by a 

fashion show, and the evening 

ended with dancing, 

mostly standard. It was emceed 

by a student pair – she 

in evening dress, he in a suit. 

I felt as if I had landed in a TV 

show. 

Eating is very important in Chi- 

na. With all the different meat 

and vegetable dishes on display, 

the choice of food in the 

university dining hall alone is 

so great that you could probably 

eat something different 

every day of the year. When 

students go out, they go to a 

restaurant or café. Even a trip 

to the supermarket round the 

corner can be adventurous, 

and sometimes take quite a 

long time, because you can 

really only guess what the 

various foods and ingredients 

on offer are. 

Chinese students live to- 

gether, three to five people 

sharing a 20 sq m room no 

bigger than a student apartment 

in Germany, with no 


99

100 

bathroom or kitchen. My col- 

league Guo laughed when I 

asked him whether students 

could do their own cooking. 

He said they were all away 

from home for the first time 

and it would be far too dangerous 

to let them loose in a kitchen. 

Showers are available 

in another building, and there 

is also a common washroom 

on every floor. Men’s and 

women’s dormitories (halls) 

are strictly separated and 

visiting is not allowed. But 

don’t let that put you off going 

to China – international 

exchange students are often 

given more comfortable living 

quarters. 

China is simply different. The 

culture, the people and the 

language can’t be compared 

with those in the west. Language, 

of course, is the key 

to a culture; but the idea of 

learning sufficient Chinese 

for daily use in the space of 

a few weeks is rather utopian. 

Not that it’s all that difficult 

to construct sentences 

in Chinese, but learning the 

four different pitched tones 

plus the neutral tone through 

which a word can take on five 

different meanings is another 

matter. People for the most 

part don’t understand you on 

the street, even if you think 

you’ve constructed a perfect 

Chinese sentence, but that’s 

not generally a problem. You 

always manage in the end to 

get something to eat or buy 

what you want. often some 

friendly person with a bit of 

English will help, and waiters 

in restaurants don’t mind 

spending longer with you 

when you’re ordering a meal. 

Passers-by on the street quite 

often take out their mobiles 

for an ‘unobtrusive’ snapshot, 

while you’re waiting for some- 

one. It’s just not possible as 

a European to remain unnoticed, 

especially in a place like 

Kaifeng, where foreigners 

of any sort are rare. So how 

should one behave as a foreigner 

living and working for a 

few months in China? Integration 

is what everyone talks 

about, but it really isn’t that 

simple when you don’t speak 

the language well. Nevertheless, 

it can work, so long 

as you are courageous and 

open about it. You just have 

to find people who share 

that attitude. I took the step 

of enrolling at the only fitness 

studio in the town, where I 

do aerobics with thirty Chinese 

housewives once a week. 

That’s pretty hilarious, but 

also hard work. our trainer is 

merciless. Integration is hard 

work for both sides. 

People rarely smile when you 

make eye contact; it’s just 

not part of their culture. But if 

you smile at them in a friendly 

way, they often greet you in 

return, especially if you are a 

foreigner. Whether in stores 

or at street vendors and kitchens 

the tone is fairly rough. 

There are simply too many 

people; everyone is just part 

of the great whole, so no 

one cares what others on the 

street think of them. You often 

see people walking in pajamas 

in the evening, sometimes 

even during the day, 

and every Chinese person 

seems to possess a pair of 

fluffy slippers. They do a lot of 

sports and fitness exercises 

together in public spaces – 

especially elderly people can 

be seen doing yoga or relaxation 

training in parks. The 

general atmosphere is a bit 

like on a campsite, with people 

sitting on small folding 

stools or strolling across the 

street for a shower with toilet 

bag in hand. Many Chinese 

apartments have no shower 

of their own, so people have 

to use public facilities. 

Transport for most people is 

by bicycle (sometimes electric) 

or scooter. There are also 

hordes of taxis and tuk-tuks 

on the streets. Very few Chinese, 

even today, can afford 

their own car. So the bicycle 

and scooter are used to take 

whatever is necessary from 

A to B – sometimes impressive 

loads, including dogs, 

babies and old people. There 

are traffic rules, but nobody 

seems to take much notice of 

them. Whether you drive on 

the right or left depends on 

which side is busier. But despite 

the chaos I have rarely 

seen an accident – not least 

due to the fact that the horn 

is used continuously as a warning 

signal: “Watch out, I’m 

coming!” 

So what can I say now in the 

end? I’ve had a great time in 

China – a time I would not 

want to miss and that I’ll 

never forget. Every day in a 

101

102 

foreign country and culture is 

exciting, and every meeting 

with new people and different 

ways of living broadens 

your horizon. China is particularly 

fascinating. It is a vast 

country in transition, with 

a booming economy and a 

generally upbeat atmosphere. 

You see change going on 

everywhere around you: especially 

the contrast between 

old and new China makes the 

country unique. I will miss 

it – the simplicity of life and 

the friendliness that I have 

encountered here. China will 

always have a special place in 

my heart. 

Sonja Stracke is a student of 

German and social sciences 

at UW, majoring in political 

science. She taught German 

as a foreign language at Henan 

University in Kaifeng, PRC, 

from october 2010 through 

January 2011. 

reAdinG tiPs 

kwww.chinaseite.de for rapid 

culture and travel information, 

as well as a university 

guide. 

103 

05_UW_INTERNATIoNAL

104 

hoW are things in zambia? 

eduCAtion in A 

GLobAL Context 

‘Living and learning in Zam- 

bia’ is the title of a project 

dedicated to the examination 

of Zambian education. What 

challenges and opportunities 

does it present for teachers 

and students? What factors 

determine the success or failure 

of education in a developing 

country like Zambia? 

Since 2008 Prof. Dr. Maria 

Anna Kreienbaum and Dr. Katja 

Gramelt from UW’s School 

of Education (Faculty of Educational 

and Social Sciences) 

have held seminars on these 

and related topics. Their goal 

is to introduce a global context 

of education and cultural 

encounter into the teaching 

program. As well as constituting 

a focal point of their own 

research, the project provides 

students with active research 

experience. 

14 dAys in AnotHer 

WorLd 

The project confronts stu- 

dents with everyday life in 

Zambia, as well as with the 

structure of Zambian education 

and its practical issues 

and problems. Supported by 

grants from the Society of 

Friends and Benefactors of 


the Faculty of Humanities 

Student Committee, and the 

German Protestant overseas 

Development Service (among 

others), seven UW students 

spent two weeks doing field 

research on the project. The 

group visited village and municipal 

schools in Zambia, 

as well as single sex boarding 

schools, coeducational 

schools, and schools with 

special needs sections, and 

was invited to the University 

of Zambia, the David Livingstone 

College of Education, 

and UNICEF. The program 

was completed by visits to 

other social and public institutions 

including hospitals, 

community centers, church 

groups, and aid organizations. 

interCuLturAL CoM- 

PetenCe tHrouGH 

PersonAL exPerienCe 

For future teachers it was 

a unique experience to en- 

counter the educational sys- 

tem of a developing country 

like Zambia at first hand. It 

deepened their sensibility for 

the educational challenges 

facing Africa, and gave them 

a new perspective on European 

and German systems of 

education. All those who took 

part in the visit agreed that it 

was an enriching experience 

to venture beyond Europe 

and the university framework 

and look at the practical application 

of what they had 

learned. For the students the 

trip represented a major step 

toward intercultural competence 

– an aspect of key importance 

for their future profession. 

MotiVAtion For 

FurtHer reseArCH 

A number of students from 

the Zambia project have written 

their examination theses 

in this area, for example on 

the Zambian educational system, 

the (increasingly questioned) 

effectiveness of external 

development aid, and 

the role of sports within the 

framework of social development 

measures. Excerpts are 

to be published in a volume 

of essays with contributions 

from German and Zambian 

authors. The project area 

has, to date, been little researched, 

and participants 

are in dialogue with other academics 

working in this field 

with a view to establishing an 

interdisciplinary network for 

exchange of information and 

the fostering of research into 

Zambia, its people and the 

social and educational challenges 

it faces. 

Living and learning 

in Zambia project 

k www.sambia. 


Prof. Dr. Maria Anna 

Kreienbaum 


Faculty of Educational 

and Social Sciences 

Department of School 

Theory and General Didactics 

Gauss Str. 20 


Tel. +49 (0)202 439-3328 

E-mail kreienbaum@ 


k www.theorie-schule. 

uni-wuppertal.de/ 

105 

05_UW_INTERNATIoNAL

106 

At_A_GLANCE 

doubLe deGree: 

euroPeAn studies 

in WuPPertAL And 

KALininGrAd 

Within the framework of 

the cooperation between 

UW and Kaliningrad State 

Technical University, students 

on UW’s two-semester 

European Studies 

program will be able to take 

a UW master’s degree together 

with a Russian state 

diploma in European Studies, 

spending one semester 

each in Wuppertal and 

Kaliningrad. The interdisciplinary 

program, which covers 

aspects of economics, 

politics, history and law, 

offers – in direct contact 

with EU institutions – not 

only appropriate training for 

EU-oriented professions, 

but also the opportunity to 

specialize in EU-Russian 

relations. 

kwww.europaeistik. 


kwww.europastudienkaliningrad.de 

interCuLturAL CoM- 

MuniCAtion ProGrAM 

in CooPerAtion WitH 

CAiro 

In cooperation with the Ain 

Shams University, Cairo, 

UW has set up a master’s 

program in intercultural 

communication, planned 

to start at the beginning of 

the Egyptian academic year 

2010-2011. The program is 

also open to German students. 

kwww.fba.uni-wuppertal. 

de kGermanistik 

irisH AMbAssAdor 

dAn MuLHALL in 

WuPPertAL 

In the context of an exhibi- 

tion on the life and work of 

William Butler Yeats in the 

University Library, the Ambassador 

of the Republic 

of Ireland, H.E. Dr. Daniel 

Mulhall, spoke on “W. B. 

Yeats: the Romantic and 

the Modern”. The exhibition, 

organized by Prof. Dr. 

Katharina Rennhak and Mr. 

Fergal Treanor of the Department 

of English and 

American Studies, opened 

with a recitation of Yeats’ 

poems by students from 

the department. Conceived 

by the Irish Embassy in Berlin, 

the traveling exhibition 

presents the poet’s life and 

work in thirteen episodes. 

kwww.fba.uni-wuppertal. 

dekEnglish and American 

Studies 

internAtionAL Con- 

FerenCe on diVidend 

PAyout PoLiCy 

Some 50 financial specialists 

from Denmark, Germany, 

Israel, Italy, Luxembourg, 

the Netherlands, 

Saudi Arabia, the UK and 

the USA met at UW on 

July 1 to discuss the latest 

developments in dividend 

payout policy. The event 

was organized by UW’s 

Schumpeter School of 


in cooperation with the 

Center for Financial Studies 

(CFS), Frankfurt, the otto 

Beisheim School of Management, 

Vallendar, and 

the University of Mannheim. 

kwww.ifk-cfs.de 

kwww.finance. 


trAFFiC And trAns- 

PortAtion ConCePt 

For 2018 FiFA WorLd 

CuP in russiA 

Led by UW’s Prof. Dr.-Ing. 

Jürgen Gerlach, an international 

workshop took place 

at Rostov State University 

of Civil Engineering, in 

which students from Germany 

and Switzerland joined 

Kaliningrad students 

to develop a traffic and 

transportation concept for 

the 2018 FIFA World Cup in 

Russia. The workshop was 

convened by Prof. Dr. Vladimir 

Zyryanov, director of 

the Institute of Traffic and 

Transportation at Rostov 

State University of Civil Engineering, 

with which UW 

enjoys a longstanding partnership. 

kwww.svpt.de 

tHird internAtionAL 

sePtuAGint Con- 

FerenCe in WuPPertAL 

More than 60 scholars 

from Europe, Africa, Asia, 

America and Australia met 

in 2010 at Wuppertal’s 

Theological College to discuss 

questions of textual 

transmission, interpretation, 

the history of ancient 

Judaism, and the Hellenistic 

world – the third time an 

international conference on 

the Septuagint has taken 

place in this city. In the 

transmission history of 

the old Testament the 

collection of Greek texts 

known since antiquity as 

the Septuagint – for the 

most part translations of a 

no longer extant Hebrew 

source – hold a position 

of singular importance. 

kwww.septuagintaforschung.de 

THE Traveler‘s presenT Quiz 

3 

5 

absurd 

Every traveler in a foreign country is happy to receive a present to take home with them. It’s 

a sign of welcome from their hosts and of friendship for the folks back home. However, the 

present, often embodying an aspect of the host country’s culture, may be rather a puzzle for 

those who were not on the journey. Here you will find a small selection of such gifts. What do 

they represent? Simply check off your answers and stand on your head to see if you were right. 

Enjoy the challenge! 

WHAt is it? 

A) a set of Tibetan 

meditation bells 

b) a Chinese glockenspiel 

called Bian Zhong 

C) a rack of Swiss drinking 

vessels for schnapps 

d) a medieval instrument 

of torture, the migrainophone 

a.k.a. Kling-Klong 

WHAt is tHis joLLy FeL- 

LoW HoLdinG? 

A) Turkish flatbread 

b) Greek flatbread 

C) an oriental musical instrument 

d) an Italian pizza base 

WHAt is tHe FunCtion oF 

tHis MiniAture sCreen? 

A) an anti-cheating device for examinations 

at Chinese universities 

b) a device for the separation 

from bed and/or board of insolvent 

couples seeking divorce 

C) a decorative architectonic element with 

mother-of-pearl inlay but without function. 

?? 

1 2 

3. We don’t know. If you do, please contact 

marketing@uni-wuppertal.de 

4. B & D (half a point for answer A) 

5. C 

1. B Chinese glockenspiel called Bian Zhong 

2. D Tutankhamun (A, B, & C are also correct) 

WHAt does tHis 

MAsK rePresent? 

A) Tutanchamun 

b) Tutanchamun 

C) Tutanchamun 

d) Tutanchamun 

WHo AM i? 

A) I come from Russia and 

am called Babushka 

b) I also come from Russia 

but I am called Matryoshka 

C) I come from South Park 

and am called Kenny 

d) I have a split personality 

and different names to go with it 

soLutions 

4 


107

108 

06_ 

UW_CAMPUS 

109

110 

better living With environmental bonUs 

Already in 1993 Wup- 

pertal could boast 

Germany’s first combined 

heat and power generation 

plant in the student residence 

hall (dormitory) on 

Albert Einstein Str. This was 

followed by two more firsts: 

Neue Burse 10-12 became 

the country’s first low energy 

building, and Neue Burse 14- 

16 the first zero energy building. 

The plan for three new 

zero energy residences for 

84 students recently won the 

Innovation Prize for Architecture 

and Energy of the Federal 

Ministry of Economics and 

Technology. University Social 

Services Wuppertal has for 

many years fostered ecological 

construction and energy 

supply principles in its buildings. 

Green PoWer For 

student HALLs 

Since the beginning of 2011 

all thirteen student halls run 

by the University Social Services 

have moved to ecological 

electrical energy. University 

Social Services Director Fritz 

Berger comments: “With 

this change we have taken yet 

another step in the direction 

of sustained ecological buildings 

management. In this 

respect, too, we are acting in 

the interests of our 1013 student 

tenants. The extra costs 

they have to bear amount to a 

mere €0.22 per month – not 

a significant sum of money.” 

Eco-power from Wuppertal 

Municipal Utilities supports 

the development of 100% 

carbon-free energy supply 

from Scandinavian hydroelectric 

facilities, at least two 

thirds of which are newly or 

recently constructed. So the 

‘green premium’ on the electricity 

price helps build new 

eco-plant – an investment 

certified by the rigorous ‘oK 

Power’ label of the Energy Vision 

Association. 

our student HALLs 

kAlbert-Einstein-Strasse 4-12 

kCronenberger Strasse 256 

kMax-Horkheimer Strasse 

10-16 „Neue Burse” 

kMax-Horkheimer- 

Strasse 167-169 

kostersiepen 9 – 11 

kMax-Horkheimer-Str. 18 

kostersiepen 15 

uniVersity soCiAL 

serViCes WuPPertAL 

student HALLs MAnAGe- 

Ment oFFiCe 

Max-Horkheimer-Str. 10 


T: +49 (0)202 2438-0 

E: wohnen@hsw.uniwuppertal.de 

kwww.hsw.uniwuppertal.de 

111 

06_UW_ICAMPUS

112 

better eating 

better eAtinG 

A balanced fresh-food 

diet is the key to healthy nu- 

trition – an essential prerequi- 

site for concentrated study 

and research. University Social 

Services provides good 

and inexpensive on-campus 

eating facilities in pleasant 

surroundings. Here you can 

meet up for a coffee, or 

spend an afternoon hour in 

relaxed thought on one of our 

many sun-bathed (if you are 

lucky) terraces with stupendous 

views across the city and 

valley. 

restAurAnts WitH 

PAnorAMiC VieWs 

The C@feteria on UW’s main 

Grifflenberg Campus has 

been remodeled: lighter, airier 

and altogether more comfortable, 

its panoramic view across 

Wuppertal has been enhanced 

with a new all-glass 

façade. The main dining hall 

(mensa) one floor down has 

been similarly upgraded. 

The refurbishment of the 

C@feteria includes a new 

wok-counter, where healthy 

Asian dishes are prepared 

while you watch, as well as 

a buffet with tasty starters, 

cakes and snacks, and a coffee 

bar. Seating has been extended, 

and the lounge area 

is now also roomier. From 

coffee bar to Internet Café 

comfortable armchairs invite 

you to relax and enjoy your 

leisure moments. 

The redesigned Mensa Store 

offers cold drinks, newspapers 

and confectionery, as 

well as a new Shop-in-Shop 

featuring the UNI collection: 

fashionable T-shirts and 

sweatshirts in trendy colors 

and a range of different designs, 

as well as paper goods 

and presents. Here too we 

care for quality and sustainability: 

the UNI collection is 

made of ecologically produced 

cotton from fair-trade 

sources. 

Green oAsis 

The new Lecture Hall Cen- 

ter on Grifflenberg Campus 

boasts an ecologically accented 

Cafébar. A genuine green 

and white oasis, it offers a 

range of fair-trade coffees, 

as well as tea, drinking chocolate, 

soft drinks, snacks, 

and fresh bakery produce. 

Developed jointly by the 58 

members of the Federal Association 

of Student Social 

Services and the German 

Student Social Services in cooperation 

with the Hamburg 

coffee company Tchibo, the 

innovative Cafébar concept 

uses only sustainably resourced 

or recycled materials in 

its furnishings and disposable 

goods. 

� � � � 

Four stArs For 

VALue And serViCe 

Patrons of UW’s cafeterias 

and dining halls are invited all 

year round to post their comments 

and evaluations online, 

with a maximum of 5 stars on 

the chef’s hat for variety, flavor, 

value-for-money, environment, 

and service. For details 

visit 

kwww.hsw.uni-wuppertal.de 

on average we are awarded 

four of these five stars. Comments 

like “Good prices for 

good food”, or “The action 

corner is great” make us 

proud of our work, and when 

the newly renovated main 

dining hall is praised for its 

“carefully chosen seasonal 

décor, adequate light, accessibility 

for people with restricted 

mobility, comfortable 

seating, top cleanliness, and 

pictures on the walls that enhance 

the atmosphere”, we 

feel the money and work invested 

in refurbishment have 

been worthwhile. As well as 

these testimonials, we take 

our patrons’ suggestions seriously. 

Whatever is possible is 

done. 

113 

06_UW_ICAMPUS

114 

movin’ on Up … 

Fitness, health, and the 

enjoyment of physical 

activity are the driving forces 

behind university sports 

at UW. Whether studying, 

researching, or working at a 

desk, you spend a lot of time 

at university sitting on a chair, 

stool or bench, without the 

movement that is so necessary 

for a balanced way of 

life. The main aim of university 

sports is, therefore, to offer 

activities that enhance your 

sense of wellbeing and keep 

you in good health. 

More tHAn 70 diFFerent 

sPorts on oFFer 

The University Sports Center 

offer ranges from aikido and 

aerobics through Capoeira, 

fencing, and inline hockey, to 

Zumba®. It includes classical 

activities like running and cycling, 

team sports like soccer, 

handball and volleyball, and 

health and relaxation activities 

like back-training, yoga and 

Pilates. There’s something 

there for everyone, whether 

you are into martial arts or 

simply want the latest trendiest 

activity. You can prove 

your mastery and fitness in 

many different competitions, 

including the annual University 

Sports Fest. 

Fitness de Luxe in 

uW’s berGWerK 

BergWerk is the name of the 

university’s in-house fitness 

center on the Main Grifflenberg 

Campus (entrance via 

the Sports & Design Cafeteria), 

where you can work out 

on state-of-the-art equipment 

or join group training sessions. 

Modern equipment and 

professional advice provide 

top conditions for success. All 

you need to integrate stressfree 

sport and movement into 

your university day is the Fitness 

Card. 

‘study breAK exPress’ 

– reLAxed And Fit WitH 

5 Minutes’ ACtiVity 

Since November 2010 University 

Sports Center trainers 

have toured lecture halls and 

seminar rooms to freshen up 

students with a five minute 

activity break between classes. 

That this boosts concentration, 

creativity and overall 

performance is scientifically 

proven and confirmed by UW 

faculty and students alike. 

‘exPress breAK’ For 

desK WorKers 

The University Sports 

Center’s personal training 

team comes direct to you at 

your university desk. With 

others from your own or 

neighboring offices you will 

be offered a short individual 

relaxation, movement and fitness 

program. 

HAnG uP – in tHe uniVersity 

sPorts Center’s 

HAMMoCK PArK 

In a leafy corner behind Building 

I on Grifflenberg Campus 

lies an oasis of peace 

and recovery – a hammock 

park set up by the University 

Sports Center in summer semester 

2010 for the mental 

and physical wellbeing of UW 

students and staff. 

kwww.hochschulsport.uniwuppertal.de 

uW nAMed toP 

sPorts PArtner 

uniVersity 

UW has been a ‘top sports 

partner university’ since February 

2006, offering athletes 

the opportunity to combine 

sports training and performance 

with their degree or 

research programs. Student 

members of an olympic or 

similar training squad can apply 

for a semester’s leave of 

absence to prepare for important 

competitions. 

toP AtHLetes in 2010 

kWuppertal boxer Marvin 

Alohoutadé has been study- 

ing art and sports at UW since 

2006. He took third place in 

the middleweight class of 

the 2010 German University 

Championships. 

kJudoka Sharleena Jarvis 

from Erkelenz has been studying 

English and mathematics 

at UW since 2007 with a view 

to becoming a primary school 

teacher. In 2010 she won the 

German University Championships 

in her discipline. 

kLong-distance runner 

Sanaa Koubaa, a student of 

German, mathematics and 

sports at UW since 2009, is 

2010’s German University 

Champion over 1500 and 

3000 m. 

kLongboarder Philipp Kuretzky 

from Cologne took second 

place in the German University 

Sports Federation’s 

2010 open surfing contest in 

France. 

kBoxer olivia Luczak is not 

only a faculty member of 

the School of Civil Engineering, 

she has also repeatedly 

won both German and Polish 

women’s welterweight titles. 

Her goals for the next two 

years are to take her doctorate 

and participate in London’s 

2012 olympics. 

kAlexej Mittendorf from 

Cologne, a student of sports 

and education at UW since 

2002, plays American football 

for Germany’s European 

Cup-winners. He has played 

for Düsseldorf Panthers since 

1996 and been on the German 

team since 2003. 

kGerman women’s javelin 

champion Katharina Molitor 

has been studying sports and 

social sciences at UW since 

2004. She took fourth place 

in the European Athletics 

Championships and came 

fifth in the IAAF World Championships 

at Daegu in 2011. 

Katharina Molitor trains with 

Bayer Leverkusen. 

kUW astroparticle physicist 

Uwe Naumann from Solingen 

is Germany’s 2010 swimming 

champion over 200 m. 

kThorsten Pott from Remscheid, 

German cross-country 

mountain bike champion, 

studies civil engineering at 

UW. He trains with Adler 

Lüttringhausen cycling club. 

kPinar Yilmaz from Wuppertal 

has been studying sports 

and Romance languages and 

literatures at UW since 2007. 

Germany’s amateur women’s 

flyweight boxing champion 

in 2010, she trains with ASV 


115 

06_UW_ICAMPUS

116 

At_A_GLANCE 

seCond nrW uniVersi- 

ties drAGon boAt CuP 

The North Rhine-Westpha- 

lian Universities’ Dragon 

Boat Cup is awarded annually 

at the end of each summer 

semester at a competition 

on Wuppertal’s 

Beyenburg lake. In 2010 

UW’s four teams were 

challenged by six other 

teams from Dortmund, Aachen, 

Münster, Bonn and 

Cologne universities. The 

2011 event was won by the 

team from Münster, with 

UW’s boat taking fourth 

place. 

First berGisCH 

reGionAL uniVersity 

run 2011 

In the wake of the fourth 

Bergisch Company Run the 

first Bergisch University 

Run is scheduled to take 

place on october 16, 2011, 

with UW students and staff 

covering a 5.5 km course 

for charity through downtown 

Wuppertal. The event 

is organized by Bergisch 

Regional Health Insurance, 

which is also a University 

Sports partner. 

uW sPorts GAins 

toP rAnKinG 

Wuppertal’s University 

Sports was again awarded 

a leading place in 2010’s 

federal Center for Higher 

Education Development 

(CHE) rankings. With 

an average grade of 1.7, 

it shared second place 

among NRW institutions 

with the University of Paderborn. 

tWo AWArds For 

uniVersity sPorts 

Within the framework of 

Science Year 2011’s ‘Research 

for Health’ competition, 

Wuppertal’s 

University Sports won 

two awards for innovative 

health concepts: first place 

in the ‘Good Practice – University 

Health’ competition 

for its ‘Express Break’, and 

second place for its ‘Using 

the Break’ project. 

a family-frienDly University 

UW views the compatibility 

of higher education 

with family responsibilities 

as more than a marginal 

concern – it is an important 

strategic and social goal. For 

this reason the university offers 

a number of facilities and 

supportive measures for families, 

so that parents can pursue 

their studies, academic 

career or profession knowing 

that their children are in 

good hands. 

neW serViCe oFFiCe – 

FAMiLie@buW 

The new service office advi- 

ses university members on 

all questions of childcare and 

helps find a kindergarten or 

nursery place. It also provides 

advice and assistance on 

questions of care for other 

(e.g. elderly) family members. 

Gabriele Hillebrand-Knopff, 

Deputy Equal opportuni- 

ties Coordinator, comments: 

“The service office will put 

you in touch with competent 

people in care organizations, 

public authorities and specialized 

regional counselors. It 

serves as a link between UW 

and these bodies.” 

khttp://buw.servicebürofamilie.de 

KinderGArten And 

nursery GrouPs 

The main UW campus has 

two separate childcare facilities: 

the University Kindergarten 

with a total of 50 places, 

16 of which are for very young 

children, and the Uni-Zwerge 

(Tiny Tots), established by a 

group of student parents for 

children between 8 months 

and 4 years. 

‘Free tiMe For Kids’ 

Since 1996 the ‘Free Time 

for Kids’ program has provided 

facilities at the university 

for children of students and 

staff during school vacations. 

The project was recognized 

as a best-practice model by 

NRW’s Ministry of Family Affairs 

in 1998 and won an innovation 

prize in Wuppertal’s 

competition for the city’s 

most family-friendly enterprise 

in 2005. Since then UW 

has been a member of the 

Wuppertal Network for Families. 

studyinG WitH A CHiLd 

The handbook ‘Studying with a 

Child’ provides comprehensive 

information for parents and 

parents-to-be about studying 

at UW with a young dependent 

family. The University 

Library has a parent-andchild 

room, and there are well 

equipped baby changing and 

nursing rooms on the university 

premises. The dining hall 

(mensa) has plenty of high 

chairs for its youngest patrons. 

Gleichstellungsbüro 

Dr. Christel Hornstein 

T: +49 (0)202 439-2308 

E: gleichstellung@ 


kwww.gleichstellung. 


117 

06_UW_ICAMPUS

118 

books anD more – the University library 

“It is the function of 

the university library to 

acquire and make available 

on its premises and via data 

networks conventional as 

well as electronic media and 

sources of information.” This 

rather dry statement from the 

University Library Regulations 

could be taken to say all 

there is to say about the University 

Library. But it is the 

facts and figures that reveal 

the range and implications of 

the library’s services and the 

intensity with which they are 

used. 

A normal day in the library 

sees some 2000 students 

and academics coming 

through its doors at the three 

campus locations: its main 

premises on the Grifflenberg, 

and its two dependencies 

at Haspel and Freudenberg. 

A total of 10,000 sq m open 

shelf space houses 950,000 

books, and another 250,000 

volumes are held in closed 

storage – these can usually be 

ordered by borrowers at short 

notice. The library contains 

547 workplaces for readers, 

and 144 computer stations; 

WLAN is available throughout 

the premises. 

rooM WitH A VieW 

The role of the University Lib- 

rary as a place of silent indus- 

try and learning at the heart of 

the university will gain further 

significance with the completion 

in 2012 of the new floor 

at the top of the building. Already 

at an advanced stage, 

the panoramic reading room 

it houses will provide an additional 

200 study places in 

attractive and functional surroundings. 

CitiZens And youtHFuL 

sCHoLArs 

As well as to university members, 

the University Library is 

open to the citizens of Wuppertal 

and the entire region. 

And every year it welcomes 

more than 1000 secondary 

school students, who for the 

most part use its facilities 

for completing a school project, 

and are thus introduced 

at an early age to the task 

of looking for bibliographical 

sources and references. Many 

of them can be seen later 

in these same rooms as UW 

students. 

FACts And FiGures 

k1,800,000 book loans and 

loan extensions per year 

� 1,200,000 printed volumes 

k600,000 library users per 

year 

k450,000 visits to catalogs 

and licensed databases per 

year 

k56,000 e-books and e-journals 

k42,000 inter-library loans 

per year 

k30,000 new acquisitions 

per year 

k16,000 active users per year 

k3,400 course and guided 

tour participants per year. 

e-LibrAry 

Among the traditional 

core competencies of a library 

are the acquisition of books 

and other media, the routine 

business of loans and returns, 

and the general production 

and communication of information. 

Wuppertal’s University 

Library took the further 

step into the electronic future 

when it allied itself with 

NRW’s Digital Library in the 

1990s. Since that time it can 

be counted a fully up-to-date 

e-library, with standard holdings 

of e-books, e-journals 

and specialist subject databases, 

as well as more than 600 

electronic doctoral and postdoctoral 

dissertations and 

other university publications. 

A CuLturAL sPACe 

In addition to its main func- 

tions, the University Library 

seeks to provide a cultural 

space where university members, 

along with the citizens of 

Wuppertal and the Bergisch 

region, can enjoy exhibitions, 

lectures and readings on a wide 

range of subjects. ‘Heavy 

Metal in the Bergisch Land’ 

is as welcome, for example, 

as ‘Writing a Doctorate on 

Proust’, ‘Japanese Life and 

Culture’, or ‘The Berlin Wall – 

a Boundary through the German 

Nation’. 

The networking this involves 

both within and outside the 

university has become a valuable 

resource. The annual 

federal action week ‘Library 

Meeting-Point’, for instance, 

is an occasion when the University 

Library and Wuppertal 

City Library work closely 

together. And the University 

Library is a favorite venue 

not only for academic conferences 

and similar events 

but also for readings by poets 

and writers invited by various 

university departments. In 

this context recent years have 

seen a number of popular 

German authors from Tilman 

Rammstedt (Der Kaiser von 

China) to Vladimir Kaminer 

(Russendisko) reading from 

their work. 

University Library 

Gaußstraße 20 

Building BZ | Floors 7-10 


T: +49 (0)202 439-2705 

k www.bib.uni-wuppertal.de 

119 

06_UW_ICAMPUS

120 

UW goes Digital 

diGitAL siGnAGe 

Digital Signage is the 

name of UW’s new infor- 

mation system. A total of 

ten 46-inch monitors on the 

three university campuses, 

Grifflenberg, Freudenberg 

and Haspel, keep staff, visitors 

and above all the 14,000 

students up to date with 

university life and events, as 

well as with regional, national 

and international news. Changes 

in lecture programs are 

advertised here, as are the 

departure times of buses 

serving the university; even 

the Wuppertal weather finds 

a place – the information is 

updated several times a day 

by UW’s Press office on the 

KISS principle (Keep It Short 

And Simple). 

CAMPusMobiLe 

Information can be obtained 

online from almost anywhere 

in the world with the new 

campusmobile app, to be introduced 

at UW at the beginning 

of winter semester 2011- 

2012. Available as a download 

from a UW website link, the 

application bundles relevant 

information for students and 

visitors alike. Using their 

password, students can access 

their academic program, 

including their assignment 

etc. grades. More general 

information about university 

events, campus layout, lecture 

hall use etc. – or even the 

week’s menu at the mensa 

(dining hall) or the time of the 

next bus or train home – is 

available without a password. 

Current national and international 

news completes this 

part of the offer. 

PLAnninG CeLL 2011: 

CAMPusonLine 

UW will shortly be introducing 

a new campus management 

system, and students, 

too, are increasingly planning 

their degree programs online. 

Two student planning cells – 

one on campus management 

and the other on university 

communications – have been 

set up to optimize this double 

development. The students’ 

biggest wish is that all functions 

should be networked 

and accessible with a single 

click – from course and examination 

registration, through 

the compilation of personal 

schedules, to course handouts. 

kwww.planungszelle.uniwuppertal.de 

uniKoLLeKtion 

121

122 

07_ 

UW_CULTURE 

123

124 

P. 122: 

Laura ohlendorf, 

untitled 

2011, acrylic and oil paint, various 

materials on plywood, 

140 x 120 cm 

PortrAit 

Laura ohlendorf is a 

collector of what other people 

throw out. Whether bought 

in the flea market, bid for on 

e-bay, or picked up from the 

roadside on cellar and garage 

clearance days, old pictures 

and objects form the inspiration 

of her work. From the time 

she started university she 

has assembled a collection of 

family photos of the sort we 

all have lying around – generations 

of other people’s families, 

into whose private lives 

she can suddenly submerge. 

Fragments preserved in the 

moment of their disappearance. 

These form the material of 

her compositions, someti- 

ALL tHAt GLitters 

is not disCo 

Six UW art students exhibit at 

Galerie Epikur 

Laura ohlendorf 

Sebastian Lenz 

Sarah Pabst 

Ivo Kiefer 

Hendrik Kretschmer 

Momo Trommer 

Wuppertal’s Galerie Epikur 

regularly hosts an artist-inresidence 

program during the 

summer months. In 2011, six 

UW art students put on an 

impressive exhibition there 

under the direction of Professor 

Katja Pfeiffer. 

mes physically, always imaginatively: 

rejected bric-à brac, 

value-added in a collage. 

She paints on old pieces of 

linoleum or forgotten tablecloths 

– objets trouvés that 

in themselves tell stories of 

times past. Used materials, 

never of great value, always 

only the background of other 

people’s histories, these 

things become significant 

only now, in the context of 

the images projected on and 

into them. A piece of old lino 

carries the life that could have 

taken place on it, a family story 

transformed through dying 

matter into the wholly immaterial. 

alUmni CUltUre – a lifelong bonD 

Culture is in the broadest 

sense everything 

we shape and create ourselves. 

It influences our perceptions, 

thoughts, values, and 

actions, and defines our social 

belonging. A university also 

has a living culture that is continuously 

developing. It is our 

desire and aim to shape this 

culture so that our students 

feel themselves part of UW 

society and experience this 

as an enrichment throughout 

their lives. 

The promotion of a genuine 

alumni culture at UW seeks 

to provide our former students 

with structures that link 

them to the university long 

after graduation. The Alumni 

Service functions as a framework 

bundling an increasing 

number of offers and events 

that demonstrate and embody 

the growth of UW’s alumni 

culture. 

GrAduAtion dAy – 

A FestiVe oCCAsion 

Celebrated this year for the 

ninth successive time in 


Hall, Graduation Day has long 

become a firm fixture in the 

corporate mind of the university. 

The festive farewell to 

our graduates, who receive 

their degrees in the company 

of their parents, relatives and 

friends, marks the conclusion 

of an important phase 

in their lives, and at the same 

time, we hope, the beginning 

of many further activities cementing 

the bond between 

professional life and the university. 

125 

07_UW_CULTURE

126 

University ball anD graDUate yearbook 

CeLebrAtinG 

suCCess – tHe 

uniVersity bALL 

Held annually on the evening 

of Graduation Day, the University 

Ball is a glamorous occasion 

not only for the current 

class of graduates but for UW 

alumni of all years, who are invited 

to renew old acquaintances 

and make new ones in 

the city and university of their 

youth. The traditional event 

was started with the express 

intention of creating a relaxed 

but high-profile occasion in 

which as many people as 

possible from the university, 

as well as from regional 

business and industry, could 

meet, enjoy each other’s 

company, and make contacts 

both old and new. The idea 

has proved immensely successful, 

and every November 

the UW Ball draws a greater 

number of enthusiastic supporters 

than it did the year 

before. 

Post your ProFiLe – tHe 

GrAduAte yeArbooK 

Published for the first time in 

2011 on the American model, 

the brand new Graduate Yearbook 

aims to present in portrait 

form the entire graduate 

class of the year from each 

of UW’s seven faculties. A 

unique project in the German 

university landscape, the Yearbook 

is more than a souvenir 

of the alma mater, it is a 

valuable source of contacts 

and part of an ever-growing 

alumni network. Enrollment 

in the Graduate Yearbook is 

voluntary and can be completed 

online at kwww.alumni. 

uni-wuppertal.de/absolventenjahrbuch. 

KeePinG in touCH 

– WWW.ALuMni. 

uni-WuPPertAL.de 

The UW website includes 

– at 01_Campus & University 

– a new alumni platform 

bringing together offers and 

information for UW graduates 

both past and present. Here 

you can put your profile in 

the Yearbook, find out about 

Graduation Day and the University 

Ball, or get in touch 

with alumni organizations 

and continuing education programs. 

UW’s Alumni Service 

plans and coordinates the 

entire range of activities, connects 

people with each other, 

answers questions, provides 

information, and supports the 

alumni associations of the 

university’s different faculties. 

127

128 

flUoresCent message in bottle from photon gnome 

Leonid – A neW uW 

CuLturAL MAGAZine 

It all started with a seminar 

paper that looked like a music 

magazine, complete with CD, 

song list and poster. A trip to 

India and an oasis concert inspired 

student of German Jan 

Dobrick to put pen to paper, 

but the result was too dense, 

too extreme, and too literary 

for his assignment. on the 

other hand it would have been 

a pity to dump it. 

The idea grew for a magazine 

that would rescue forgotten 

jewels like this from their fate 

in dusty files and on decaying 

hard drives. Dobrick soon 

found others who shared his 

enthusiasm, and Leonid was 

launched in February 2011. Its 

remit runs from journalism, 

short stories, poems and 

sketches, through photography, 

graphics and experimen- 

tal typography, to tweets, 

walkthroughs and assorted 

blurb from collapsible building 

instructions to deadly pharmaceutical 

notes. The only 

criterion is readability. 

If you’re thinking: “o, I’ve 

written/designed/drawn/crea- 

ted something like that mys- 

elf”, then just click the aster- 

isk (or Facebook ‘Like’ button 

– whichever) in your brain and 

dig it out. Because Leonid is 

open to all. If you’ve got something 

here and now, just 

go to the end of this text. 

Every Leonid issue will have 

its own topic, and the first 

issue – due to hit the bookstores 

with winter semester 

2011-2012 – focuses on 

light. The publication team 

of students and staff from 

the Faculty of Humanities 

and (students only) from Art 

and Design will rejoice collectively 

with every manuscript 

received. 

And what might such a ma- 

nuscript look like? Needless 

to say, the topic can be freely 

interpreted: we’re fascinated, 

for instance, by the secret life 

of an LED, or a haiku on personal 

illumination burnt onto 

the paper with a lens. A comic 

from Wülfrath on the golden 

photon-gnome is as much 

our cup of tea as a letter throwing 

light on the wide pastures 

of political corruption. We 

are dazzled by a photoreport 

of students who glow in the 

dark, and hit an all time high 

with a fluorescent message 

in a bottle from a recycling 

machine written with a burntout 

sparkler. ‘Such tricks hath 

strong imagination’, and all 

tricks are welcome that have 

anything to do with light. 

Equally welcome, of course, 

are your suggestions for 

future issues. Many things 

must be planned in advan- 

ce, and making a magazine 

means organization and hard 

work as well as creativity. 

The production team can only 

build the frame on which your 

ideas are pinned, wherever 

you find them and however 

garish or abstruse their form 

or function. The ideas themselves 

must come from you. 

So what does Leonid offer its 

authors? Not money, we’re 

afraid – that’s the hard truth. 

The magazine must tread a 

long and stony path before 

it even covers its own outgoings, 

so remuneration for 

its authors, for all the value 

added they produce, remains 

an idle dream. It is the value 

itself that counts – the wonder 

of creation, contribution, 

collection of your copy, concept 

and layout in the state of 

the designer’s art, printed on 

paper of photographic quality, 

and bound – bound to delight 

both hand and heart. What 

feedback you will get from 

your fans at the release party, 

what faves, what likeits … 

For especially productive and 

committed authors we even 

reserve a starcut presentation. 

And if you want to give more, 

do more, get closer to the core 

of this literary-and-publicist 

excess, come to the editorial 

meetings (time and place on 

application per e-mail). Here, 

organizational talent is required 

above all, along with a 

feeling for language and an 

untiring enthusiasm for pinning 

up posters, distributing 

flyers, carting round piles of 

magazines etc. Your reward? 

– The sense, unique and unforgettable, 

that you’ve saved 

a cultural meteorite or two 

from burning out. 

Contact 

http://leonid-magazin.de/ (Author 

information under ‘Mehr 

Licht – More Light’.) 

E-mail redaktion@leonidmagazin.de 

129 

07_UW_CULTURE

130 

k www.sommerloch.de 

What UW soUnD(s) like 

It’s Monday afternoon, 

a quarter to four. Students, 

faculty members and 

some outside guests trickle 

slowly into the Music Room. 

The atmosphere is good – 

today Santana’s “Smooth” 

and “You‘ve got a friend in 

me“ (from Toy Story) are 

on the program. Promptly 

at four Christoph Spengler 

sets the choir off on a few 

simple warm-up exercises; 

then they start on the pieces 

they are currently rehearsing. 

Spengler first sings each individual 

passage, and gradually 

the parts and voices 

come together. The choral 

arrangement works. “okay, 

that was great. Now we’ll 

go through the whole piece. 

Please stand up“. And as the 

university choir launches into 

“Smooth”, a breath of Latin 

America wafts through the 

room. 

UW’s choir is one of the few 

pop choirs at a German university. 

When Christoph Spengler 

took it over in 2007 there 

were only nine members, but 

now they number fifty. The 

secret of his success? “Making 

music together is simply 

fun,” the choir’s leader and 

conductor confirms enthusiastically, 

“and especially with 

such a nice crowd!” When 

students from so many different 

faculties enjoy singing 

together, the results have to 

be good. It is hard to think of 

a University Ball or Freshers’ 

Introduction now without a 

performance by the University 

Choir. 

Spengler has also recently 

taken over leadership of the 

University orchestra, which 

had dwindled to a mere six 

musicians when he started. 

“Now there are twenty of us, 

and our summer concert in 

2011 will be the first for many 

years when we don’t have to 

buy in help from outside.” The 

repertoire, a mixture of classical 

and film music, big band 

arrangements and pop, is also 

interesting and stimulating 

for everyone. As one would 

expect, choir and orchestra 

frequently work together, and 

Spengler has developed some 

musical arrangements of his 

own for them. “I really enjoy 

the University orchestra,” 

a viola player reports, “the 

atmosphere at rehearsals is 

great, and the pieces we are 

doing really speak to us. It’s 

fun!” And that’s how it should 

be. 

Both choir and orchestra are 

open to non-university members. 

For FurtHer inForMAtion 

And sCHeduLes see: 

kwww.chor.uni-wuppertal.de 

kwww.orchester.uni-wuppertal.de 

131 

07_UW_CULTURE

132 

ConCerts With a DifferenCe 

Bach combined with 

Irish folk, classical music 

with gypsy verve. The 

sheer joy of playing, joking, 

improvising on traditional 

and untraditional instruments 

alike – ever heard of the jawbone 

of an ass? 

Latin, salsa or flamenco, 

chanson, gospel or jazz – music 

connects 

Which is why UW has been 

enjoying its UNIKoNZERT 

(University Concert) series for 

more than 25 years. Whether 

in homage to Eric Satie or 

Tom Waits, a University Concert 

is always an experience. 

Every semester the program 

is arranged with loving attention 

to detail and a penchant 

for the unusual. From classic 

severity to past and present 

legend, from the world’s many 

cultures to the shrill tones 

of subculture, a University 

Concert is cult, not mainstream. 

It’s always special, it 

always connects. 

“Music,” said Angelo Branduardi, 

“is the best form of 

communication.” We agree, 

and await our next surprise. 

ProGrAM For 

tHe Winter 

seMester 2011-12 

k19.10.11 | Poetic Jazz | 

jazz from Poland – one 

is rarely touched so 

deeply | Pauluskirche 

k09.11.11 | More Maids | 

Is this Germany’s most 

charming folk band? | 

Pauluskirche 

k14.12.11 | Gabriele Glaser | 

Celebrating Mahalia 

Jackson’s hundredth birthday 

– a homage | Pauluskirche 

k18.01.12 | Choir and 

orchestra of the University 

of Wuppertal | Pauluskirche 

kwww.termine. 


tiCKet sALes 

kUwe Blass | UNI Konzerte | 

Tel. +49 (0)202 439-2346 | Email 

blass@uni-wuppertal.de 

kWuppertal Information 

office – central bus station 

(Elberfeld Döppersberg) 

Tel. (0202) 19 433 | open 

Mon.–Fri. 9:00-18:00, Sat. 

10:00-14:00 | E-mail infozentrum@stadt-wuppertal.de 

kKöndgen Books – 

university branch 

Grifflenberg Campus, 

next to main cafeteria | 

Tel. (0202) 439 28 75 | 

open (teaching semester 

only) Mon.–Thurs. 8:30- 

16:30, Fri. 8:30-14:00 

At_A_GLANCE 

Mies VAn der roHe 

in WuPPertAL 

“Art and technology – a 

new unity” was the motto 

formulated by Walter Gropius 

for the Bauhaus, and it 

was in this spirit that two 

UW professors from very 

different disciplines, design 

historian Gerda Breuer and 

materials scientist Friederike 

Deuerler, set out to examine 

Mies van der Rohe’s 

famous Barcelona Chair. 

Their work ‘From Prototype 

to Cult object’ was 

presented in an exhibition 

at Wuppertal University 

Gallery. 

kwww.fbf.uni-wuppertal. 

de 

PAintinGs by WiLLi 

bAuMeister 

Seventy years since work 

on them started, thirteen 

still extant paintings by Willi 

Baumeister (1889-1955) 

from a sequence of eighteen 

wall paintings executed 

for the Wuppertal paint 

manufacturer Prof. Dr. Kurt 

Herberts could be seen by 

the public for the first time 

in a permanent exhibition 

in the foyer of the Lecture 

Hall Center on UW’s Freudenberg 

Campus. Willi 

Baumeister’s 1939–1940 

sequence demonstrates a 

variety of techniques and 

many different forms. 

kwww.archiv.uniwuppertal.de 

uniVersity LibrAry 

As CuLturAL sPACe 

Vorbylder was the title of a 

photographic exhibition of 

women from the Bergisch 

Land who achieved recognition 

for their public, social, 

cultural or economic 

activities. The Remscheid 

photographer Guido Adolphs 

exhibited the series of 

b/w images as role models 

for the region and its people. 

kwww.vorbylder.de 

exHibitions And 

reAdinGs in tHe 

uniVersity LibrAry 

kJapanese Life and 

Culture 

kWilliam Butler Yeats: 

Life and Work 

kThe Berlin Wall: a 

Boundary through the 

German Nation 

kVladimir Kaminer: 

reading (planned) 

kSafeta obhodjas: 

Wafting Veils Away 

is Why I Write 

kGünter Lamprecht: reading 

from Döblin’s novel 

Berlin Alexanderplatz 

k www.termine. 


steLLA bAuM Art PriZe 

At the annual awards ceremony 

of the Society of 


the University of Wuppertal 

the Stella Baum Art Prize 

for 2010 was presented to 

Sandra Creutz for her work 

‘Woman with Dog’. The 

self-portrait was selected 

from 67 submitted works. 

The prize, worth €2500, is 

named after the Wuppertal 

art collector and patron 

Stella Baum, who was an 

Honorary Fellow of the University 

of Wuppertal. 

FiLM FestiVAL – 

uniCut 2011 

The sixth Film Festival, 

Unicut 2011, again featured 

work by UW students. 

The nine films shown at 

Wuppertal’s CinemaxX 

focused on sport and movement, 

above all as an 

aspect of daily life. At one 

moment serious, the next 

humorous, the productions 

derived from a cross-faculty 

cooperation between 

UW’s Sports Sciences and 

the Department of Communications 

Design at the 

Folkwang School of Art in 

Essen. The project was 

led by Anna Silvia Bins and 

Torsten Kleine 

kwww.sportwissenschaft.uni-wuppertal.de/ 

personal/kleine 

sCreensHot 

‘Gold and new love, at last’ 

was the motto of an exhibition 

in November 2010 at 


Hall. UW art students from 

Prof. Katja Pfeiffer’s class 

presented works ranging 

from painting and sculpture 

to graphic art and photography 

and from abstract compositions 

to figures. 

133 

07_UW_CULTURE

134 

08_ 

UW_FoR SCHooLS 

135

136 

seeing yoUr Way aheaD 

stUDent CoUnseling at UW 

Abitur – 

tHen WHAt? 

Before taking their Abitur 

(German higher schoolleaving 

certificate), upper 

school students can sample 

university air and try out what 

degree program would suit 

them best. In close cooperation 

with the university’s 

seven faculties, UW’s 



(ZSB) provides a wide range 

of guidance and advice, and 

many departments offer 

events and practical experience 

opportunities to help 

school leavers see their way 

ahead and make clear and appropriate 

choices of subject 

and degree program. 

inForMAtion dAys For 

sCHooLs 

When late January comes, 

it’s time for UW’s Schools 

Information Days, when 

teachers and professors, 

together with the Student 

Counseling Service, show 

upper school students round 

the university and present its 

many degree and study programs 

Course sAMPLinG 

UW’s online course program 

’Wusel’ lists all lectures and 

seminars to which school students 

are admitted. 

kwww.wusel.uniwuppertal.de 

k Course program 

kCourse sampling for school 

students 

CHoosinG your uniVer- 

sity deGree ProGrAM 

And ProFession 

In our group decision training 

sessions experienced UW 

professors and counselors 

provide school leavers with 

advice and support in choosing 

an individually appropriate 

degree program or profession. 

LAte niGHt student 

CounseLinG 

Every July all NRW’s Student 

Counseling Services – including 

the Wuppertal ZSB – are 

open one evening until 10 

p.m. for information and consultation 

with school leavers. 

sCHooL serViCe 

We come direct to you in 

school and inform you about 

UW’s range of subjects and 

degree and study programs – 

or with a concentrated focus 

on a single program. 

tWin-trACK deGree 

sAMPLinG 

A week-long practical sam- 

pling of UW’s combined de- 

gree and professional training 

programs. 

Individual guidance for school 

leavers: our doors are open 

Mon-Thur 9 a.m.–4 p.m., Fri 

9 a.m.–2 p.m. 

For a comprehensive over- 

view of our offers for school 

students visit 

kwww.schule.uni-wuppertal.de 

Meet 

us At 



Campus Grifflenberg 

Building B, Floor 05/06 

Gauss Str. 20 


Quick information 

Mon-Thur 9 a.m.–4 p.m. 

Tues 9 a.m.–5 p.m. 

Fri 9 a.m.–2 p.m. 

Advice and guidance 

(no appointment necessary) 

Mon 1–4 p.m. 

Tues 10 a.m.– 12 

noon and 1–5 p.m. 

Wed 1–3 p.m. 

Thur 10 a.m.– 12 


+ first Tuesday in month 

(for working people) 

5.30–8 p.m. 

CALL us on 

T: +49 (0)202 439-2595 

Quick information 

Mon-Thur 10 a.m.–12 


Fri 10 a.m.–12 noon and 1–2 

p.m. 

Advice and guidance 

Mon & Wed 1–3 p.m. 

Fri 1–2 p.m. 

FurtHer inForMAtion 

And ContACt 

E: zsb@uni-wuppertal.de 

kwww.zsb.uniwuppertal.de 

137 

08_UW_FoR SCHooLS

138 

thinking aboUt University? 

here are some tips … 

Mint kideAL 

Conditions For 

students in sCienCe 

And enGineerinG 

Mathematics, Informatics, 

Natural sciences, and Technology 

are the four MINT 

areas. But MINT stands for 

more – it promises stimulating, 

future-oriented degree 

programs with excellent career 

prospects. 

Whether developing cleanair 

processes as a chemist, 

biologist or environmental 

engineer, or working on 

earthquake-proof buildings 

or modern traffic concepts 

as a civil engineer, you will 

be laying the foundations for 

products that make life better, 

safer, healthier and more 

comfortable. 

Study conditions in MINT sub- 

jects are ideal: small groups, 

highly motivated professors, 

and exciting research projects 

in which students can 

also participate. Professional 

prospects are excellent, with 

almost every other company 

in Germany looking for qualified 

scientists and engineers. 


bACHeLor’s ProGrAM 

in enGineerinG WitH 

FACHHoCHsCHuLreiFe 

Civil engineering, printing and 

media engineering, electrical 

engineering, mechanical 

engineering, safety engineering, 

and IT can all be studied 

at UW with admission qualifications 

for a University of Applied 

Science. This is possible 

thanks to a special course at 

the Technical Academy Wuppertal 

(TAW) which prepares 

candidates for an examination 

in mathematics, physics and 

English. once successfully 

past this hurdle, they can apply 

for a place at UW. 

kwww.uni-wuppertal.de 

kDegree programskApplication 

and registration kAdmissionrequirementskAdmission 

with Fachhochschulreife 

stArtinG your studies – 

don’t PAniC 

Each winter semester at 

UW starts with a ‘Welcome 

Week’ to introduce UW freshers 

to the university. After a 

welcoming address by the 

Rector, Prof. Dr. Lambert T. 

Koch, the new students will, 

in the course of the week, 

get to know their own faculties 

and departments as well 

as the central organizational 

units such as the library or information 

and media center. 

Help is also provided with the 

complex task of working out 

a personal course schedule, 

and practical tips are offered 

by students for students 

about studying and living in 


kWelcome Week brochure 

available from September at 

www.uni-wuppertal.de 

doubLe sCHooL- 

LeAVer yeArs 

Due to the nationwide reduction 

of time spent at high 

school from 9 to 8 years, NRW 

will face a double year of university 

entrants in 2013. UW 

looks forward to this and has 

been taking steps for some 

years to provide excellent conditions 

for a larger number of 

students. 

Construction of a new lecture 

hall center and other additions 

to the premises has ensured 

that students will have sufficient 

room, and additional 

places have been created on 

both restricted entry and nonrestricted 

degree programs. 

Further professorships and 

other teaching posts have been 

established in many areas 

so that students throughout 

the university will have adequate 

access to both teaching 

and consultation. 


k Starting your studies 

miCroCompUter from WUppertal 

In distant California 

Steve Jobs had just 

brought out the Apple II, and 

we were coming up to our 

Abitur, the High School leaving 

exam. It was 1977, and 

we soon set about building 

our first computer. Electrical 

engineering was not yet an 

area one could study at university 

here, so we were left 

to gather what knowledge we 

could by dismantling radios, 

TV sets and tape recorders, 

and reading whatever manual 

or textbook from the USA 

we could get our hands on. 

our first UW trained electrical 

engineer came to us in 1986, 

almost ten years after we had 

started our company, Wiesemann 

& Theis. 

The help available today is far 

more effective than it was 

in the 70s, but the tasks are 

a good deal more complex, 

too. The people we take on in 

our R&D department as a rule 

have an engineering degree 

behind them. But we have 

also learned to put together 

our own knowledge, and we 

employ non-graduates alongside 

graduates with great 

success. 

Take our microcomputer, for 

example, which serves in the 

widest sense as an interface 

between two standard ports 

or input-output terminals. In 

its development we continuously 

had to assimilate the 

latest changes in computer 

technology. We learned, and 

are still learning, every day. 

However much life is dicta- 

ted by deadlines, we at W&T 

believe that excellence takes 

time. Mental processes of 

learning, discovering and inventing 

are a matter of loving 

your work and giving yourself 

to it, and that can only grow 

with time. 

Which is why we offer school 

students a double opportunity: 

our own DIY club, which 

is open to all, and UW’s 

Bergisch Schools Science 

and Technology Program 

(BeST), where budding young 

engineers can concentrate 

on a task and have the time 

and facilities to bring it to a 

conclusion. If you are still 

looking for such a task, we 

recommend that you come to 

School Leavers‘ Day, another 

event organized by UW, where 

upper school students can 

meet experts from the university 

as well as from the world 

of business and industry. 

Dipl.-Ing. Rüdiger Theis 

Wiesemann & Theis GmbH 

Porschestr. 12 


Tel. +49 (0)202 2680-0 

E-mail info@wut.de 

kwww.wut.de 

kwww.nrw-best.de 

kwww.primanertag.de 

139 

08_UW_FoR SCHooLS

140 

robots set an arm anD a leg in plaster 

Teamwork and tech- 

nique, science and 

technology, but above all fun 

– that’s the central message 

of NRW’s ‘Future through Innovation‘ 

project. In 2011 this 

took the form of a robot competition. 

Sixteen teams from 

ten cities vied with each other 

at UW to present the most 

creative solutions for the trickiest 

problems. Using FIRST 

LEGo® League educational 

software, young robot buffs 

planned, programmed and 

tested autonomous robots 

that had to master a series of 

tasks. 

With 6 weeks for school 

teams to develop LEGo robots 

Entitled ‘Body Forward’, 

this year’s competition focused 

on the exciting world 

of biomedicine, a branch of 

the healing sciences that 

combines traditional biology 

with chemistry, mechanics 

and electrical engineering to 

develop optimal patient therapies. 

“Place the pieces of 

bone against the outline 

and fit the blue plaster 

cast. The plaster must face 

downward and cover the fracture” 

The 2011 challenge started 

with a simple repair on a broken 

arm. The teams were given 

two pieces of humerus 

(upper-arm bone) made of LE- 

Go, and a blue plaster cast. 

We had to consider what a robot 

would look like and what 

movements it would have to 

complete to fulfill the task. 

We started programming and 

testing. It worked. The 25 

points for the task were ours 

and we could turn our attention 

to the next assignment, 

mending a broken leg. 

other medical tasks followed: 

white blood cells must be isolated 

from red, malignant cells 

must be destroyed. The movements 

of the robots were 

precisely defined – that was 

the essence of the task – as 

became clear when we had 

to repair a cardiac defect. Here 

any mistake would cost a 

patient’s life. And there were 

another 25 points for a successful 

pacemaker implant. 

Sarah-Lena Debus 

Project Coordinator 

Bergisch Schools Science 

and Technology Program 

(BeST), 

Rainer Gruenter Str. 21 


Tel. +49 (0)202 439-1833 

E-mail info@nrw-best.de 

BeST offers are free of charge 

for school students. For 

further information and membership 

visit 

k www.nrw-best.de 

With kind permission of 

HANDS on TECHNoLoGY, 

organizer of FIRST LEGo 

League, Central Europe 

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08_UW_FoR SCHooLS

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UW’s sUmmer University – the exCiting Woman’s 

WorlD of sCienCe anD engineering You are coming to the 

Why shouldn’t you mix 

fresh pineapple with 

quark? How do organic solar 

cells work? Such questions, 

with the appropriate answers, 

are the concern of UW’s 

Summer University for upper 

school students, part of a nationwide 

drive to interest girls 

and young women in science, 

mathematics and engineering 

at university. 

Since its inception in 1998, 

more than 2000 students 

from regional schools have 

participated in the UW offer, 

spending five days in mid se- 

mester on a stimulating program 

that introduces them to 

the daily life of science and 

engineering undergraduates. 

With topical themes like ‘Foul 

Air and Climate Change – Can 

the Atmosphere be Saved?’ 

they catch a glimpse of what 

UW scientists are doing. 

Many subjects are on offer, 

from architecture to food 

chemistry, mathematics to 

biology, chemistry to physics. 

Lectures might be anything 

from an architect’s thoughts 

on ‘Recycling through Acupuncture’ 

to a mathematician 

wondering whether ‘In the 

Beginning was Chaos’ is a 

stochastic problem. 

The Summer University aims 

to heighten participants’ confidence 

in their own abilities, 

and open their eyes to hidden 

talents. Experienced undergraduate 

tutors supervise and 

guide the young women, who 

also gain insights into UW’s 

central organizational units 

on the one hand and the daily 

life of professional scientists 

and engineers on the other. 

The event enjoys active support 

from a range of companies 

including Ford Germany 

(Cologne), Bayer Health Care, 

Vorwerk, Coroplast, Delphi 

Automotive, Witte Automotive, 

and the Technology Center 


Dr. Susanne Achterberg 

Jennifer Dahmen Dip. Soc. 

Summer University office 

Tel. +49 (0)202 439-3181 

kwww.sommer.uni-wupper- 

tal.de 

abitUr – then What? 

end of your time at high 

school and the question on 

everyone’s lips is: What next? 

Some people will already have 

a clear idea of what they want 

to study and the career this 

will lead to, others will still 

be looking. To support you in 

the decision-making process, 

UW has created a UNIVERSI- 

TY FoR SCHooLS program 

providing all-round information 

and advice for school leavers. 

kwww.schule.uni-wuppertal.de 

sCHooL LeAVers’ 

inForMAtion dAys 

Upper school students, espe- 

cially those immediately pre- 

paring for the Abitur (German 

high-school graduation certificate), 

as well as their parents 

and teachers, should write 

this date in their calendar: 

UW’s School Leavers’ Information 

Days take place every 

year at the end of January and 

beginning of February. 

In cooperation with the Cen- 

tral Student Advisory and 

Counseling Service and the 

Careers Service, UW professors 

and students introduce 

the university’s wide range 

of departments and degree 

programs, answer questions, 

and show you round the university. 

Short presentations 

and visits to laboratories and 

other facilities provide a firsthand 

impression of research 

and teaching at UW. 


reGionAL sCHooL 

LeAVers’ dAy 

Each year the School Leavers’ 

Information Days begin 

with the Bergischer Primanertag 

(Regional School Leavers’ 

Day), held at Elberfeld’s 

Vocational-Technical College, 

where some 120 professors 

join with managers from industry 

and commerce to 

meet the young people and 

answer their questions about 

university, practical training 

and choice of profession. 

kwww.primanertag.de 

eduCAtion FAirs – A 

PLAtForM For ContACts 

And inForMAtion 

UW is also present at the annual 

regional education fairs, 

for instance at Germany’s biggest 

contact forum for highschool 

leavers, EINSTIEG Abi 

in Cologne and Dortmund. 

The two-day event in Cologne 

often sees as many as 70 UW 

professors, assistants and 

student counselors answering 

school leavers’ questions 

about studying at university. 

For UW’s attendance at edu- 

cation fairs see kwww.termi- 

ne.uni-wuppertal.de 

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09_ 

UW_PEoPLE 

145

146 

mayor of WUppertal peter jUng 

aWarDeD honorary felloWship 

In December 2010 the 

Mayor of Wuppertal, 

Peter Jung, was elected an 

Honorary Fellow of the University 

of Wuppertal. Unanimously 

agreeing the honor, 

UW Senate commended 

Jung for his continuous commitment 

to the university 

throughout his already long 

period of office and his public 

action and support on its 

behalf. 

UW Rector Prof. Dr. Lam- 

bert T. Koch remarked in his 

eulogy: “Universities need 

ambassadors, spokespersons 

and supporters in their 

key activities for society: in 

research, teaching and knowledge 

transfer.” As mayor of 

the Bergisch region’s major 

city, Peter Jung had long demonstrated 

his active support 

and concern for the university. 

Here it was of decisive importance 

that university and 

city should grow together, 

both symbolically and in vital 

everyday proximity; it was 

important that the people of 

Wuppertal should feel they 

lived in a university city. Peter 

Jung, the Rector confirmed, 

spoke for the common interests 

of university and city, 

which aimed to achieve recognition 

both nationally and 

internationally as an attractive 

center of knowledge. 

In his speech of acceptance 

the Honorary Fellow thanked 

the Rector, saying that he 

saw the award as an act of recognition 

not only for himself 

but for the whole city, and 

he called on the industries 

of the region to draw on the 

knowledge and competencies 

available at the university. 

For city and region UW was, 

across all its disciplines, a “lucky 

number”. The Mayor concluded 

with the words “We 

are proud of our university.” 

honorary DoCtorate for peter vaUpel, 

Ceo sparkasse bank, WUppertal 

The longstanding CEo 

of the City of Wupper- 

tal’s Sparkasse Bank, Peter 

H. Vaupel, was awarded an 

honorary doctorate in June 

2010 by UW’s Faculty of Economics 

– Schumpeter School 

of Business and Economics. 

Before some 300 guests from 

the political, industrial and 

university worlds, the Dean of 

Faculty, Prof. Dr. Stefan Thiele, 

praised Peter Vaupel’s outstanding 

achievements as a 

business leader. His ten years 

at the helm of the Sparkasse 

had seen the bank developing 

very positively despite the 

difficulties in the global economic 

environment. 

Michael Breuer, former NRW 

Minister and President of the 

Rhineland Sparkasse Union, 

spoke in his eulogy of Vaupel’s 

services to the entire Sparkasse 

family. He not only lays 

consistent emphasis on the 

service function of the Sparkasse, 

Breuer said, he also 

embodies this in his own person. 

His leadership has been 

marked by high ethical and 

moral standards, as well as 

by seriousness and reliability: 

“The bank’s customers trust 

Peter Vaupel, and their trust 

is essential for the success 

of the bank.” Thus, Michael 

Breuer concluded, the whole 

Sparkasse family stands to 

gain from the honorary 

doctorate conferred on Peter 

Vaupel. 

UW Rector Prof. Dr. Lam- 

bert T. Koch underlined in 

his welcoming address the 

manner in which Peter Vaupel 

has personally demonstrated 

how a municipal bank 

can foster the commitment 

of local citizens and contribute 

to the quality of their lives. 

“It is impossible to think of 

the city or region of Wuppertal 

without the Sparkasse”, 

stated Prof. Koch, who went 

on to emphasize Vaupel’s 

understanding of the decisive 

economic role played by 

a university within its region. 

The Rector concluded with 

the words: “Promoters like 

him, with far-reaching academic 

and practical insight, are 

more than ever necessary for 

a university today.” 

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148 

soCiety of frienDs anD benefaCtors 

of the University of WUppertal 

Since its foundation in 

1972 the University of 

Wuppertal has been the most 

important higher education 

provider in the region. UW 

trains young economists and 

managers for regional industry, 

attracts scholars, scientists 

and students from across 

the world to Wuppertal 

and its neighboring cities, and 

is the most accessible HE institution 

for the young people 

of those cities. 

UW does a great deal for 

the region, but it also needs 

the financial support of the 

region’s citizens and companies. 

Their commitment and 

concern led in 1973 to the 

foundation of the Society of 



whose 500 members continue 

to actively promote the 

projects and wellbeing of the 

university. 

soMe exAMPLes 

Larger investment projects 

include the construction of 

the University Guest House, 

the esthetic enhancement of 

the campus, the longstanding 

University Concert series, 

and the UNITAL lecture series 

by the university for the 

city, as well as regular awards 

for degree theses. 

These are complemented by 

many smaller contributions 

for individual events, visits 

and excursions both domestic 

and foreign, and publications 

by university members, professors 

as well as students. 

The Society’s individual sections 

are devoted to the support 

of specific faculties or 

departments, for example: 

Printing and Media Engineering, 

Mechanical Engineering, 

Economics, Sports Sciences, 

University Sports, and Protestant 

Theology. 

The most effective friends 

of the University of Wuppertal 

are the members of the 

Society of Friends and Benefactors. 

Join us today! 

GF 

BU 

Gesellschaft der Freunde 

der Bergischen Universität 

society of Friends and 

benefactors of the 

university of Wuppertal 

GÖRG Law Partnership 

Laurentiusstr. 21 


Verena Heine 

T: +49 (0)202 479329-112 

E: VHeine@goerg.de 

kwww.gfbu.uniwuppertal.de 

1 9 72 

· BERGISCHE · UNIVERSITÄT · WUPPERTAL · 

aWarDs anD honors 

aWarDs of the soCiety of frienDs anD 

benefaCtors of the University of 

WUppertal 

DoCtoral thesis prize 

Krieg, stefan, dr. (Physics): Towards the Confirmation of 

QCD on the Lattice. Improved Actions and Algorithms. 

Born in Leverkusen, Stefan Krieg worked as an assistant at 

Jülich Research Center, as well as at UW, where he took his 

doctorate in 2009. From 2009-2010 he conducted postdoctoral 

research at MIT. Since 2010 he has been a member of Prof. 

Dr. Zoltan Fodor’s team at UW and Jülich. 

eshorbany,yasin, dr. (Atmospheric Physics): Investigation of 

the Tropospheric oxidation Capacity and ozone Photochemi- 

cal Formation in the City of Santiago de Chile – Field Measure- 

ments and Modeling Study. 

Yasin Eshorbany studied chemistry at Cairo University before 

coming to UW for doctoral studies. He is currently researching 

at the National Research Center in Cairo and at UW. 

master’s anD state examination thesis 

prizes 

Fakhri, Morteza (Electronics): Nanoscale Determination of 

Thermoelastic Properties Using Complementary Scanning 

Thermal Microscopy and Scanning Joule Expansion Microscopy. 

rolf, Christian (Atmospheric Physics): optimization of the 

thermal behavior of black bodies for in-flight calibration of the 

GLoRIA interferometer in the HALo research airplane. 

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sprick, reiner sebastian (Chemistry): Experimental representations 

of porous polymer networks with conjugated double-stranded 

structure. 

schmalge, birgit: Mediation and Remediation of Mrs Dallo- 

way. (State examination thesis for vocational-technical college 

teaching). 

serenDipity prize 

Willems, Paul, dr. (Applied Informatics): on MRRR-type Algorithms 

for the Tridiagonal Symmetric Eigenproblem and the 

Bidiagonal SVD. 

german aCaDemiC exChange serviCe 

(DaaD) prize 

Krasnobayeva, Anja: for outstanding undergraduate achievements. 

The 25 year-old Ukrainian Anja Krasnobayeva studied German 

and world literature at Melitopol State Pedagogical University 

in the Ukraine before starting a degree in architecture at UW 

in 2006. She completed her degree within the standard time 

with top grades. Her bachelor’s thesis, ‘Shorescapes. Comparing 

urban planning in international coastal areas’, was supervised 

by Prof. Dr.-Ing. Tanja Siems. 

barmenia mathematiCs prize 

schermuly, Frederik (First prize) 

Maruschka, silvia (Second prize) 

sera, Martin and steinbach, Florian (Third prize) 

rittich, Hendrik and schweitzer, Marcel (Young Scholar’s 

prize). 

The prizes were awarded for bachelor’s and diploma theses. 

University of WUppertal 

eqUal opportUnities prize 

Heilmann, Margareta, Prof. dr. (School of Mathematics and 

Informatics): for significantly raising the profile of women at all 

levels of academic qualification. With 24% women professors, 

UW mathematics is among the leading universities nationwide 

in the natural sciences. 

assoCiation of eleCtriCal, eleCtroniC 

anD information engineering (vDe) 

prize 

jacobi, rebekka Carmen (First prize): Investigation of a 2½ 

dimensional ANC system using monopole and dipole recei- 

vers (Master’s thesis). 

settele, Matthias (Second prize): Development of digital signal 

processing for a borehole radar system on the basis of a 

combined FPGA/C system (Master’s thesis). 

metzenaUer foUnDation prize 

Cimen, sarp Güney: Development of FPGA-based Evaluation 

of a Rotary Encoder (Master’s thesis). 

aCaDemiC honors 

Audretsch, david bruce, Prof. dr. (Indiana University): inaugural 

Schumpeter School Prize for Corporate and Economic 

Analysis. 

banerji, Amitabh (Researcher, School of Chemistry): Wolf- 

gang and Manfred Flad Prize of the German Chemical Society. 

The biennial award has been won for the second time in succession 

by members of Prof. Michael Tausch’s research team. 

baurmann, jürgen, Prof. dr.: elected member of PEN Germany. 

bock, stefan, Prof. dr.: appointed chairperson of the opera- 

tions Research Commission of the German Academic Associ- 

ation for Business Research. 

Casale, rita, Prof. dr.: invited by University of Constance Cul- 

tural Studies Seminar in summer semester 2011 to participate 

as fellow in the excellence cluster on ‘Cultural Foundations of 

Integration’. 

diehr, bärbel, Prof. dr.: ERASMUS Individual Prize 2011 of 

the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD). 

Frahm, ronald, Prof. dr.: Khwarizimi International Award of 

the Iranian Research organization for Science and Technology 

(IRoST). The celebrated prize is awarded for outstanding con- 

tributions to research. Because of the political situation Prof. 

Frahm declined to attend the award ceremony. 

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Gräsel, Cornelia, Prof. dr.: appointed to the Foundation 

Council of the German Institute of International Educational 

Research. 

Gräsel, Cornelia, Prof. dr.: appointed member of the Board 

of Trustees of the Center for International Comparative Studies 

in Education. 

Grothe, ewald, Prof. dr.: appointed head of the Archive of 

Liberalism of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation. 

Hirschbühl, dominic, dr.: appointed operations Coordinator 

of the ATLAS Pixel Detector at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) 

experiment of the European organization for Nuclear Research 

(CERN) in Geneva. 

Hoelbling, Christian, dr.: John von Neumann Excellence Re- 

search Project Award 2011 of the John von Neumann Institute 

of Computing at Jülich Research Center. 

Kampert, Karl-Heinz, Prof. dr.: appointed leader of the Pierre 

Auger observatory in Argentina – the world’s biggest astropar- 

ticle radiation observatory. 

Kraus, uwe e., Prof. dr.: appointed Fellow of the Institute of 

Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). 

Lohmann, Christin, jun. Prof. dr.: elected Author of the Year 

2010 by the Zeitschrift für Betriebswirtschaft (Journal of Busi- 

ness Administration). 

neuland, eva, Prof. dr.: elected for second time to the Board 

of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD). 

sünker, Heinz, Prof. dr.: invited to join the editorial board 

of International Studies in Sociology of Education (Routledge, 

London) – Prof. Sünker is the first education researcher from 

German-speaking countries to receive such an invitation. 

Willems, Paul r., dr.: Householder Award XIV (2011) for doc- 

toral thesis – triennial prize awarded by international jury for the 

best thesis worldwide in the field of numerical linear algebra. 

Winzer, Petra, Prof. dr.: elected on recommendation of the 

German Research Foundation (DFG) to membership of Acade- 

miaNet, the excellence portal of the Robert Bosch Foundation 

in cooperation with Spektrum der Wissenschaft (German edition 

of Scientific American). 

other honors 

Alohoutadé, Marvin (UW student): third place in middleweight 

class at the German University Championships 2010. 

Bliss, Patrick (Student, Faculty of Art and Design): Young Designers 

Prize of the Association of German Industrial Designers 

for outstanding undergraduate achievement. 

jung, Peter (Mayor of the City of Wuppertal): elected Fellow 

of the University of Wuppertal by UW Senate. 

jandrijic, dario (Student, Faculty of Art and Design): Inter- 

national Design Award (IDA) – first prize in the category TV, 

Video and Audio Equipment (non professional) for ‘KLEXL’ product 

development. 

jarvis, sharleena (UW student): first prize in judo at the Ger- 

man University Championships 2010. 

Koch, Lambert t, Prof. dr.: elected Rector of the Year 2010 

by the Association of German Universities. 

Koubaa, saana (UW student): 2010 German University Cham- 

pion (women), 1500 and 3000 m. 

Kreiser, Kilian (UW graduate): IDEA Silver Award (Internatio- 

nal Design Excellence Awards) for diploma thesis. 

Kuretzky, Phillipp (UW student): second place in the German 

University Sports Federation’s 2010 open surfing contest. 

Luczak, olivia (Researcher, School of Civil Engineering): Ger- 

man and Polish Women’s Welterweight Boxing Champion; 

silver medal in European Women’s Boxing Cup; elected ambassador 

for multilingualism and integration. 

Mittendorf, Alexej (UW student): member of Germany’s Eu- 

ropean Cup-winning American Football team. 

Molitor, Katharina (UW student): German Champion in 

women’s javelin; fourth place in European Games; fifth place 

in World Athletic Championships (IAAF) 2011. 

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naumann, uwe (Researcher, Faculty of Mathematics and Na- 

tural Sciences): German Swimming Champion, short distance 

(200 m) 2010. 

Pott, thorsten (UW student): German Mountain Bike Cham- 

pion, olympic Cross Country Master-Class I. 

scheffler, Franziska (UW student): German University Cham- 

pion, triathlon. 

schmidt, Lena (UW student): German Athletics Champion 

(under 23s); German University Champion, 200 m. 

stäglich, dieter, dr.: Sports Medal of the State of North Rhi- 

ne-Westphalia. 

staubach, Michael (researcher, School of Safety Enginee- 

ring): bronze medal in German open Judo Championships 

(over 30s). 

yilmaz, Pinar (UW student): German Amateur Women’s Fly- 

weight Boxing Champion 2010. 

uW’s solar decathlon team was awarded the Federation 

of German Architects’ Good Building Prize 2010 for their Zero 

Energy House. 

the Association of German engineers nominated five UW 

graduates for outstanding degree theses: 

Hagemann, Philipp (School of Safety Engineering) 

Paffrath, tobias (School of Civil Engineering) 

Platvoet, Maximilian C. (School of Mechanical Engineering) 

räupke, Andre (School of Electrical Engineering) 

sonderfeld, Hannah (School of Physics). 

A group of uW school of industrial design (uwid) graduates 

was awarded a red dot Junior Prize 2011 for their project 

‘New Design for the Schwebebahn (Wuppertal’s suspension 

monorail)’. 

Competitions anD rankings 

banerji, Amitabh (Researcher, School of Chemistry): first 

place in the fourth Cologne Science Slam with lecture on ‘Fantastic 

plastic – oLEDs in the chemistry lesson’. 

blank, Christiane (Researcher, Faculty of Economics): Best 

National University Advisor Award in federal SIFE (Students in 

Free Enterprise) competition. 

breuer, Gerda Prof. dr.: Art of the Book Foundation’s Best 

German Books Award 2009 for Hans Schwippert. Bonner Bundeshaus 

1949. 

Heming, Matthias (Graduate of the Faculty of Mathematics 

and Natural Sciences): first prize in ExaMedia competition 

NRW with master’s thesis on ‘Using Mobile Phones in the Informatics 

Lesson’. 

scherf, ullrich, Prof. dr.: 26th place in Thomas Reuters Ins- 

titute rankings of the 100 best materials scientists worldwide. 

uW’s Central student Advisory and Counseling service: 

ranked excellent in University of Heidelberg evaluative survey 

of student counseling service quality. 

Two interdisciplinary student teams from uW’s schools of 

Architecture and Civil engineering took first and second 

places in the ThyssenKrupp Real Estate Award. 

UW team won Final Round Award in federal siFe (Students in 

Free Enterprise) competition. 

Faculty of economics: all indicators make top group of latest 

Center for Higher Education Development (CHE) ranking. 

real estate Management & Construction Project Ma- 

nagement reM/CPM degree program: third place overall 

and repeated first place for content, structure and organization 

in 2011 Immobilien Zeitung (Real Estate News) ranking. With 

grades of 1.27, 1.28 and 1.31, the first three universities were 

very close together. The UW program was placed first overall 

in 2010. 

Knowledge Floater project: SACHEN MACHEN (Make 

Things) Award of the Association of German Engineers. 

uW’s university sports: two prizes in ‘Good Practice / 

Healthy University’ competition, for ‘Study Break Express’ and 

‘Break Potential’ project. 

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‘Lernfreude wecken’ (Joy in Learning) competition – Dr. Dr. 

h.c. Jörg Mittelsten Scheid and UW joint initiative – prizewin- 

ners 2011: 

Gemeinschaftsgrundschule Lindenschule Community Primary 

School, Wülfrath: first prize (€5000) 

August dicke Gymnasium High School, Solingen: second 

prize (€4000) 

Gesamtschule else Lasker schüler Comprehensive 

school, Wuppertal: third prize (€3000) 

Mildred scheel Vocational-technical College, Solingen and 

Gemeinschaftsgrundschule Am baum Community Primary 

school, Velbert: joint fourth prize (€1000 each) 

neW faCUlty members 

fUll professors 

Anders, steffen, univ.-Prof., dr.-ing.: Construction Materials, 

Faculty of Architecture, Civil Engineering, Mechanical Engineering 

and Safety Engineering. 

bracke, stefan, univ.-Prof., dr.-ing.: Safety Engineering, 

Risk Management, Faculty of Architecture, Civil Engineering, 

Mechanical Engineering and Safety Engineering. 

Gottschalk, Hanno, univ.-Prof., dr. rer. nat: Stochastics, 

Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences. 

Grebe-ellis, johannes Wilhelm, univ.-Prof., dr. rer. nat.: 

Physics and Physics Education, Faculty of Mathematics and 

Natural Sciences. 

Hartung, Gerald, univ.-Prof., dr. phil.: Philosophy, Cultural 

Philosophy, Aesthetics, Faculty of Humanities. 

Heinze, thomas, univ.-Prof., dr. rer. publ.: General and organizational 

Sociology, Faculty of Educational and Social Sciences. 

Herzberg, Philipp yorck, univ.-Prof., dr. rer. nat.: (temporary 

professorship) Health Psychology and Applied Diagnostics, 

Faculty of Educational and Social Sciences. 

Hornbostel, jens, univ.-Prof., dr.: Topology and Geometry, 


johrendt, jochen, univ.-Prof., dr. phil.: Medieval History, 

Faculty of Humanities. 

Lohnstein, Horst, univ.-Prof., dr. phil.: German and Linguistics, 

Faculty of Humanities. 

overmeyer, Klaus, univ.-Prof., dipl.-ing.: Landscape Architecture 

and Spatial Planning, Faculty of Architecture, Civil 

Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and Safety Engineering. 

radach, ralph, univ.-Prof., dr. rer. nat.: General and Biological 

Psychology, Faculty of Educational and Social Sciences. 

remmert, Volker, univ.-Prof., dr. phil.: History of Science 

and Technology, Faculty of Humanities. 

rinklebe, jörg, univ.-Prof., dr. agr.: Soil and Ground Water 

Resources Management, Faculty of Architecture, Civil Engineering, 


rolka, Katrin, univ.-Prof., dr. paed.: Didactics of Mathematics, 


schubert, Christoph, univ.-Prof., dr. phil.: Classical Philology, 

Latin, Faculty of Humanities. 

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temme, dirk, univ.-Prof., dr. rer. pol.: Empirical Economic 

and Social Research, Schumpeter School of Business and Eco- 

nomics. 

tönsmeyer, tatjana, univ.-Prof., dr. phil.: Modern and Contemporary 

History, Faculty of Humanities. 

Walgenbach, Katharina, univ.-Prof., dr. paed.: (temporary 

professorship) Gender and Diversity in the Educational and Social 

Sciences, Faculty of Educational and Social Sciences. 

Witt, Peter Paul, univ.-Prof., dr. rer. pol.: Business Administration, 

technology and Innovation Management, Schumpeter 

School of Business and Economics. 

Wolf, Kristian, univ.-Prof., dipl.-des.: Interactive Media Design 

in Theory and Practice, Faculty of Art and Design. 

jUnior professors 

Fischer, Alexander, junior Prof., dr. rer. oec.: Marketing, 

Schumpeter School of Business and Economics. 

Görrn, Patrick, junior Prof., dr.-ing.: Flexible optoelectronic 

Systems, Faculty of Electrical, Information and Media Engineering. 

sperlich, billy, junior Prof., dr. sportwiss.: Performance 

Diagnostics and Training, Faculty of Educational and Social Sciences. 

Wittmann, Andreas, junior Prof., dr.-ing.: Technological 

Protection against Infection, Faculty of Architecture, Civil Engineering, 


extraorDinary professors 

Meyer-Falcke, Andreas, apl. Prof., dr. med.: Safety Engineering, 

Faculty of Architecture, Civil Engineering, Mechanical 

Engineering and Safety Engineering. 

nothnagel, detlev, apl. Prof., dr. phil.: Communication Theory, 

Faculty of Art and Design. 

oelerich, Gertrud, apl. Prof., dr. phil.: General and Social 

Pedagogics and Politics, Faculty of Educational and Social Sciences. 

honorary professors 

Zimmer, Kurt, Hon.-Prof., dr. med.: Sports Sciences, Faculty 

of Educational and Social Sciences. 

visiting professors 

rossiter, john, Prof. dr.: Economics, Schumpeter School of 

Business and Economics. 

Zwart, Heiko, Prof. dr.: Mathematics, Faculty of Mathematics 

and Natural Sciences. 

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in memoriam 

baars, Gunnar, Student, Faculty of Humanities. 

bärmann, Fritz, Professor, Faculty of Educational and Social 

Sciences. 

breuer, Werner, Professor, Faculty of Architecture, Civil Engineering, 


buse, Kurt, Lecturer, Faculty of Electrical, Information and 

Media Engineering. 

eckey, Wilfried, Professor, Faculty of Humanities. 

Holtkemper, Franz-josef, Professor, Faculty of Educational 

and Social Sciences. 

in der smitten, Franz josef, Lecturer, Faculty of Electrical, 

Information and Media Engineering. 

jost, Maria, Lecturer at the former Wuppertal College of Education. 

Kneveler, Manfred, Senior Administrative officer, UW Administrative 

Department of organization and Human Resources. 

Loriot alias Vicco von bülow: Bernhard-Viktor von Bülow 

died aged 87 at Ammerland on the Starnberger See. In 2001 

von Bülow was awarded an honorary doctorate of the University 

of Wuppertal (Faculty of Humanities), for his outstanding 

artistic life-work. 

Malangeri, Hildegard, Administrative officer, UW Administrative 

Department of Academic and Student Affairs. 

Marker, Friedrich, Professor, Faculty of Architecture, Civil 


Matthes, Winfried, Professor, Schumpeter School of Business 

and Economics. 

Meisenberg, Paul, Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Humanities. 

Müller, Hans, Professor, Faculty of Electrical, Information and 

Media Engineering. 

zur nieden, Andrea, Student, Faculty of Humanities. 

rusche, brigitte, Faculty of Architecture, Civil Engineering, 


saalfeld, Wolf-dietrich, Professor, Faculty of Architecture, 

Civil Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and Safety Engineering. 

schlosser-Haupt, silke, Professor, Faculty of Mathematics 

and Natural Sciences. 

schütz, Herrmann, Professor, Faculty of Architecture, Civil 


stücker, Friedrich, Honorary Professor, Faculty of Architecture, 

Civil Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and Safety 

Engineering. 

sturm, Günter, Professor, Faculty of Architecture, Civil Engineering, 


thomaier, johann Georg, Administrative officer, UW Administrative 

Department of Facility, Safety and Environmental 

Management. 

Vogel, Günter, Professor, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural 

Sciences. 

Wetz, Kai, Student, Faculty of Educational and Social Sciences. 

Wiebel, rolf dieter, Administrative officer, UW Administrative 

Department of Facility, Safety and Environmental Management. 

161 

09_UW_PEoPLE

162 

10_ 

UW_FACTS 

163

164 

UW history//milestones 

1972 

Foundation of the University of Wuppertal 

(UW) as one of five new Gesamthochschulen 

(practically oriented ‘comprehensive’ universities) 

in NRW (State of North Rhine-Westphalia). 

Existing Wuppertal higher education institutes 

such as the Schools of Engineering and 

Industrial Art, as well as the Wuppertal branch 

of the Rhineland College of Education, are integrated 

into the new university structure and 

expanded. 

1980 

UW is the first Gesamthochschule to gain funding 

from the German Research Foundation 

(DFG) for a collaborative research project: the 

School of Chemistry’s “Quantum Theoretical 

and Experimental Investigation of the Energy 

State of Simple Molecules”. 

The official title of UW is now “Universität – 

Gesamthochschule”. 

1983 

UW mathematician Professor Dr. Gerd Faltings, 

at 28 Germany’s youngest mathematics 

professor, receives the Fields Medal, an honor 

on a par with a Nobel Prize. 

The official title of UW is now “Bergische Uni- 

versität – Gesamthochschule Wuppertal“. 

1987 

Spiegel editor Rudolf Augstein is awarded an 

honorary doctorate. 

1989 

The university launches its biggest research 

project to date: investigation of the Earth’s 

upper atmosphere. The project (1989-2000) 

attracts external funding totaling almost DM 

55m. 

1990 

october 17: UW physicists and mathematicians 

start up their new parallel computer – a 

machine with more than 8000 processors – in 

the University Computing Center. 

1994 

UW’s space probe CRISTA is launched in November 

on NASA’s ‘Atlantis’ space shuttle. 

The probe will measure trace gases in the 

shuttle’s orbit. 

1995 

The university is growing: work starts on the 

new Freudenberg Campus just up the hill from 

the main Grifflenberg Campus. 

1999 

Europe’s Ministers of Education agree in Bologna 

to develop new consecutive degree programs 

on the Anglo-American BA/MA model. 

2000 

First bachelor’s and master’s programs start 

at UW. 

2001 

In his function as mediator, Prof. Dr. Hans Weiler 

develops a concept for the enhancement 

of the university’s profile. 

2002 

UW Rector Volker Ronge and Prof. Dr. Hans 

Weiler submit the final ‘Mediation Report’ to 

the North Rhine-Westphalian Minister of Science 

and Research, Gabriele Behler. Reduction 

of the number of faculties from 13 to 7 

will concentrate the university’s strengths and 

form the basis for a clear up-to-date profile. 

2003 

The term Gesamthochschule is abolished and 

UW’s official title is now ‘Bergische Universität 

Wuppertal’. 

2004 

Installation of the supercomputer AliCEnext – 

at the time the most powerful in any German 

university. 

opening of the first three Interdisciplinary 

Research Centers: Applied Informatics and 

Scientific Computing, Technical Process Management, 

and Polymer Technology. 

2006 

June 14: UW Senate resolves to introduce tuition 

fees. 

2007 

NRW Academic Freedom Act comes into 

force on January 1, granting the universities 

greater autonomy and responsibility. on the 

basis of the new Act, UW and the State of 

NRW conclude the third Target Agreement, 

which determines among other things that 

subjects in great demand will be enlarged and 

extended. 

Members of UW’s first Supervisory Board are 

appointed by the Minister of Science and Research. 

Wuppertal astrophysicists take part in the 

world’s biggest experiment: the 3000 sq km 

Pierre Auger observatory in Argentina, dedicated 

to the investigation of black holes and 

allied phenomena. 

2008 

Prof. Dr. Lambert T. Koch is installed as sixth 

Rector in the 36-year history of UW, succeeding 

Prof. Dr. h. c. Volker Ronge (1999-2008), 

Prof. Dr. Dr. h. c. Erich Hödl (1991-1999), 

Professor Dr. Dr. h. c. Siegfried Maser (1987- 

1991), Prof. Dr. Josef M. Häussling (1983- 

1987) and the Founding Rector Prof. Dr. Dr. h. 

c. Rainer Gruenter (1972-1983). 

The Faculty of Economics takes the additional 

name ‘Schumpeter School of Business and 

Economics’. 

The German Research Foundation (DFG) sets 

up a joint collaborative research project on 

“Hadron Physics from Lattice QCD” at UW 

and the University of Regensburg. 

165 

10_UW_PFACTS

166 

2009 

The grid computer network for data evaluati- 

on in experimental particle physics comes on 

stream on January 28 – a powerfully linked 

system incorporating some 1000 computers 

with a total 750 terabytes of storage capacity, 

three thousand times that of a normal PC. 

April 29: UW Senate adopts a Mission State- 

ment outlining six transdisciplinary profiles for 

the university 

The EURoCHAMP 2 research project into at- 

mospheric pollution is to continue with fun- 

ding of €5m for the next four years. Prof. Dr. 

Wiesen (Department of Physical Chemistry) 

will continue to coordinate the project, which 

he has led since 2004. 

June 23: science journalist Ranga Yogeshwar 

receives an honorary doctorate from the Faculty 

of Electrical, Information and Media Engineering. 

october 1: Dr. Roland Kischkel takes over 

from UW Chancellor (Head of Administration) 

Hans-Joachim von Buchka. 

The generosity of 39 companies, institutions, 

groups and private individuals from the region 

enables an NRW Scholarship Program for 60 

UW students to be launched on october 1. 

Scholarships will be granted for high achievement 

independent of income. 

The CHE (Center for Higher Education Development) 

Excellence Ranking 2009, published 

on october 28, places UW in the Excellence 

Group of 70 (out of a total of more than 4000) 

European universities providing outstanding 

international research-oriented master’s and 

doctorate programs in economics. 

2010 

The German University Rectors‘ Conference 

praises UW’s Bologna Check as a model response. 

A five point memorandum on optimization 

of the Bologna Process issued in December 

2009 laid down guidelines for revising UW 

degree programs. 

March 24: NRW’s Ministry of Science and Re- 

search confirms that UW’s external funding 

increased by 28% in 2008, compared with an 

average increase of 10% throughout the state. 

2721 students begin their degree and study 

programs (including German for international 

students) in winter semester 2009-2010 – an 

increase of 21% on the previous year. The total 

student body now numbers 13,903 – also 

an increase on last year. 

March 30: with 20% professorial posts held 

by women, UW has NRW’s highest growth 

rate in this respect. 

Winter semester 2010-2011 sees the launch 

of three new degree programs: Health Systems 

Economics and Management (bachelor’s 

and master’s), Editing and Documentology 

(master’s), and Industrial and organizational 

Psychology (master’s and continuing education). 

The establishment of the School of Educa- 

tion strengthens school-related educational 

research and optimizes the education of students 

aiming to become school teachers. 

Mayor of Wuppertal Peter Jung is elected an 

Honorary Fellow of the University. 

December 18: construction of the world’s 

largest neutrino telescope, ‘IceCube’, at the 

South Pole is completed, inaugurating a period 

of top international research in which UW 

physicists Prof. Klaus Helbing and Prof. Karl- 

Heinz Kampert are deeply involved. 

December 23: official establishment of 

the Center for Continuing Education. 

2011 

Establishment of the Dr. Werner Jackstädt 

Center for Interdisciplinary Entrepreneurship 

and Innovation Research, funded by the Jackstädt 

Foundation with €1.5 million over a period 

of five years. 

March 8: building begins on the 600 sq m ex- 

tension on the roof of the University Library. 

April 11: Prof. Dr. Koch elected Rector of the 

Year 2010 by the Association of German Universities. 

May 31: deadline for applications for UW’s di- 

stance-learning master’s program in Industrial 

and organizational Psychology, a unique offer 

in Germany. 

June 22: opening of the new Lecture Hall 

Center on UW‘s Main Grifflenberg Campus, 

providing two large lecture theaters (seating 

800 and 250 respectively), as well as eight 

further seminar rooms. 

For further information on UW history visit 

www.archiv.uni-wuppertal.de 

167 

10_UW_PFACTS

168 

stUDent aDmissions 

2010 

Enrollments by degree program 

(academic year 2010) 

stUDent nUmbers 

Ws 10/11 

Total student numbers by degree 

program (WS 10/11) 

Development of 

aDmissions 

Enrollments by degree program 

(academic years 2001-2010) 

Development of 

stUDent nUmbers 

Total student numbers by degree program 

(WS 01/02– WS10/11) 

169 

10_UW_PFACTS

170 

stUDent nUmbers by faCUlty 

WS 10/11 

1.083 

2.336 

neW aDmissions 

Elektrotechnik, 

Informationstechnik, 

Medientechnik 

2.445 

14.308 

WS 10/11+ SS 11| new enrollments | excl. Ger- 

3.361 man language courses 

A – Humanities 

B – Business and Economics – Schumpeter School of 


C – Mathematics and Natural Sciences 

D – Architecture, Civil Engineering, Mechanical Engineering 

and Safety Engineering 

E – Electrical, Information and Media Engineering 

F – Art and Design 

G – Education and Social Sciences 

School of Education 

total stUDent nUmbers 

international stUDents 

from 98 CoUntries 1.902 

WS 10/11 | incl. German language courses 

bUDget Development 

in € | financial years 2006-2010 

graDUates 

1.638 

DoCtorates 

91 

Academic year 2011 | diploma, state examination, master’s 

(old model), bachelor’s, master’s (Bologna model) etc. 

post-DoCtoral Degrees 

6 

Development of external fUnDing 

External funding expenditure by principal source | financial years 2006-2010 

10_UW_PFACTS 

171

172 

imprint 

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University of Wuppertal, 

office of the Rector 

Gauss Str. 20 


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translation 

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© All rights reserved. Reproduction of articles by 

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Wuppertal, September 2011. 

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Bergische Universität Wuppertal: Pages 

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58, 61, 64, 65, 68, 107, 120, 143, 164.1 

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Beckendorf Steiner, Britta: Page 144 

BeST: Pages 139-141 

Buck, Jonas: Page 15 F 

Budner, Luiza: Page 142 

Bühler-Niederberger, Doris, Prof. Dr.: Page 95 

Bundesministerium für Bildung 

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BZI: Page 31 

DAS MoMENT: Page 130 

Delphi Corporation: Page 70 

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25, 84, 116, 133, 167 

Jepp/Hänsel: Pages 1, 4, 11, 26, 

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Junker, Airport Research Center: Page 56 

Kaufmann, Ursula: Page 7 

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Kreienbaum, Maria Anna, Prof. 

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Kreiser, Kilian: Page 33.1 

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Leonid: Page 128 

Magaschütz, Markus | hundertprozentig 

erneuerbar: Pages 48, 49 

Medienzentrum Wuppertal: Page 6.1 

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NASA STS85 archive: Page 164.2 

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otto, Christian Lord: Pages 14C, 15E, 46 

Pabst, Roger: Page 132 

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Riehle, Tomas | artur: Pages 9, 15D, 110 

Rinke Treuhand GmbH: Page 75 

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Silberkuhl Ralf | 6tant: Pages 28, 

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Stadtsparkasse Wuppertal: Pages 78, 79 

Stracke, Sonja: Pages 98-103 

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Vincentz, Frank | wikipedia.org: Page 6.2 

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