Marathon of Events for the Uni’s Anniversary

To celebrate 180 years since its founding and the institutions that were its predecessors, the university will hold a Festival Week around May 2nd, 2016 with guests from near and far

The 2nd of May is a particularly special date for the Technische Universität Chemnitz. On this day in 1836, the Königliche Gewerbschule zu Chemnitz was founded on the premises of the local grammar school. At that time, just 14 students enrolled to receive a scientific education. 180 years later, the university will celebrate this anniversary with its 11,000 students and 2,300 employees as well as many guests from the city and the surrounding region. Around the 2nd of May, many events are scheduled for the Festival Week. The TU Chemnitz also considers it a great honor that many international guests will also take part.

The Festival Week begins on April 28th with the Girls’ Day: a day just for female high school students, where they can get to know the university and the opportunities that are available to them through university studies or vocational trainings. On the same day, the Faculty of Computer Science will hold its Student Symposium. This event offers students a platform to present their projects, theses and research proposals.

With support from the University Archive and the University Library, a special anniversary exhibition was created with all of the TU’s faculties, which will allow visitors to travel back in time through the history of the university and its predecessors. The exposition will be opened on April 30th during the TU Chemnitz’s Spring Gala, held in the State Museum for Archaeology in Chemnitz (smac), which is under the patronage of the Saxon State Minister for Higher Education, Research and the Arts, Dr. Eva-Maria Stange. The exhibition is available to visit in smac until the 21st of May.

In addition, from April 28th through May 3rd, the “Academic Consortium for the 21st Century” (AC21) will hold its International Forum. Many guests are expected to attend this event, including presidents, rectors and science managers from AC21 member universities from 5 continents. They will meet this year in Chemnitz to discuss and exchange information with one another regarding the future-oriented conference topic “Networks of Innovation for the Transformation of Society through Science”.
At 10:00 am on May 1st, an academic festival church service will be held in the St.-Petri-Kirche. The ceremonial sermon will be held by Prof. Dr. Rüdiger Lux, winner of the 2011 “Ökumenischer Predigtpreis” award for nondenominational Christian preaching, on the topic of “The Game of Wisdom and Science”. From a theological perspective, he will examine the role of wisdom, play and creativity in the world of science and research. The Universitätschor will provide choral accompaniment for the church service under the direction of Prof. Conrad Seibt, with the church music director Siegfried Petri on the organ.

During the festival week, the Anniversary Ceremony will take place on the actual founding day, May 2nd. The University Leaderships extends an invitation to the ceremony, held in the main auditorium in the Central Lecture Hall Building. Beginning at 9:00 am, representatives of the university will speak, along with many others, including Prof. Dr. Margret Wintermantel, President of the German Academic Exchange Service, Dr. Michael Korte, Leader of Pre-Development of Vehicle Concepts at AUDI AG, Uwe Gaul, State Secretary in the Saxon State Ministry for Science and the Arts, as well as Prof. Dr. Yoshihito Watanabe, Vice President of Nagoya University in Japan. Musical accompaniment for the event will be provided by Collegium musicum under the direction of Michael Scheitzbach. Registration is possible at https://www.tu-chemnitz.de/uk/veranstaltungen/events/festwoche/anmeldung/index.php. We especially wish to invite current students and members of the university and alumni to this event.

The Campus and Sport Fest will help bring the Festival Week to a close on May 3rd. Following the outdoor fest during the day, there will be a “180 Minute Party” which will begin at midnight in the Mensa on Reichenhainer Straße. At the Campus and Sport Fest, guests can take part in athletic competitions and enjoy entertainment acts on the open-air stage. Highlights will include a soccer tournament with professors, employees and students as well as an appearance by the TUC Racing Team, who will present the racecar they developed themselves as well as an “Automobile Quiz” with the theme “18 Questions in 180 Seconds”. Many student initiatives will also be represented at the Campus and Sport Fest.

The TU Chemnitz would like to thank its Premium-Sponsor of the Festival Week and the “AC 21 International forum”, AUDI AG, as well as all additional supporters.

Information about the events mentioned here and additional events during the Festival Week can be found here: www.mytuc.org/thyk

(Author: Mario Steinebach, Translation: Sarah Wilson)

Mario Steinebach
22.04.2016

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