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Read this newsletter here in Web format. In this edition:Dear Alumni,This year’s first newsletter meets you with spring already in full bloom, offering a colourful bouquet of topics. We want to present new research projects and focus areas that move our university, and we’ll paint the portrait of a successful alumnus: Davis Baby. He studied Electrical Engineering and Information Technology at h_da, and in his very first job right after graduation he had to tackle a very special challenge indeed. A boisterous party mood can be expected at the h_da Campus Festival taking place on 13 June on the lawn next to the Wasserbauhalle (Hydraulic Engineering Hall). Maybe you’d like to party once again like you used to as a student? You’re cordially invited! You’ll find all dates & events in our newsletter. And now, have lots of fun reading!
People & Paths: Portrait of Davis Baby
Photo: privateSuddenly in the Ural MountainsDavis Baby graduated at h_da as a Master in Electrical Engineering. For this young man from India, Germany was the land of engineers, Darmstadt his first international station. At first, studying here came as a culture shock, but later it turned out to be a prime career stepping stone. His career start at SMS group GmbH presented a major challenge right away: He started as Project Lead in a big city in the Ural Mountains. Today, the alumnus is working at the headquarters of this international plant engineering and construction company located in Mönchengladbach. Read our portrait on Davis Baby here. Science & Teaching
Photo: Copyright h_da / Jenny AdamWith BoTox against hate speech on the WebVerbal abuse, agitation, lies, and all too often even calls for violence – against minorities, people with different opinions, and politicians. Hate speech in the social networks has become a widespread phenomenon, jeopardizing our culture of debate and often even with severe consequences under criminal law. In her research project “BoTox”, h_da computational linguist Melanie Siegel is dealing with ways of how potentially criminal offences contained in hate speech comments and fake news can be detected, filtered out, and punished more quickly. BoTox is supported by the research funding program on Cybersecurity by the Hessian Ministry for the Interior, for Safety and Homeland Security. Read more about this in the h_da science magazine impact at https://impact.h-da.de/en/if-there-is-a-threat-the-warning-light-must-flash. Safe cycling like in HollandThere is a new podcast at h_da whose wide array of topics might interest you. Just give it a listen. The topic of the latest broadcast is “Full speed ahead! Safe space for bicycles – a Dutch model on German streets.” Detecting Alzheimer’s disease at an earlier stage
Mathematician Andreas Weinmann (left) is an expert for Computer Vision and AI, physicist Johannes Gregori specializes in medical image processing. Photo: h_da / Samira SchulzCurrently, some 1.8 million people in Germany are suffering from dementia, most of them are afflicted by Alzheimer’s disease. According to forecasts, these numbers will rise significantly if no medical breakthrough will be attained in the coming years. Even so: recently, a first medication was officially approved in the US which targets and attacks the protein plaque characteristic for Alzheimer’s. However, this new drug is only effective if the illness is diagnosed at an early stage. This is exactly where the team from the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences at h_da comes into play: in a project supported by the EU (https://impact.h-da.de/en/new-approach-in-the-diagnosis-of-alzheimers-disease), they are working together with partners in the Netherlands, Great Britain, and Germany to find new methods to diagnose Alzheimer’s.
More sustainable agriculture thanks to AI
Photo: Project Farmwise Prof. NazemiWater shortages, intensive fertilization, and rising carbon emissions: agriculture is facing big challenges now and in the future. In the European “Horizon Europe” project FARMWISE, h_da researchers are working on the development of innovative AI systems in order to tackle these issues. These systems are not only to help farmers, but also political and civil-society groups to take well-founded decisions on the basis of scientific data. 20 partners from 12 European countries are participating in this project. h_da receives approx. 600,000 EUR in support funds for the project (https://impact.h-da.de/en/farmwise).
Your chance to win a backpack with h_da logoThe Alumni Management is again offering a competition for alumni. The prize: a backpack carrying the logotype of the Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences. You can win by giving the correct answer to the following question and being fast: Question: What was the reason why Davis Baby came to study at h_da? Please send your answer by email to: alumni@h-da.de The winners will be drawn by lot. We wish you lots of luck! Please remember to include your postal address (in order to receive your prize in case you win). Guided tours across campusYou’ve been away from the campus of your former alma mater for some time? Would you like to take look at all the things that have changed since your student days, or would you like to enjoy the vista across the city from the top of Darmstadt’s tallest building? In a NutshellThe Darmstadt MBA: Our renowned MBA course of studies is available to you at an exclusive alumni discount of 20%. You will benefit from practice-oriented teaching content and intensive mentoring. You can thus acquire excellent leadership qualities and establish valuable networks for your professional career. More information about the Darmstadt MBA and our special offer. h_da doctor wants to found a start-up company: From automobile assembly to chip production – automated production lines are daily business in industry today. The respective interconnected system components are generating huge amounts of data. If a malfunction occurs, the cause is often difficult to find due to the high complexity. But production downtime can take long and be costly. Dr. Lukas Kaupp, Computer Scientist at Hochschule Darmstadt, developed a software during the course of his just finished doctorate which is intended to detect errors fast and reliably with the help and support of AI. Now, the scientist wants to found the start-up company “Kauzen” and launch his software in the market. A souvenir from Hochschule Darmstadt: Pens, a T-shirt, or rather a bag or a coffee mug? The h_da online shop offers all this and more. If you’re looking for a gift or a souvenir featuring h_da, you will surely find something nice here: https://h-da.shop/. Withdrawal from X: Hochschule Darmstadt has said goodbye to the Social Media platform “X” (formerly known as “Twitter”). The withdrawal is a reaction to the drastically changed debating environment on the short message platform since the change in ownership back in 2022. “We have been watching the effects of insufficient content moderation on X with increasing uneasiness. Discriminatory and antisemitic content, conspiracy narratives, political disinformation, and even calls for violence have been able to spread like wildfire on X, even compared to other platforms. In such an environment, we do not want to be present any longer. We can no longer reconcile our presence there with our values,” declares h_da President Prof. Dr. Arnd Steinmetz. Changes at the study programs in Information Science and Informatics: The Faculty of Media will reposition its study programs with Information Science and Informatics content. It thus reacts to the declining number of enrolled students over the past years. For the study programs Information Science (B.Sc.) and Information Science (M.Sc.), this means in a first step that no new students will be admitted for WS 2024/25 and/or 2025/26. Moreover, it is recommended that both study programs are to be suspended as of WS 2028/29. This is a decision adopted by the Faculty of Media faculty council. Scientific institutions and associations had spoken in favor of keeping the study program in place. They emphasized the importance of competences in the area of information science for digital development and the critical reflection on technologies in our society. New honorary professor Martin Schwember: Shopping mall, trade fair grounds, or culture festival: Spaces we enter have a special sound, smell, and effect on us, if often subliminally. Martin Schwember, Creative Director with the Frankfurt-based design studio Atelier Markgraph, is one of the highest-profile experimental spatial designers. Among his spatial designs are TV and automobile trade fair concepts for ZDF and IAA. In the Expanded Media study program at h_da, he is now honorary professor for spatial design. He will prepare his students for designing spaces of experience in virtual future worlds. Calls & PrizesKerstin Lehmann is Germany’s best vocational trainee: After first receiving the honor of being recognized as the most successful vocational trainee in Southern Hesse, Kerstin Lehmann has now climbed to the top in the Germany-wide contest. This up-and-coming Management Assistant for Office Management completed her vocational training at h_da with the highest possible result of 100 points – only one other trainee among a total of 300,000 in Germany has reached the same result. At the national ceremony by the German Chamber of Industry and Commerce in Berlin, Kerstin Lehman received the honorary degree as “Germany’s best vocational trainee”. Funding for h_da students: During his work as a courier, Fritz Walter was bothered by the fact that courier bags are often unwieldy to put on and take off. Hence, together with his Industrial Design fellow students Louis Mittelstädt and Elias Sieburg, this h_da student developed the “Fastbag”. A bag that’s fast and intuitive in handling and that comes in handy for courier jobs just like for everyday activities. With their start-up idea, Walter and his fellow students are funded by the Hessen Ideen Stipendium scholarship, just like two Motion Pictures alumni of h_da: Julian Zalac and Eduard Eisinger have developed their software “Previz” in order to improve digital visualisation when planning film shoots. Right now, they are developing a digital tool with which to create comprehensive and detailed 3D models of film sets in a more cost-efficient and realistic way than is possible today. Alumni KidsOrientation semester: Maybe your son or daughter might be interested in starting a study programme but is still undecided about which direction to take? For exactly this case, Hochschule Darmstadt can offer four different orientation semesters: There is Start, an art- and design-minded orientation course, or DasDoris!, an orientation year for social professions. The Hessen-Technikum offers young women the possibility to gather practical experiences in the STEM areas (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) [German acronym: MINT] by way of a combination of a study taster and internships in companies. And then there’s Hejmint, a study taster with insights into various MINT study programs and MINT vocational training. Find out more about application deadlines, participation requirements, and contents. Application deadlines for study programs: If you’ve decided to take up your studies at Hochschule Darmstadt, please make sure to keep an eye on the application deadlines – which may vary from course to course. Depending on the program, interested students-to-be have to apply or enrol by 15 July, 1 August, or 1 September, respectively. Find out more at https://h-da.de/bewerbungsfristen. Arts & design orientation course: Would you like to take a look behind the scenes of an art program? At the Faculty of Media, you can. It now offers a one-semester arts orientation course for pupils still at school. The course gives an introduction to various techniques, methods, and strategies. It offers the opportunity to develop your own way of expressing yourself via drawing, painting, sculpture, photography, video, or performance. The course load is 26 hours per week; in addition, tutors provide advice and support for independent project work. New program “business4school”: How does a checking account work? Why does the government collect taxes? Why does the economy have to be thought in a global context? In its new program “business4school”, h_da provides pupils from grade 11 at high schools in Southern Hesse with practical business knowledge. This general education program is offered in Hesse for the first time; it complements and supports the economics classes taught in schools, participation is voluntary and free of charge. 18 schools from Darmstadt and Southern Hesse are the first ones to take part. Interested schools find more information at https://www.business4school.de/college/darmstadt. Dates & Eventsh_da Campus Festival on 13 June: The lawn next to the Wasserbauhalle (Hydraulic Engineering Hall) will be the venue where this year’s h_da Campus Festival will start rocking in the afternoon, lasting well into the night. (https://h-da.de/studium/studentisches-leben/h-da-campusfestival). Between 4 pm and 10 pm, numerous bands will enter the stage, playing jazz and pop, and getting the audience going with indie, soul pop, and rap music. Among the bands are Rikas, Zartmann, Clara John, and Lena&Linus. Food trucks will provide food and drinks for the hungry; and since sustainability is important, no disposable plates or glasses will be used. If dancing is not enough for you, then take advantage of the Hochschulsport sports offers to burn off some calories, and continue partying from 10 pm at the AStA Party in the Glaskasten.
Alumni & Relationship Management at Hochschule Darmstadt | ||
Alumni & Relationship-Management der Hochschule Darmstadt | ||