Connected for the long term

Since 2020, joint research and teaching on sustainability have brought together the higher education institutions and universities in the European University Alliance on Responsible Consumption and Production (EURECA-PRO). The alliance is growing: in 2022, two further partners joined – the Université de Lorraine (France) and Hasselt University (Belgium). Mittweida University of Applied Sciences shares several similarities with Hasselt University, including a comparable student population of over six thousand, a location away from major cities, and similar degree programmes in engineering, the natural and social sciences, and computer science.

Consequently, during the visit of the seven-member delegation from Hasselt, led by Rector Professor Bernard Vanheusden and his colleagues, to Mittweida on 3 March, the two sides quickly hit it off. Professor Volker Tolkmitt, Vanheusden’s counterpart at Mittweida University of Applied Sciences, was delighted by the interest shown in his university: “Among other things, we have showcased flagship areas such as laser research and Biotechnology, which will enable us to contribute to our European alliance on the topic of sustainability at the very highest level. We immediately identified areas of common ground for joint research and teaching with our new colleagues. I am looking forward to seeing what we will develop together in the coming years.”

The meeting between the university management teams and academics was preceded in January 2023 by a visit to Hasselt by students on the Global Communication in Business and Culture degree programme. The Mittweida students on this programme, which combines intercultural competence, business and media, “spoke enthusiastically about their impressions and experiences in Hasselt”, said Professor Ramona Kusche, Dean of Studies at the Faculty Media Sciences, who also emphasised the opportunities for future collaboration for students from other faculties: “This partnership further strengthens the internationalisation of Mittweida University of Applied Sciences and opens the way for all our students to engage with our neighbours in Europe through exchange programmes and joint degree programmes.”