Focus on Research: Insights, Outlooks, Panoramic Views and the ‘Mittweida Spirit’

Opening ceremony with welcoming speeches and a poster display

Sebastian Gemkow, Saxony’s Minister of State for Science, Culture and Tourism, called on everyone in his video message to experience and pass on the “Mittweida Spirit”. Professor Uwe Mahn, Vice-Rector for Research at HSMW and conference chair, echoed this special spirit of research in his welcome address and presented HSMW with its diverse range of study and research opportunities.

Holger Müller, First Deputy Mayor of the town of Mittweida, spoke in his welcoming address of a fruitful collaboration and cited the Blockchain Showcase Region as an example of where academia, industry and local government work together in an interdisciplinary manner.

“Here’s the edge of the world – just look beyond it,” read the message on the bags that everyone received at the conference. The 10 poster presenters offered a first glimpse beyond the boundaries of their own research, presenting their posters to the audience in exactly one minute during the ‘Poster Flash’ session and vying for their votes. Creativity and ingenuity played just as big a part as specialist knowledge and eloquence.

A wide-ranging conference programme

Following the opening event, the more than 150 authors who contributed to the papers proved that they lived up to expectations. They had previously submitted their research papers in full to a jury of 39 expert reviewers from research institutes, colleges and universities for evaluation via a peer-review process. The best of these were invited to the conference in Mittweida. The young researchers then presented their topics in 48 talks across twelve sessions and four parallel events.

Why is nickel-rhenium suitable as an X-ray-absorbing layer in medical technology? – Do German students suffer from chronic stress? – What new demands does BIM (Building Information Modelling) place on architects and engineers? – How can the Varroa mite infestation in bees be contained? – How can VR be integrated into teaching? – Anyone who used their time creatively and switched between presentations with good planning was certainly able to find answers to all these and other questions on 13 June.

The audience then had to decide and cast their votes for the best poster and the best presentation, which were to be awarded prizes that evening.

A programme of accompanying events offering a wide range of options

In the foyer, the SMWK ZEUSS project, SaxFDM, Saxeed and the Mittweida University Library presented their areas of activity at a ‘Market of Opportunities’ and engaged in conversation with the participants.

‘Science with a difference’ was the title of the session in which Professor Silvio Fuchs from the Laser Institute at Mittweida University of Applied Sciences provided an insight into his field of research. What does ultrafast physics have to do with the high-performance chips in iPhones and similar devices, and what role does ultraviolet radiation play in this? Using experiments and clear visual demonstrations, Professor Fuchs helped the audience understand this topic.

A thrilling finale

Late in the afternoon, everyone gathered once again in the TV studio, eager to see the ‘finale’ – the presentation of the nine awards across three categories. Professor Uwe Mahn kept everyone in suspense and began by summarising NWK24 in figures. For example, the conference proceedings comprise 367 pages and are available for download here (link).

This also includes the entries that received awards. Cash prizes were awarded to the top three entries in each of the categories: Best Poster, Best Presentation and Best Paper.

For the Best Poster award, the audience chose Stefanie Penzel (HTWK Leipzig) and her poster ‘Footprint of the Golden Algae: An Approach for the Detection of Harmful Algae using Spectroscopic Methods’.

Also by public vote, Sabine Rucks (Mittweida University of Applied Sciences) was awarded the prize in the Best Presentation category for her presentation ‘Genome assembly of the Buckfast honey bee’.

Stefanie Stöckel (Chemnitz University of Technology) received the highest marks from the expert reviewers for her paper “A New Parameter for Describing the Spatial Distribution of Characteristic Features of Blasted Surfaces” and was thus awarded the Best Paper prize.

Handover of the keys to Merseburg University of Applied Sciences

Professor Doreen Pick, Vice-Rector for Research, Knowledge Transfer and Start-ups at Merseburg University of Applied Sciences, then accepted the NWK key from Professor Uwe Mahn and warmly invited everyone to NWK 2025 on 19 and 20 June 2025 at Merseburg University of Applied Sciences.

A night out with Göffeln, conversation and a barbecue

Over the course of the evening, participants were given a brief insight into the applied research carried out at the Laser Institute at Mittweida University of Applied Sciences, where they were able to collect their very own personalised spoon as a memento of NWK24. Over barbecued food and cool drinks on the sun deck of Building 39, there were further opportunities to chat and discuss topics such as AI applications, mobility and genetic engineering with scientists from our institute at the ‘Meet the Scientist’ event.

PhD Students’ Day on 14 June 2024

A PhD seminar was held on 14 June to mark PhD Students’ Day. The well-attended workshop, led by Dr Ellen Weißmantel, took an in-depth look at this route to further academic qualification, using the HSMW as a case study. In addition to the opportunities and risks, strategies and methods for the doctoral project, the seminar also addressed issues of funding, future career prospects (such as spin-offs) and the sharing of experiences by the doctoral candidates themselves, as well as opportunities for international networking and cooperation during the course of their studies. Examples of staff development at the HSMW, which the HSMW’s NextGen project develops and supports, rounded off the series of presentations.

Conference chair Professor Uwe Mahn sums up: “I am delighted that the conference was such a success, with a wide-ranging programme and plenty of opportunities for networking. We were able to gain insights into a wide variety of research areas and offer our young colleagues advice and inspiration for their future careers. Mittweida University of Applied Sciences has once again proved itself to be an excellent host for this kind of conference and has inspired the participants with the ‘Mittweida Spirit’ – the spirit of research.”

Further photos and a list of the award winners will soon be available on the NWK24 website (link).

Background

The Academic Talent Conference (NWK) was established in 2000 at Merseburg University of Applied Sciences – at that time still known as the Academic Talent Conference of Central German Universities of Applied Sciences. The aim of the NWK is to promote interdisciplinary exchange between Master’s students, early-career researchers and PhD candidates from all disciplines at today’s Universities of Applied Sciences (UoAS). Young researchers from all over Germany now take part in the conference. In its anniversary year, 2025, the NWK will take place on 19 and 20 June 2025 at Merseburg University of Applied Sciences.

A heartfelt thank you to everyone involved in NWK24, both on stage and behind the scenes, and best wishes to Merseburg University of Applied Sciences for a successful NWK 2025!

 

Text: Annett Kober
Images: (1), (2): Jacob Golde, Mittweida University of Applied Sciences; (3): Helmut Hammer, Mittweida University of Applied Sciences