An application needs to be well prepared, even for a degree programme. Applicants need to know which deadlines apply, whether an aptitude test is required in advance or, for example, proof of language skills. The Student and Academic Counselling at the Deggendorf Institute of Technology (DIT) is offering the first information event of this year on 19 January. Students can find out how to best prepare for the next application period. From 15 April, they can apply to study in Deggendorf, Pfarrkirchen and Cham. The best way for interested students to come to the “Schüler:innen-Talk” online seminar is via the event calendar: https://www.th-deg.de/de/veranstaltung?id=744087. It is scheduled from 4 to 5 pm.

The European Campus Rottal-Inn (ECRI) of the Deggendorf Institute of Technology (DIT) rings in the new year with a new event format. The series called “ECRI Lunch Talk”, kicks off with the topic of destination branding. The free virtual event will take place on Friday, 21 January at noon and is open to all interested parties. The event is held in German.

The ECRI Lunch Talk is about a topic considered by two experts and invited the audience to actively participate in the discussion. The special feature: The format takes place virtually during the lunch break from noon to 1 pm. The kick-off event is all about destination branding in tourism. Because every place, or destination in the technical jargon, tells a story, brings its own culture and way of life and is defined by its environment and the people there. Destination branding is all about identifying the strongest and most competitive values of the destination in the eyes of its potential visitors. In particular, it is about capturing the “DNA of the destination” and conveying it consistently across all marketing channels and communications.

Claudia Hinnerkopf explains how this is done in practice at the ECRI Lunch Talk. She is Head of Marketing at Bayern Tourismus Marketing GmbH and knows Bavaria as a destination inside out. The second participant, Prof. Dr. Marcus Herntrei, will contribute scientific findings on citizen participation in destination branding. He is the head of the Bachelor International Tourism Management and Master International Tourism Development programmes at ECRI. The ECRI Lunch Talk will be hosted by Sarah Beham, correspondent at Bayerischer Rundfunk and experienced journalist on tourism in Eastern Bavaria.

Interested parties can register for the free event by sending an e-mail to miriam.bleck@th-deg.de or using the registration form. This can be found under the heading “Veranstaltungen” on the German ECRI website at: https://th-deg.de/ecri.

The ECRI Lunch Talk will take place twice a semester in the future and will focus on different ECRI topics. In each case, lecturers from the campus meet people from outside and look at a topic from different angles.

Mohammad Abu Rezeq is the first prospective founder at the Deggendorf Institute of Technology (DIT) to receive funding for his start-up idea as an international student. He wants to use a drone and artificial intelligence to facilitate the inspection of solar parks. To build the first prototype of the drone, he has now received the highest possible funding amount of € 7,500 from the Kickstart Incubator Programme.

Mohammad is studying for a Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering in Deggendorf and is originally from Jordan. With his start-up idea Squadron, he wants to help solar park operators collect data on their solar cells, which he evaluates for quality assurance with the help of artificial intelligence. Thus, compared to conventional inspection methods, it is possible to detect all kinds of anomalies in the shortest possible time and with more precise results. In July 2021, Mohammad presented his innovation to the Startup Campus team at DIT. Since then, he has been supervised and supported by the start-up advisors and his mentor Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Dorner. The start-up advisors are pleased that he Jordanian is consciously striving to found his company in Germany. This means that the added value can be felt directly. As the first international student to found a company at DIT, Mohammad would also like to take the next step and secure funding through the EXIST start-up scholarship and is currently writing an application for this.

About the Incubator Programme

The Kickstart Incubator is a programme for all prospective founder with innovative technology-oriented start-up projects or services with high customer value. After successfully presenting the idea, the first step is to develop the business model and build the founding team. Selected experts from DIT and the Startup Campus team are on hand to coach and mento the prospective founders. Free access to the StartupLab premises creates a creative working environment and enables exchange with other funding teams. With up to € 7,500 in funding per team, nothing stands in the way of building the first prototype. After completing the incubator programme, the teams are well equipped for the upcoming start-up and ready for subsequent funding such as the EXIST start-up scholarship. More information on the topic of founding can be found here: www.th-deg.de/starting-a-business

The funding is made possible by the funding measure “Entrepreneurial Thinking and Scientific Founding Spirit – Research and Founding Freedom at Universities of Applied Sciences” StartupLab@FH of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research.

At the beginning of December, a delegation from the Deggendorf Institute of Technology (DIT) led by President Prof. Dr. Peter Sperber and Prof. Peter Schmieder, Director of the Bavarian Innovation Transformation Centre (BITZ) Oberschneiding, visited strategic partners of the university in Silicon Valley. In addition, talks were held with potential investors of start-ups in the USA. DIT start-up teams with above-average potential are to be helped to achieve a successful market breakthrough.

On the campus of Stanford University, the DIT delegation, which also included Chancellor Birgit Augustin and Alexander Dorn, responsible for Venture Development at BITZ, first met Justin Lokitz. He is an advisor at Berkeley SkyDeck, the global hub of the University of California Berkeley. Lokitz will act as an active mentor at the BITZ and represent the Berkeley SkyDeck in Oberschneiding. Artificial intelligence and intellectual property rights were the topic of another meeting with WilmerHale, one of the leading US law firms in business law. One of WilmerHale's partners, Daniel Zimmermann, will also support the Silicon Valley School at the BITZ in the future. His expertise in corporate transactions and venture technology issues will be in particular demand.

In order to deepen existing networks and partnerships, talks were also held with the three long-time mentors Prof. Albert Bruno, Geoff Baum and Dr. Tobias Strobl. Bruno from Santa Clara University (SCU) is the founding director of the Center of Innovation & Entrepreneurship. Baum, in turn, co-founder of Garage.com, a high-tech capital company specialising in start-up financing, is an adjunct professor at SCU as well as Vice President of Marketing at Acceldata. Finally, Strobl has lived and taught in Silicon Valley for years. He was appointed professor for the "Methodology of Acceleration and Scale" at BITZ Oberschneiding.

Dr. Robert Brancatelli, Senior Associate Director of the Silicon Valley Executive Center and the Leavey School of Business at SCU, praised the intensive exchange with DIT: "The Silicon Valley School is an expression and symbol of the deepening partnership between Deggendorf University and the Silicon Valley Executive Center. The mentoring, intensive support as well as the networking of the venture teams are comparable to other start-up programmes on both sides of the Atlantic, but surpass them in many ways." According to Brancatelli, he knows of very few programmes that are based on a similarly strong bond between science and business.

After visiting the new Discovery & Innovation Campus, one of the largest STEM facilities in the US, DIT President Sperber was impressed. "A whopping US$270 million has been invested here. That is really fantastic!" Sperber also emphasised, however, that the group of now 13 DIT technology campuses could certainly keep up. What happens centrally in a research centre in Silicon Valley is spread over nine districts in Bavaria. The DIT president: "Our technology campuses offer innovation for an entire region. The BITZ Oberschneiding is a great reinforcement in this circle."

INFO │ THE SILICON VALLEY PROGRAM AT DIT

Prof. Peter Schmieder is the founder of the Silicon Valley Program at DIT. He has been cooperating with the elite American university Santa Clara in California for more than ten years. In the years from 2014 to the present, around 60 founding teams went through this programme. "Germany," says Schmieder, "is a country of inventors. However, these inventions, the 'Inventions', all too rarely become real innovations." This is precisely where the Silicon Valley Program comes in. Together with the mentors in California, the founders are given the know-how, concept and strategy to actually bring an idea successfully to the market. The basis for this lies in Lower Bavaria, Schmieder explains: "The experts in Silicon Valley tell us quite clearly that what is being done at the BITZ in Oberschneiding is unique." As early as April 2022, the next teams from Lower Bavaria will complete their "pitch" in California. If they are successful, investors and a top-class network of experts will be on hand.

You can find out more about the Bavarian Innovation Transformation Centre (BITZ) in Oberschneiding at: www.th-deg.de/bitz-oberschneiding-en

Only a third of all Bavarian universities have permanent staff to handle their alumni work. While some colleges and universities continue to cut back on this, the aftercare of former students at the Deggendorf Institute of Technology (DIT) is very much supported by the university management. On Wednesday, 1 December 2021, the State Minister for Science and the Arts, Bernd Sibler, joined the virtual Bavarian regional group meeting of the umbrella organisation for alumni work alumni-clubs.net (acn) for 30 minutes. He took the opportunity to discuss the importance of alumni work with the speakers present.

During the online discussion, Minister of Science Bernd Sibler emphasised: "The knowledge and experience of our 'alumni' are a great treasure for the Bavarian universities, of which we are proud." The alumni work makes this treasure visible and practically usable for the current students as well as for the universities. And the graduates themselves would also benefit from networking with each other. Sibler continues: "In the new Higher Education Innovation Act, we will expand the individual scope of the universities. This will also open up new opportunities and perspectives for alumni work." The new law will expand the possibilities for universities to cooperate with external partners and networks. It also provides the framework conditions for business start-ups and participations. In addition, universities will be able to make infrastructure facilities such as laboratories or equipment available to their graduates for start-up purposes for a certain period of time beyond their studies. This creates new opportunities for networking and cooperation between universities and alumni.

For Ulrike Sauckel, Alumni Officer at DIT, the appreciation from the Ministry is an important step towards establishing alumni work at all Bavarian universities. Sauckel is also the Bavarian regional group spokesperson for the umbrella organisation alumni-clubs.net. In Deggendorf, she says, it works very well that graduates stay in touch with the university after they graduate. In Deggendorf, sustainable alumni work has been carried out for 16 years by the central institution DIT-Alumni, supported by the AlumniNet association, which can count over 1,000 members in its 20th year. The university association offers job application training, seminars for executives and business trips.

Link to the image film of the association: alumninet.th-deg.de/?page_id=4377&lang=de

Prof. Dr. Georgi Chaltikyan, Programme Director Master of Digital Health at the European Campus Rottal-Inn (ECRI), was invited as a keynote speaker and panelist to two international Digital Health congresses organized by Brazil’s vibrant and dynamic Digital Health community. He spoke at the Global Summit on Telemedicine and Digital Health as well as the Brazilian Congress of Telemedicine and eHealth, both taking place in November 2021.

The first event was a pre-meeting webinar on Digital Health Education, a part of the event series titled Global Summit on Telemedicine and Digital Health. In his keynote, Prof. Chaltikyan spoke on the history and evolution of telemedicine and telehealth into eHealth and Health IT, and eventually into Digital Health (with important differences between the concepts and definitions), provided insights into the changing paradigm of Health IT and medical/health informatics education, discussed the novel approach to fostering interdisciplinary specialists capable of driving the Digital Transformation of Healthcare, and presented the experience with Master of Digital Health at DIT-ECRI. The Global Summit 2021 convened on November 9-12 in São Paulo, attracted 2 thousand virtual participants from around the world, provided 100 hours of content in 95 sessions during 4 days, presented by 200 speakers from 24 countries

At the Brazilian Congress of Telemedicine and eHealth, Prof. Chaltikyan was invited to a panel discussion titled “Professional Education Transforming Telemedicine and Digital Health”. The discussion featured also Prof. S. Yunkap Kwankam, the Executive Director of the International Society for Telemedicine and eHealth (ISfTeH), Mr. Frank Lievens, the Executive Secretary of ISfTeH, and Ms. Dina Ziadlou, Chair of ISfTeH Working Group on Digital Transformation and was moderated  by Prof. Jefferson Fernandes, Head of Education Program and Board Member at the ISfTeH. The panelists presented their vision and opinions about streamlining Digital Health education internationally and globally, and engaged in a lively discussion addressing the challenges and opportunities of providing professional workforce for Digital Transformation.

In both the keynote and the panel, the ongoing work on the Consortium of Educational Institutions in Digital Health (CONEDIG), an initiative under the auspices of the ISfTeH of which DIT-ECRI is one of the founding members, was also presented and discussed.

Deggendorf Institute of Technology’s ECRI is an academic institutional member of the ISfTeH since 2018.

In microelectronics, we know that the smaller, more efficient and more mobile microchips are, the more diverse their applications. Professor Michael Sternad from the Deggendorf Institute of Technology (DIT) has found a way to produce microchips with an integrated battery. The mini-battery is powerful and very easy to produce. No one else in the world has ever succeeded in this dimension. The advantage: microchips with a battery can be used autonomously and in a variety of ways. Michael Sternad has now published the results of his scientific work and would like to get in touch with interested parties.

As a result of several years of basic research, which Michael Sternad started at Graz University of Technology, he shows how monocrystalline silicon, the material of a microchip, can be made usable as a battery electrode. "The microchip then not only houses the electronics, but is also part of a mini-battery at the same time," says Sternad. The silicon as the material of the microchip was the challenge here. When it is charged, its structure changes. It shatters into countless particles. Sternad dealt with this and found a way to optimally prepare the silicon for charging. The new batteries can be recharged several hundred times with a small capacity loss of only a few percent. "With this high number of recharges, this has never been achieved before in the world," says Sternad. And the possible applications are manifold. They can be made extremely tiny, down to 0.1 by 0.1 millimetres, in almost any package shape and extremely cheap, around one to two cents each. But the energy density is similar to that of the best commercial lithium-ion batteries. Demand is particularly high from the aircraft industry. Energy-autonomous sensors simply save weight in aircraft because there is no need for wiring. But there are many other examples of applications, such as monitoring blood supplies, fever-detecting plasters or in the automotive sector. Those interested can read about Michael Sternad's research work in the renowned journal "Advanced Material Technologies". He is also available to answer questions in person: michael.sternad@th-deg.de.

Together with project partners, the district of Rottal-Inn has committed itself to improving medical care in the district of Rottal-Inn in the "med4PAN" project. The European Campus Rottal-Inn (ECRI) of the Deggendorf Institute of Technology (DIT) is responsible for the overall management of the project. For this idea, Federal Minister of Transport Andreas Scheuer presented Max Straubinger, Member of the Bundestag, and the project team around project leader Prof. Dr. Thomas Spittler with a funding decision amounting to € 3.64 million on 18 November.

In his speech at the handover of the funding notification, Federal Minister of Transport Andreas Scheuer highlighted the project as a lighthouse project that can also be applied to many other districts and will sustainably improve medical care in rural areas. The Minister also emphasised that he would continue to personally support the project. For MP Max Straubinger, who was present at the handover as a member of parliament for the district, "med4PAN" is also a lighthouse project. He emphasised the importance for rural areas and how the project will improve the lives of citizens in the event of an emergency or treatment in hospital in the district of Rottal-Inn.

In Rottal-Inn, the district with the most scattered settlements in Germany, the distances between hospitals in an emergency are longer than average and every minute counts for the patient. In order to be able to counteract this problem in the future, the "med4PAN" project is investigating the use of state-of-the-art technologies in medical care in four concrete application cases.

The project starts before patients even arrive at the hospital. By linking the ambulance service and the Rottal-Inn clinics, the care of patients who are in an emergency situation in the ambulance is to be improved. For this purpose, live videos of the patient captured by a 360° camera in the ambulance are transmitted to the emergency room and the doctors can get an idea of the situation before the ambulance arrives. In addition, the project aims to improve teleconsultation communication, allowing specialists from different locations of the Rottal-Inn hospitals to exchange information virtually and thus contribute to telemedical decision support. This will reduce time, cost, burden and stress for all involved and improve patient care. The project aims to facilitate the localisation of objects and people in clinics. For medical staff, this would lead to a great relief, as the required device can be located, found immediately and the patient thus helped more quickly.

In addition to the actual cases in the ambulance and the clinic, the project will also establish a so-called innovation hub at ECRI. Within the framework of this, applications based on state-of-the-art technology will be scientifically developed, tested, evaluated and scaled for further use cases. This includes, for example, the delivery of a defibrillator by drone or the transmission of images of a high-resolution histopathological section to the specialist in real time.

The "med4PAN" project is led by Prof. Dr. Thomas Spittler and supported by Anna Schmaus-Klughammer, LLB (hons.), as coordinator of the project at DIT. Besides the district of Rottal-Inn, the Rottal-Inn Clinics, the Bavarian Red Cross, the Fraunhofer Institute and the companies medDV and becon GmbH are involved as project partners.

Great honour for Deggendorf filmmakers: their short film "Flucht" (Escape) was presented at the beginning of November at the Biberach Film Festival, which is renowned throughout Germany. The project is a final thesis in the Master's degree programme in Media Technology at the Deggendorf Institute of Technology (DIT).

"Escape" tells the story of twelve-year-old Jakob, who repeatedly flees from his quarrelling parents into the forest. When one day his life is in danger there, he has to make a difficult decision. The twelve-minute film is the final project of the Deggendorf media technology students Kim Hong (script and direction), Moritz Grötsch (image design), Lea Blöchinger (production, production management), Julian Hofbauer (sound and music) and Nikkash Sutharsan (editing). The film project was supervised by Prof. Jens Schanze. He praises the young talents: "Thanks to their above-average commitment, the students succeeded in producing and completing the film with two child actors under pandemic conditions." Special camera lenses were used for the visual realisation of the demanding drama, creating a special cinematic aesthetic. The invitation to Biberach is highest recognition for the Deggendorf film team. The festival is considered a "family reunion of German filmmakers". Well-known directors such as Caroline Link, Volker Schlöndorff or Fatih Akin have been awarded prizes for their works there in the past, as has Oliver Haffner, lecturer in  DIT's Master's programme in Media Production. The Deggendorf entry was the only short film at the renowned festival that was not produced at a film school.

"Into the bin - and then what?" What actually happens to our rubbish? This question will be explored at the next Children's University at the Deggendorf Institute of Technology (DIT).

Plastic in the environment and in the oceans - rubbish is one of the major global problems. But there are solutions. Miriam Augustin from the Zweckverband Abfallwirtschaft (ZAW) Donau-Wald comes to the DIT Kinderuni for this topic. She explains what happens to our waste and why it is so important to separate properly. But what goes into which bin? Which waste can be recycled at all and what is made from it? A quiz will show who is already a real recycling professional. Nevertheless, the best waste is that which is not produced in the first place. Waste prevention is the order of the day. Miriam Augustin will give her young listeners important tips on how to do this - in keeping with the European Week of Waste Prevention, which is taking place at the same time. At the end, the children can ask the expert questions.

The children's university is organised by the MINT team of the Deggendorf Institute of Technology. Children’s university is currently offered in German only.

By 2022, the most important administrative services in Germany are to be available online. To this end, the E-Government Act was passed in 2013 and the Online Access Act (OZG) in 2017. Authorities, administrations and other public institutions that still need a boost here can find out more on 23 November at the Deggendorf Institute of Technology (DIT). In a virtual event, experts from the Master’s programme “Public Management” and partner companies of the university will talk about the possibilities of digitalisation in (public) administration.

At the DigiCamp, Ronald Kaiser and Prof Dr Helena Liebelt will provide detailed information about the digitalisation culture in public authorities and public institutions and the threat posed by cyber attacks. In practical examples, Maximilian Gell and Andreas Englmeier will tell about their project experiences, how to approach digitalisation and which tools have proven their worth. Those interested in further education will also receive information on the part-time Master’s programme “Public Management’. Those who are looking for cooperation opportunities with the university can also tie in at the DigiCamp. The detailed programme for the event can be found on the DIT homepage at https://th-deg.de/en/business/digitalisation-in-dialogue. The DigiCamp will take place from 4-6 pm. Participation is free of charge, access data to the virtual will be sent out after registration.

The Deggendorf Institute of Technology (DIT) has successfully applied to participate in the "National Education Platforms Initiative" of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research. In the higher education landscape, there are a large number of higher education information systems for the storage and processing of services and teaching content. However, these are structured very differently and, in addition, documents are currently sent and approved in paper form in time-consuming administrative processes. DIT wants to remedy this situation. A platform that can be used throughout Germany is to be created that digitally stores and recognises educational achievements. The first concept phase for the development of a prototype began in October.

If a student changes degree programmes or wants to pursue a Master's degree after completing his or her Bachelor's degree, his or her previous achievements are important for recognition or admission to a degree programme. Manually managing the documents, however, is very time-consuming and expensive. The idea of the DIT project is to create digital and forgery-proof alternatives for this process, which will ideally be used throughout Germany. This should create more transparency and permeability in the education system. "If this works, navigating through the digital recognition jungle will be much easier," says Prof. Dr Wolfgang Dorner. He is part of the project team as director with his Institute for Applied Computer Science, as is the IT Centre with director Prof. Helena Liebelt and operational director Andreas Englmeier, as well as the Communication & Marketing department headed by Martina Heim. In the first phase, the university's IT centre will use blockchain technologies to develop a digital wallet. The user's educational data is stored in it. The DIT's website team is providing a user-friendly interface for the planned platform. "Imagine having all your degrees, exams, grades that you have achieved in your life stored in one central secure place. No matter where you apply across Germany, your digital wallet is checked, e.g. by another university, and the appropriate modules are simply recognised," Dorner explains. He cites the EDV-Fachschule in Plattling as a regional example: "We already recognise achievements of the EDV-Fachschule Plattling for a computer science degree, which should be simple, automated and not involve a lot of paperwork and administration."

After the first project phase of a total of five months, expert reviewers will examine the nationwide ideas and release the concepts and strategies deemed worthy of funding for a two-year implementation phase.

Sinah Harm produced a promotional film for the Munich-based start-up democy for her Master’s thesis. The start-up offers an app for citizen participation. As part of the advertising campaign “What moves you?”, the film celebrated its premiere this week.

The Master’s thesis has brough Sinah further in many areas. Except for the camera and set sound, she has taken on all the tasks herself, even the catering and the implementation of hygiene measures. For the first time, she has also worked with children and non-experienced people. “The production brought out all my strengths, but also weaknesses, and was therefore very instructive,” she says herself, “you always develop further, you never stop learning, and that’s why my focus will always be on getting better with every project.”

The contact to democy cam about through friends. Sinah liked the idea of the start-up and personally likes advertising films with emotional stories, which is why she decided to work with democy as the topic of her Master’s thesis. Under the supervision of Prof. Schanze and in collaboration with cameraman Thomas Weishäupl, she realised the project. Sinah’s film can now also be seen on Youtube.

Many large corporations and companies rely on the TOEIC® (Test of English for International Communication) to fairly and validly assess the job-related English skills of their employees. Because applicants and staff managers often have two different understandings of “good” English, the Deggendorf Institute of Technology (DIT) is offering the next TOEIC Listening & Reading Online Test in December. External candidates can also take part.

The TOEIC Listening & Reading Online covers the two areas of listening and reading comprehension. The two-hour multiple choice test is taken on the computer. All those who take the test are placed exactly in their personal language level according to their score and always receive a result – there is no such thing as failing. The next TOEIC Listening & Reading Test Online at DIT will take place on Friday, 10 December at 4 pm. The test date on Friday, 3 December, also at 4 pm, is obligatory. Registration is possible until 22 November at sprachenzentrum@th-deg.de. The examination fee is €130 (or €150 if a certificate is required). The number of participants for the exam is limited.

More information on the TOEIC test is available online at https://th-deg.de/en/students/language-electives#exams.

The Deggendorf Institute of Technology (DIT) is offering a virtual information event on its Master's degree programmes, which are taught full-time, on Thursday, 11 November. Currently, prospective students can choose from 21 Master's programmes in the fields of business, technology, health and computer science. From 4 pm to 7 pm, the university will present the specific study contents, how to apply properly and which admission requirements apply. Those interested can connect to the online event via a link. There will be a virtual room for Master's programmes in "Technology", "Computer Science" and "Business, Health and Sport". The exact agenda of the information event and the necessary links are available at www.th-deg.de in the event calendar.

Parents looking for childcare can now contact the babysitter exchange at the Deggendorf Institute of Technology (DIT). It provides experienced babysitters to families in need of childcare.

The babysitter exchange acts as an intermediary platform between students who like to look after children and already have experience and parents who are looking for a babysitter. The DIT's Family Affairs department puts babysitters and parents in touch with each other, who then make arrangements completely independently of the university. The aim of the babysitter exchange is to offer families a complementary service when looking after their children.

Previous experiences with the babysitter exchange have been positive throughout, as Jana Schmid confirms. She is a mother of two children and has been using this offer for several semesters. "The children are super enthusiastic about our babysitter. She has played with them, collected craft materials during a walk in the forest and made things with them. With the big daughter, she baked an extra recipe. That was an experience, of course," says Schmid.

The babysitter exchange is merely a placement platform. For this reason, the university accepts no liability whatsoever.

What does the word "truth" actually mean in a time when more and more data and more and more communication channels offer more and more opportunities to somehow convey virtually any opinion as truth? The already traditional "Deggendorf Forum for Digital Data Analysis" (DFDDA) under the direction of Prof. Dr. Georg Herde (Deggendorf Institute of Technology) asked itself this question. At the 16th forum event on Wednesday and Thursday, experts from tax auditing, tax consultancy and finance discussed the possibilities and limits of so-called artificial intelligence (AI). The motto of the event, which was virtual for the third time due to the Corona pandemic, was: "No signal - is the truth disappearing in the flood of data?"

Only recently, the Deggendorf Institute of Technology had dismissed its first graduates specialising in artificial intelligence, the Vice-President of DIT, Prof. Dr. Horst Kunhardt, told the audience in a welcoming speech. And he issued an admonition that all speakers at the conference echoed in one way or another: "We must never disregard the human being." At the end of all AI analyses, the critical mind of the human being is still needed, he said.

The guest speaker at the event, Prof. Dr. Klaus Mainzer, Professor Emeritus of Philosophy and Philosophy of Science at the Technical University of Munich, also spoke of "Responsible Artificial Intelligence". Mainzer has followed the development of AI and the expectations of AI on an international level and described in his lecture the path from the development of expert systems, which were supposed to support the doctor in diagnosis through purely logical reasoning from medical data, to the imitation of human brain functions and the search and detection of patterns in large amounts of data, to today, among other things, self-learning automats in automotive technology and the decoding of protein structures and thus the identification of viruses.

Mainzer took up the criticism that such systems are "black boxes", you can see what they find out, but not how they find it out. The systems are "trained like a dog. But in the end, you can still get bitten." Mainzer: "You need visibility, explainability." That means: an expert - a doctor, a specialist engineer - has to decide with his "domain knowledge" whether, for example, a medical diagnosis found automatically is plausible or not. The more influence technology has on people and their everyday lives, the greater the challenge for the training of people who work with this technology. Technology design is required; legal, social, ecological and economic criteria must be included in this design from the outset. Machine learning is "a huge success today", Mainzer said in the subsequent discussion. "But in the end, it is statistics" - with the uncertainties that come with it.

Using the example of the judiciary, Dr Tanja Ihden, FH Krems, who wrote her doctoral thesis in Bremen on "the relevance of statistical methods in jurisprudence", described successes and problems of argumentation with statistics. She is a member of the research unit "Statistics in Court", which was founded in 2014/15. According to Ihden, the number of court decisions in which statistical terms can be found has increased many times over in the past decades. The impetus for this comes from the judiciary itself, in almost all areas, whether it is the assignment of a DNA sample to a suspect, or reconstructions of an accident through scenarios, or the question of whether a man on whose computer photos from the borderline area of child pornography, which is not yet punishable, are found, is also very likely to possess prohibited photos. Judges are increasingly confronted with terms such as variance or confidence interval, which they must be able to correctly classify in their judgements, says Ihden. Being able to read statistics and evaluate statistical reasoning has become a key qualification for judges, he said.

Tawei (David) Wang, PhD, Associate Professor and Driehaus Fellow, Driehaus College of Business, DePaul University, Chicago, USA, demonstrated how risky the use of social media by employees can be for a company. His study shows how social media data can be used to find security weaknesses in companies' computer systems. Wang and colleagues used the LinkedIn network for their research, but consider the result transferable to other networks. They extracted thousands of personal data with information on current and former professional activities, areas of responsibility and locations and formed an exposure index for the company from the results. The result was a positive relationship between this index and the number of data breakdowns in the company's computer network.

The challenges posed by growing computing capacities, new processes and new procedures, such as AI, in companies also place new and expanded demands on auditing. Karsten Thomas, Partner IT-Assurance at BDO AG Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft, gave examples of where new, constantly developing tools can also help the auditor to improve the efficiency and quality of the audit. He does not see any fundamental competition between the goals of quality and efficiency. A high degree of automation also reduces the susceptibility to errors and can relieve the auditor. It could also make it easier to recognise anomalies. Thomas presented concrete tools from auditor practice. Outliers in analysed data are a particular challenge. The effort to clarify and assess them is high. There is great hope for AI procedures, but Thomas does not yet see their use at this point. One reason he gave was that, depending on the company, not every anomaly has to be an error, and that it is difficult to obtain training data for machine learning in companies with their individual design of data systems and processes.

A special form of mass data analysis for tax purposes was presented by Markus Ettinger, Diplom-Finanzwirt (FH) in the large and group tax audit of Schleswig-Holstein. The Foreign Tax Act stipulates how transfer prices between related parties or companies and their subcontractors are checked for taxation purposes to see whether they correspond to market realities. Transfer prices between comparable, unrelated third parties are used for this purpose. Ettinger described, according to the title of his presentation, "Visualisation and Benchmark Studies in Transfer Pricing". For this, comparable companies and criteria for comparability must first be found. Using example data, Ettinger described how a combination of machine screening, ideally interactive methods of visualisation and critical scrutiny of each individual step can be used to compile a comparison set on which the tax classification can be based, as long as the boundary conditions remain unchanged.

At the end of the conference, DFDDA Chairman Prof. Dr. Georg Herde posed the question in his own contribution that bridged the various topics of the conference: "Artificial Intelligence - A Solution for Auditing?" He started from the statement: "New techniques are giving AI a strong impetus." But what does AI "understand" about company data as it is available to the auditor? What correlations does it recognise on its own? From structured company data, the auditor extracts a multitude of tables - which, however, interact in a defined way, which is not automatically recognisable in the tables. And even in a flat table, only a human can recognise the meaning of the entries: Which chart of accounts was used? What kind of date is in the date field? Depending on where a posting record is, it can be wrong or right or even meaningless. From these and other considerations, he derived a perspective for developers: the input fields must be strongly standardised, but already an assignment of the attributes to the data fields cannot be done by an AI, but must be queried anew for each client and executed by hand. "There is no automatic testing of a programme logic," said Herde, referring - mutatis mutandis - to an insight made by the British computer scientist Alan Turing in 1937. In addition, framework conditions such as company structures, prices or laws are constantly changing, so that an AI system would have to be constantly retrained. "These and other problems of AI systems are currently not solvable," Herde noted. Research in this area is therefore important and sensible, he said.

His conclusion: "If an AI system does not say how it arrives at a result, then the examiner can only believe the results. Then he doesn't test."

And the DEGGs? It is becoming more and more part of the Deggendorf Institute of Technology (DIT). The AI Centre of the Faculty of Applied Computer Science had already moved in last spring. Now, at the start of the winter semester, up to 120 students can be supervised in presence on around 1,600 square metres of the former medical care centre. In addition, laboratories have been set up for research and work on digital topics. Topics that are also relevant for the further digitalisation of the regional economy.

Prof. Andreas Fischer is the head of the Laboratory for Network Technologies: "Not only classic internet technologies are explored here, but also new types of distributed intelligent applications," explains the DIT scientist. Artificial intelligence algorithms could, for example, help to better plan resources in large-scale data centres, detect anomalies in data traffic or quite practically speed up the forwarding of packets.

Another new addition to the DEGGs is a laboratory for high performance or quantum computing. Prof. Dr. Peter Faber is the boss here. Under his guidance, topics in computer science are served that require extraordinarily high computing power. "Our main focus is on so-called parallel computing" says Faber, meaning that in such cases several variants of a problem are solved simultaneously. For example, an AI can search different areas of a high-resolution image for specific objects at the same time. Parallel processing is also the speciality of quantum computing - the two research fields complement each other perfectly here at DEGGs.

The DeepLearning lab is the realm of Prof. Andreas Berl. Small autonomous vehicles, robotic arms and humanoid robots characterise the first impression. Highly sophisticated AI workstations with access to fast servers in the background allow students to quickly achieve their own successes and thus apply theoretical knowledge directly in practice.

"At the AI Centre, we want to prepare Deggendorf students in the best possible way for the revolutions in the fields of Artificial Intelligence, Industry 4.0, Internet of Things, High Performance Computing and Quantum Computing," confirms Prof. Berl. The three labs offer special practical courses on topics such as network technologies, deep learning and high performance computing or quantum computing. The response has been enormous. Well over 3,000 applicants from all over the world wanted one of the 120 places on the new English-language Bachelor Artificial Intelligence and Master Artificial Intelligence & Data Science programmes. Berl is very pleased about this: "We are proud that the degree programme became known so quickly outside Germany." He also hopes for more applicants from Germany. After all, studying in English boosts career opportunities enormously.

On 16 August, the Bavarian Ministry of Economic Affairs, Regional Development and Energy approved the SMARD project - "Simulation of Metal Anomaly Research Detection". It will be funded with a good 0.85 million euros. Of this, 447,000 euros will go to the Deggendorf Institute of Technology (DIT). Together with the project partner Mesutronic Gerätebau GmbH, DIT will research an innovative further development in the field of metal detection and integrate it into existing series solutions.

Existing detection concepts for anomalies caused by metal contamination in the industrial manufacturing sector must be evaluated and their concrete implementations tested in detail. There are solutions for evaluating changes in the electromagnetic field caused by metals. However, these solutions are only partially suitable in test environments for anomaly tests with hard real-time requirements, as is the case in manufacturing systems. Existing approaches with threshold-based algorithms are only conditionally suitable for use in the validation of future detection systems for product anomalies due to rigid decision criteria. Other anomaly testing approaches, such as image processing or artificial intelligence algorithms, are not yet established in the field of metal detection. However, the integration of such advanced methods in anomaly environments provides significant added value for safeguarding future systems. Lack of research activity in this context testifies to the relevance of the project.

The aim of the project is to research and develop an AI-based evaluation method for metal detectors in the industrial manufacturing sector. This detection system, developed on the basis of an electromagnetic FEM process and an AI-controlled software analysis, enables improved detection of metallic contaminants in a manufacturing product with simultaneous reliable non-detection of non-contaminated products. The AI-based learning is performed using the electromagnetic simulation results of the FEM software Ansys (EM) Maxwell. In addition, the thermodynamic influences on the overall system consisting of the detection unit and the test product are investigated, analysed and included in the AI algorithm.

On Friday, 12 November, 2021, the second edition of the international Digital Health symposium DigiHealthDay (DHD), will be hosted by European Campus Rottal-Inn, Deggendorf Institute of Technology (DIT-ECRI).

The international symposium DHD-2021 tries to capture how digital technologies are transforming health and care around the world, featuring keynotes, parallel sessions, impulse talks, and a panel discussion including distinguished experts in the field of Digital Health. Leading international experts from Germany, United Kingdom, United States, India, Hungary, Poland, Sweden, Italy and other countries will provide knowledge and information on the future of healthcare during the day of the symposium. The main highlight event of this year is the panel discussion "The Future of Digital Health Data: Achieving the Opportunities, Addressing the Anxieties, Responding to Risks".

Scientific Session, EFMI Session, Student Session, and CONEDIG session are hosted parallel. In the Scientific Sessions, selected academic papers in Digital Health will be presented. The Students Session is the stage for recognising sprouting talents. At CONEDIG Session, The Consortium of Educational Institutions in Digital Health (CONEDIG) will converse on educational reforms, goals, and challenges in Digital Health.

The organiser of the event, Prof. Dr. Georgi Chaltikyan, is proud to host honorary Klaus Holetschek - Minister of State for Health and Care as well as honorary Bernd Sibler - Minister of State for Science and the Arts (Bavaria), who will open the event with their welcome addresses. Another milestone for the DHD is the partnership with one of the key Digital Health events in Germany, ‘Munich Digital Healthcare Summit'. For further information visit the DHD-2021 website: https://th-deg.de/digihealthday

The event is endorsed and sponsored by the Bavarian State Ministry of Health and Care (StMGP), Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS), International Society for Telemedicine & eHealth (ISfTeH), International Medical Informatics Association (IMIA), European Federation for Medical Informatics (EFMI), German Society of Digital Medicine (DGDM), German Telemedicine Society (DGTelemed), Bavarian Telemedicine Alliance (BTA), Armenian Association of Telemedicine (AATM), Town of Pfarrkirchen, Roche, Russian-Armenian University (RAU), People's Friendship University of Russia (RUDN), National Healthcare University of Ukraine (NHU), and DigitalHealthNews.eu (media partner).

The Deggendorf Institute of Technology (DIT) supervises and supports students in various phases of the start-up process. Also when it comes to making the emerging start-ups better known and building up their network. On 27 October, the DIT Startup Campus invites you to the virtual event “meet the team”. The founding teams will each talk about their business idea for 15 minutes and then want to engage in an exchange with the audience.

Among others, the team ti4f will introduce itself. Ti4f was funded by a start-up scholarship at the Deggendorf Institute of Technology and has already founded a company. The three-member team is still looking for a strategic partner or investor, for example. Thomas Brunner, Constantin Vogel and Hamidreza Abolpourmoshizi are developing an end-to-end digitalised process chain in one-off production. The event starts on 27 October at 4 pm and takes place via Zoom. Not only students, employees and partner companies of the university can participate, but also anyone who is interested in the topic of business start-ups. Registration is possible via DIT’s seminar platform: www-th-deg.de/seminare. The zoom link will be sent out afterwards.

15-minute talks with companies, presentation on dual studies and reports on experience – this is the motto of the Dual Speeddating Bavaria, at which the Deggendorf Institute of Technology (DIT) is also represented as one of a total of nine universities in Bavaria. The event is organised by hochschule dual – Bavaria’s network for dual studies. Pupils and prospective students can take part and find out more online between 25 October and 19 November 2021.

The virtual speed dating offers pupils of the 11th and 12th grade, as well as first-year students the opportunity to get in touch with DIT and its partner companies. Eleven practical partners at DIT – including Micro-Epsilon, Zollner, Berger Bau and Continental – will be present and will offer individual short talks about the combined study programme and studies with in-depth practical experience. Registration for a speed date is possible from 25 October via an online portal and will be supplemented by lectures from the universities in the afternoon. In the lecture "Dual ans Ziel! - your opportunities at the DIT" on 25 October from 5 to 6 pm, DIT will introduce itself and draw attention to the wide range of dual study programmes in the fields of business, technology, information technology and health. Speed dates with DIT and the companies will then take place between 8 and 19 November by appointment via video chat or telephone call. The entire programme is free of charge and is intended as a first point of contact on the subject of dual studies. Registration is possible via the following link: www.duales-speeddating-bayern.de.

With Prof. Dr. Simon Zabler, the Faculty of Applied Computer Science at the Deggendorf Institute of Technology (DIT) gains an expert in the field of imaging techniques with a focus on computed tomography.

The passionate physicist already dealt with X-ray imaging in his Master's thesis and has not been able to get away from it since. For Zabler, computed tomography is not only an interdisciplinary field that combines computer science, mathematics, physics and mechanical engineering, but it is also constantly reinventing itself. This is precisely the attraction of "digital photography with three-dimensional pixels", as Zabler describes computed tomography. He remained faithful to computed tomography throughout his professional career. Whether during his doctoral thesis at the Hahn-Meitner Institute in Berlin or as a PostDoc at the Max Planck Institute in Potsdam, where he watched cellulose drying in wood. Research and teaching have also accompanied Prof. Zabler for a long time. He already taught materials science at the TU Berlin and then set up a research group for X-ray microscopy and scattering at the University of Würzburg.

One of the reasons Zabler chose the professorship at DIT is that top international researchers have the opportunity here to bring their field of research into teaching. He himself has a German-French double degree in physics and is at home on the international stage of science. Zabler is therefore particularly looking forward to building up a broad network at DIT around computed tomography and machine vision in order to carry out exciting and, above all, international projects. In addition, industry and university work together here in Lower Bavaria in an uncomplicated and results-oriented manner. According to Zabler, it is precisely this networking that offers a great opportunity to direct the focus and knowledge transfer in applied research towards the current requirements of industry.

Zabler also pays special attention to the young talents at DIT and how he can make research fun for them and accompany them on their way. In return, students can expect clear communication, accessibility, fair rules, enthusiasm for the subject matter and readable documents from him. Attendance, critical examination of the material and honest feedback are points that Zabler demands of his students.

Honesty is important to the new DIT professor, who describes himself as compulsively honest. He does not look away when mistakes are made, whether by others or his own, and when injustice occurs. The best prerequisites for changing something. Honest as he is, he also admits that he can only explain things really well when he has understood them himself. Even if he is not always the tidiest and most punctual, he is an unteachable optimist at work. He can also be persuaded to do just about anything with chocolate and / or a good cappuccino. It is therefore not surprising that Zabler not only likes to feast in his free time, but also cooks himself. Preferably in company. He is also interested in history and international politics, but one week a year is devoted entirely to the forest. That's when he is out in the forest with the Bergwaldprojekt e.V. and 25 adults, planting trees and re-wetting bogs.

Since 1 October, Prof. Dr. Florian Wahl has held the new research professorship for "Sensor-based AI Systems in Care" at the Deggendorf Institute of Technology (DIT). In addition to his teaching at the university, the 36-year-old conducts research at the Grafenau Technology Campus (TC). The aim of the new research professorship is to make healthcare more future-proof with the help of sensor technology and artificial intelligence, and thus in particular to counteract the growing care gap between those in need of care and care staff. The professorship was created as part of the Hightech Agenda Bayern's AI competition.

Prof. Wahl's research bridges the gap between the fields of wearable, so-called embedded sensor systems for data collection on the one hand and their evaluation using artificial intelligence on the other. Wahl first studied technical computer science at Esslingen University of Applied Sciences and then completed his Master's degree in "Embedded Systems" at TU Eindhoven. In 2019, he was awarded his doctorate at the University of Passau and received the university's dissertation prize. Since 2018, Wahl has been a research assistant in the "Applied Artificial Intelligence" research group at TC Grafenau.

"My research goal," Wahl explains, "is to enable as many people as possible to live independently and self-determined lives at home for as long as possible." To achieve this, he says, in the future, the assessment of needs and accompaniment of care must be supported via intelligent monitoring. Using sensor technology. In his doctoral thesis, the DIT scientist already developed sensor glasses that measure the heart rate and recognise the wearer's everyday activities. These could now also be used in the field of care, because more than 91 per cent of people over 60 already wear glasses, making it unnecessary to carry additional equipment for recording and evaluating important health parameters.

In addition to researching new types of body-worn and ambient sensor technology and artificial intelligence methods, another goal of the new appointee is to initiate the establishment of an AI care model region. In future, people in need, carers, relatives, doctors, medical supply stores and others will be brought together here to identify the added value of new technologies. Not only own developments, but also products from companies and research results from other universities will be examined, so that synergies from the combination of different methods can be leveraged.

The central focus of Wahl's research professorship is thus on supporting all actors in health care with the help of continuous monitoring of various health markers as well as forecasting health trends. In this way, both decision-making quality, for example the distribution of care places, and care quality, such as quick help in an emergency or a long life at home, can be improved. Ultimately, this enables more efficient management of existing personnel and financial budgets.

If you like the idea of owning your own company but don't quite know what the business idea could be yet, you don't have to give up on this dream right away. The Startup Campus of the Deggendorf Institute of Technology (DIT) showed how students can take the first steps towards their own startup at the GROW Startup Workshop. In the 5-day seminar at the end of September, students from different disciplines developed concepts for start-up ideas with innovation potential. The Hans Lindner Foundation and primeAcademy, which are experienced in the field of entrepreneurship, were also present.

In the theory part of the start-up workshop, the students learned how to develop their own business idea and what is important in the process. For example, assessing their own competences and those of others, which creativity techniques help and how to develop further in a team. The week of the event was then used to form teams, develop concepts and, in the end, convince an invited jury. The idea of a mechanical seawater desalination plant by the FLOAT team was the most popular. All teams that took part in the Startup Workshop have the chance to apply for the exclusive "Kickstart Incubator" funding programme. The Startup Campus is on hand to advise those interested in founding a company. They can also draw on the network of start-ups at DIT. Everyone has already met at the start-up regulars' table.

Just under a year before the actual opening, the Technology Campus (TC) Vilshofen is picking up speed. On 21 September, a meeting with msg services ag took place in Passau. As an IT service and IT consulting company, msg services ag is active in a variety of areas. In particular, the topic of security was examined more closely. The first common points of contact were found. Further exploratory talks are already planned for the near future.

"In addition to cooperation within the framework of publicly funded research and development projects, we can also imagine practical training scenarios being developed at TC Vilshofen with the help of msg services ag," says Stefan Anthuber, Operational Manager at TC Vilshofen. In addition, added value for teaching at the university is also conceivable, explains the Scientific Director of TC Vilshofen, Prof. Dr. Martin Schramm: "The Bachelor's degree course in Cyber Security, but also in other IT degree courses, could be enriched by insights into practice on the part of msg services ag."

Cooperation with industrial partners and the associated transfer of knowledge and technology to industry - but also vice versa - is a core task of the Technology Campuses at the Deggendorf Institute of Technology (DIT). This also applies to the new TC Vilshofen, which is expected to officially launch in September 2022 with the topic of cyber security. The necessary networks are already being set up for this. The TC Vilshofen can also draw on contacts from the ProtectIT Institute at the DIT. In particular, small and medium-sized enterprises in the region are to benefit from the Technology Campus.

Data security is an absolute success factor of digitalisation. Without cyber security, not even a private laptop can be operated today. And certainly not Industry 4.0, autonomous driving or telemedicine. This is proven by the thousands of digital attacks on companies, public institutions and private individuals that happen every day. The goals of the research and project work at TC Vilshofen are to harden systems against attacks, to find anomalies and attacks in network traffic, and to develop the necessary response measures to IT security incidents.

At the start of the winter semester, the Host Family Programme of the European Campus Rottal-Inn (ECRI) enters the next round. The programme brings locals and students together to promote cultural exchange. Students and host families arrange to meet as often as they like within the framework of the programme for joint excursions, coffee and cake, games evenings or similar. Interested students can register now.

The Host Family Programme enables international students to make contacts outside the campus and to get to know the Bavarian culture and way of life better. Andrea Ebertseder from the Centre for International Affairs at the Deggendorf Institute of Technology (DIT) establishes contact between students and host families. Previous experiences, such as that of Hashem Alshawabkeh, show that the programme is a complete success for both sides. He is an international student at ECRI and took part in the Host Family Programme last semester. The programme exceeded all his expectations and made the last few months as exciting and enjoyable as possible, he says. Through his host family, he not only learned about important cultural differences between Bavaria and his home country, but also visited some of the highlights of the region, such as the Whitsun race at the harness racing track or the jazz festival in Burghausen.

But not only the international students benefit from the exchange. The programme also offers many advantages to the host families. All the students speak English, but many can also speak German very well. This offers the perfect opportunity to speak English casually and thus deepen their vocabulary. In addition, they get to know the respective country of the students, its inhabitants and their culture. Last but not least, friendships are made and togetherness is enriched.

Further information and the application form for the Host Family Programme can be found at www.th-deg.de/hostfamily. If you have any questions, please contact Andrea Ebertseder (andrea.ebertseder@th-deg.de) from the Centre for International Affairs at DIT/ECRI by email.

The Host Family Programme is a non-profit organisation at DIT that is dedicated to the integration of foreign students. At ECRI in Pfarrkirchen, the programme started for the first time in the winter semester 2019/20 with six host families and ten students.

After three semesters of distance learning, the start of the winter semester 2021/22 on Monday, 4 October was a welcome occasion for the students of the European Campus Rottal-Inn (ECRI) to come back to campus. A comprehensive programme was offered on site for the students present, while everyone else was able to attend the opening of the semester via live stream.

About 40 students came to be welcomed by Campus Director Prof. Dr. Horst Kunhardt and Dean Prof. Dr. Georg Christian Steckenbauer. The rest were connected online. Afterwards, the service facilities of the university were presented, the organisation of the courses was explained and the students were given techniques for self-management during their studies. Finally, the student association RESP e.V. took the attendees on a tour of the campus and showed them the labs, refectory, library and all the stations at ECRI that are relevant for the students.

In the afternoon, the students had the opportunity to exchange ideas with the heads of the degree programmes and to clarify important questions about the respective degree programmes at the World Café. At the end of the day, the students were invited to a small Welcome Back Party in front of the campus building. With music and free drinks, they had the opportunity to get to know their fellow students in a relaxed atmosphere and to exchange ideas before the start of lectures.

The International Office of the university had already made all the arrangements in advance to make the arrival in Germany and the start of the semester as pleasant as possible for the international students. For example, they receive intensive support in finding accommodation or with administrative tasks such as dealing with the authorities. For international students who first have to go into quarantine after arriving in Pfarrkirchen, there is a shopping service offered by the International Office. To support students, there are also international tutors who answer questions, help students and also organise events. Just in time for the start of the semester, they organised a get-together on Tuesday, 5 October to get to know each other. For students who have not yet made it to ECRI, this was also offered virtually.

In total, over 330 new students started their studies at ECRI at the start of the winter semester 2021/22. This brings the campus to over 1,050 students.

Lectures began at the Deggendorf Institute of Technology (DIT) on 4 October. Since the outbreak of the pandemic, the university was filled with life again for the first time on Monday. The new start on the Deggendorf campus was open and cheerful. The semester is planned with face-to-face classes for all students. The 3G rule and mandatory masks apply.

The picture on campus was dominated by the welcome programme for first-semester students. They gathered information from student clubs and departments of the university and got into conversation with each other. Interacting with them were first-semester mentors and students from higher semesters. The beautiful weather invited them to make use of the beach chairs that will acompany the campus for another two weeks. A big attraction was "Deggster", the university's new mascot, whom students showered with high fives and photo requests.

The new students were welcomed outdoors by Science Minister Bernd Sibler and University President Peter Sperber, among others. Sibler emphasised: "As Bavarian Minister of Science, I am very pleased to welcome you here at the Deggendorf Institute of Technology Institute of Technology on your Freshers' Day as you start a new and exciting phase of your lives. You have made an excellent choice with the Deggendorf Institute of Technology, because here the megatopics of the future - digitalisation, AI, care and computer science - are being tackled in a cleverly developed range of courses and with remarkable research projects. With our High-Tech Agenda Bavaria, we are making our universities throughout Bavaria fit for the future so that they can further expand their leading position in research and teaching. I am particularly pleased that you can start your studies in presence, because direct contact on site and personal exchange are indispensable, especially for you as first-year students."

To ensure that this face-to-face teaching remains, DIT currently applies the 3G rule and masks are compulsory in buildings and lecture halls. President Peter Sperber did not rule out the possibility of having to switch to a 2G rule in the course of the semester. He suggested taking advantage of the vaccination offer on campus. Those who wanted to could also get vaccinated directly. A vaccination bus came to the university for this purpose. The inspection service has also started work. Random samples are taken to check the 3G certificates.

On Friday, 8 October, the European Campus Rottal-Inn (ECRI) will host the Science Bench for the second time. Professor Dr. Michelle Cummings-Koether will take a seat on the Science Bench between 9 and 11 a.m. and exchange views with the public on the topic of "Intercultural Competence as the Key to Success?".

Science does not always have to take place in the lecture hall. That's why ECRI brings science outside with the Science Bench, more precisely to the town square in Pfarrkirchen. The topic of intercultural competence in particular is an area that is becoming increasingly important in a society characterised by diversity, globalisation and digitalisation. It is an area that affects everyone and can also harbour faux pas alongside opportunities.

Prof. Dr. Cummings-Koether is an interculturalist and deals extensively with intercultural management and communication in an international environment. This includes areas such as project management and leadership skills, as well as soft skills. These are not only important at work or in international negotiations, but can also make a difference at the regulars' table at home. Interested citizens can ask Prof. Dr. Cummings-Koether directly how exactly. During a little chat on the science bench.

Fundamentals of medicine, economics and society, statistics and data analysis. These are just some of the courses offered through the early study programme at the European Campus Rottal-Inn (ECRI). Pupils from the 10th grade onwards can register now and get a taste of university life.

All those who would like to attend lectures while still at school can choose between different subject areas and topics in the winter semester 2021/22. Lectures are offered in the fields of tourism, engineering and digital health.  In addition to the traditional lectures, the early study programme also offers general science electives (AWP), such as Business Storytelling. The lectures and AWPs all take place virtually and in the afternoon. Early students also have access to the entire range of courses offered by the virtual university of Bavaria (vhb). Via the vhb platform, they can also take courses, also from other universities, and complete them with a certificate.

An important prerequisite for early study is an interest in English, because the lectures at the international ECRI are all held in English. Those who take up this challenge can take an exam at the end of the semester. If you pass, the ECTS points (credit points in studies) you have earned can possibly be counted towards a later degree programme. If you realise that the effort is too great or that the subject is not right for you, you can easily withdraw at any time.

Registration for the early study programme is possible until Monday, 4 October, by contacting Andrea Ebertseder (andrea.ebertseder@th-deg.de or phone 0991/3615 8863). The early study programme is organised and supervised by the MINT team of the Deggendorf Institute of Technology. More information on the early study programme, the application process and the complete course programme can be found on the internet at www.th-deg.de/fruehstudium.

For the first time since the Corona pandemic, a large number of international exchange students have returned to campus at the Deggendorf Institute of Technology (DIT). They are attending the orientation weeks to prepare for the start of their studies on 4 October. They are being looked after by the International Office team.

Almost 60 of 76 international exchange students who will be studying at DIT for the winter semester 2021/2022 were there. Some of them have been in quarantine for several days. Thanks to the university’s shopping service and welcome packages, however, they survived this well and are now looking forward to their first impressions in Deggendorf. Eight exchange students are completing their stay abroad at the European Campus Rottal-Inn in Pfarrkirchen. The international students, who are in Pfarrkirchen or had to start their semester abroad either in quarantine or from their home country due to the current entry regulations, will participate in the orientation weeks via live broadcast.

The screening of the award-winning film production "Neighbours" by students of the Deggendorf Institute of Technology (DIT) continues. The second documentary about residents of the Deggendorf Anchor Centre will be presented for the first time on Tuesday, 5 October. Luise Kinseher, known as Mama Bavaria, will host the screening.

The project "Neighbours - Encounters with Residents of the Deggendorf Anchor Centre" was created through a cooperation between the Caritasverband für den Landkreis Deggendorf e.V. and  DIT. People from the facility told their stories, and students from the DIT documented them in professional video portraits. Under the direction of Prof. Jens Schanze, two films were made. The second part will now be shown for the first time. On Tuesday, 5 October 2021, 6 pm, the film presentation will take place in the Kapuzinerstadl Deggendorf, Maria Ward Platz 10. Admission is free. Registration via email to asyl@caritas-deggendorf.de is necessary. A 3G proof is also required.

At the Deggendorf Institute of Technology (DIT), Dr Oliver Neumann will take over research and teaching in the field of technology management and management of technical projects from 1 October. New technologies and innovations drive science and business. For new ideas to be successful on the market, professional innovation and technology management is needed, which often goes hand in hand with the management of technology projects. At DIT as a research-strong university, where many current and highly relevant issues are dealt with, Oliver Neumann sees some points of contact from his 10 years of experience in industry.

"Technology and innovation projects are successful when the focus of all activities is the customer benefit and at the same time the technological feasibility and the economic viability of the technology or idea are considered in a balanced way," says the new DIT professor. Neumann has experienced what it means to take these three pillars into account in the project management of technologies and innovations as a project manager at the BMW Group in quality management and as a project manager at Robert Bosch GmbH in product development. Oliver Neumann started on the path towards technology and project management as a student. He studied technically oriented business administration in Stuttgart. This was followed by five years as an academic assistant and doctorate at the Chair of Organisation at the University of Stuttgart. Oliver Neumann's 15 years of experience in science and business now form the basis for the university professorship. He is particularly looking forward to working with students and colleagues in the Faculty of Applied Sciences and Industrial Engineering. The broad spectrum of competences at the faculty is the ideal breeding ground for looking at the same issues through different lenses and thus learning from each other. Neumann would like to concentrate the part of his working time that he will devote to research in the future particularly on Industry 4.0, combined hardware and software projects and the evaluation and measurement of the success of technology and innovation management with a focus on manufacturing companies. The research is to be application-oriented and state of the art. Privately, he spends the vast majority of his time with his wife and two children. Whenever possible, he tries to enjoy live music. Jogging is a particularly good way to clear his head for new ideas.

The Deggendorf Institute of Technology (DIT) has appointed Dr. Anke Hoffmann as a professor. The expert for innovative business models in retail and online trade comes to Deggendorf to teach Retail Management and Customer Relationship Management. Most recently, in her professional life, she has been working on digital transformation and the use of artificial intelligence in retail.

Anke Hoffmann was, among other things, Director of Strategic Marketing and Customer Management at Breuninger, Divisional Director of Marketing and E-Commerce at Görtz, and Head of Business Development at mytheresa.com. She had already decided on a career in science before her appointment to Deggendorf. She is transferring from the International School of Management to DIT. The combination of future-oriented teaching and research areas and a dynamically growing, internationally oriented university with a high reputation in such a dreamlike setting is unique, she explains her decision. For her area of research, she is looking forward to practical and application-oriented projects in a network of university and regional companies, especially on digitalisation, digital transformation and customer centricity. Both for this and for related topics such as Change Management or New Work, she could make a valuable contribution with her knowledge and experience.

Professor Hoffmann has recently completed her third studies. At the Ludwig-Maximilian-University in Munich, she complemented her diploma and doctorate in economics and marketing with a master’s degree in philosophy, politics and economics. She wants to approach her protégés at DIT with the still very fresh experience of being a student herself and with a high academic standard. One can expect from her a high degree of practical relevance and topicality, an active exchange and critical discourse at eye level.

On 13 and 14 September, the DACHS Symposium took place for the twelfth time – for the third time at the Deggendorf Institute of Technology (DIT). At this international symposium, professors and lecturers of computer science, business informatics and other computer science-related courses of study meet. They exchange ideas to further develop their teaching content and get to know other pedagogical teaching concepts. Projects and questions of applied research also find their due place in the round. About 25 people took part in this year’s symposium, the majority on site in Deggendorf, the rest virtually. Prof Dr Johannes Grabmeier was responsible for the organisation. The DACHS Symposum is a joint initiative of the universities in Deggendorf in Germany (D), Hagenberg/Upper Austria (A), Biel in Switzerland (CH) and Ljubljana in Slovenia (S). The name DACHS was derived from the abbreviations of the four countries.

The spectrum of topics at this year’s conference ranged from concepts for programming education, creativity and problem-solving techniques in computer science studies, updating and interlocking a software technology teaching module, student participation in computer science education, further developments in logic programming, the presentation of new master’s degree programmes in Artificial Intelligence and Data Science and High Performance Computing / Quantum Computing at the Deggendorf Institute of Technology, teaching concepts in corona times, electronics testing and assessment instruments, through to research projects in AI-based researcher networking, graphics techniques, an energy data reallab, electricity charging optimisation for cars and information on the planned new technology campus in Vilshofen.

On several occasions, the Deggendorf Institute of Technology (DIT) has already brought scientists into conversation with citizens. Very simple, eye to eye. On a comfortable bench in front of the town hall. On the upcoming Friday, 17 September, it is time again. This time Anna Schmaus-Klughammer, research assistant and expert for telemedicine and global health at the DIT, will take a seat on the bench for chatting with people.

“Telemedicine – is it really necessary?”, one might ask. After all, what do you have a general practitioner for? “Yes, and yes”, Schmaus-Klughammer says. “Our health care is not only governed by personal and local factors, but also by national and even international ones.” Currently, the Corona pandemic makes this very clear to us. Especially patients with chronic diseases, e. g. rheumatism, had to face great challenges during the pandemic with all its dangers and social restrictions. They continuously have to check their health status, medication as well and its effect. “In fact, due to the pandemic, many more patients have actually used video consultation hours for their check-ups”, Schmaus-Klughammer reports. But other tele-health assistants such as apps or so-called wearables, which help patients check their current status regularly, are also said to be on the rise. “Health care”, according to Schmaus-Klughammer, is becoming increasingly digital. However, this does not mean that the virtual tools will replace general practitioners or specialists. On the contrary. It is about a reasonable and helpful extension of the patient service.

In fact, the DIT scientist even goes a great step further regarding this topic: “Of course, telemedicine not only simplifies health care for citizens in Deggendorf or Germany, but also worldwide.” Covid-19, for example, raises the question of how digitalisation in health care can ensure equity for all in the global distribution of vaccines. The security of our own society also depends on it. After all, it is a small wheel in a more or less entirely globalised system. For example, 90 percent of all industrial and consumer goods are transported from A to B via sea freight. Therefore, they are on the move worldwide. And Schmaus-Klughammer names another aspect which is far more direct for many citizens: “Many people long for being able to travel carefree to distant countries again. In turn, tourism is oftentimes the most important source of income in these countries.” Very frequently, the term ‘globalisation’ is used in a negative context, “but in the end, most of us will have to admit that they are quite globalised themselves”, says the DIT scientist. Those who engage in a conversation with Mrs. Schmaus-Klughammer on the Science Bench next Friday will learn how global digital health care is already being successfully practised today, using the examples of the ADAC and telemedicine. “These days, the topic of health requires much more far-sightedness. From the responsible institutions and also, undoubtedly, from individuals themselves”, says Schmaus-Klughammer. She is already looking forward to the Science Bench on 17 September. “I would like to meet as many citizens as possible, exchange views with them and answer their questions.” She is happy to share her knowledge, but she is also keen to learn more about people’s viewpoints on the street. And it is precisely this exchange, the friendly and open conversation on eye level, that is the aim of the DIT Science Bench.

Unpack your laptop and get started - working can be that easy. The Deggendorf Institute of Technology (DIT) provides five co-working spaces in the premises at ITC1, which can be rented free of charge. On 22 September at 4pm, the university will be offering a virtual information event on the subject.

"Our co-working space is open to all interested parties, regardless of whether they are employees, freelancers, founders or entrepreneurs," affirms Lisa Geib, Digitalisation Officer at DIT. Potential users do not have to have a connection to the university. Geib is sure that this offer will go down particularly well with home office users, commuters and all creative minds who want to benefit from on-site collaboration. The highlight: the rooms can be rented free of charge until the end of 2022 as part of the DIT project "Digitalisation in Dialogue".

"The first day is extremely easy," Geib knows, "pack up your laptop and get started on site." The space concept at ITC1 offers everything needed for creative work in a community: five well-equipped workstations, meeting and rest areas, flexibility and plenty of space for collaboration. Meeting rooms with video conferencing technology as well as telephone boxes are available. DIT co-workers also benefit from the direct connection to the Gründerzentrum für Digitalisierung Niederbayern (GZDN). There is still free capacity to get started at short notice. Anyone who would like to learn more about the DIT Co-Working Space is cordially invited to the virtual information event on 22 September at 4 pm. Registration for the event and further information on the topic at coworking@th-deg.de and at www.th-deg.de/en/business/coworking.

With the project "Digitalisation in Dialogue", DIT promotes the exchange between higher education institutions and business in relation to the topic of "digitalisation". The focus is on learning from each other, identifying market needs and future trends.

The Deggendorf Institute of Technology (DIT) has increased staff for teaching statistics. Prof. Dr. Stefan Hagl is now working full-time at the university. He is leaving the private sector and wants to concentrate on research in addition to teaching.

Stefan Hagl has been associated with DIT since 2005. First as a lecturer and since March 2012 as a part-time professor. He is pleased that from now on he can strengthen teaching in statistics and data analysis/data science as a full-time professor; both at the Faculty of Applied Economics and now at the Faculty of Applied Computer Science. Students often have a "barrier in their minds" when it comes to mathematical methods and applications. His goal is to make students understand the necessity and the fun of it. Stefan Hagl is sure that his experience as a data analyst at Acxiom Deutschland GmbH will help. Analysing data for customer-oriented marketing is the company's core business and Stefan Hagl's expertise; especially the statistical methods used for this. He worked at Acxiom from 2006 to 2021, most recently in a senior position for the EMEA region, i.e. Europe, Middle East and Africa. His wife and children fully support his decision to become a professor in his home region of Lower Bavaria. He finds compensation in extensive mountain and alpine tours, cycling tours and in the gym.

The start-up SEPP of the Deggendorf Institute of Technology (DIT) wants to conquer the market of domestic vegetable cultivation next year. SEPP farming has the vision of cultivating self-sufficient gardens with the help of a robot. It is supposed to help with watering and weeding so that the dream of having one's own vegetable garden is no longer a question of time. The team still needs reinforcement in product development (focus on software). In particular, we are looking for a co-founder with project experience. The idea of the vegetable robot will be funded by the FLÜGGE programme starting this autumn, so that the team can grow. Anyone who would like to contact the start-up can do so by e-mailing Andreas Stockinger at andreas.stockinger@th-deg.de.

Over 1,000 pupils at 21 Lower Bavarian schools took part in Digimania+ over the past two years. The computer science workshop at the Deggendorf Institute of Technology (DIT) received significant funding of almost 300,000 euros from the European Social Fund (ESF). Digimania+ is now presented as a success story on the ESF website. The funding will end in September, but the DIT will continue to offer computer science programmes for schools.

The Digimania+ computer science workshop was a complete success, as those responsible around Andrea Stelzl, head of the MINT team at DIT, are aware. Even at the beginning, the demand from schools was very high, the need could hardly be met, Anna Kaiser remembers. The project manager is particularly proud that over half of the participants were female. 18 DIT students from a wide range of disciplines worked on the project. They were able to acquire valuable basic pedagogical and didactic knowledge. Digimania+ consisted of three modules that were offered to entire classes from the eighth grade onwards. Besides practical programming, media didactics was also on the curriculum. The programme will not disappear in the drawers, the people in charge are sure of that. Rather, the individual elements will be incorporated into DIT's diverse range of offers for schools. "The high demand for our computer science workshop proves the role this component plays in our regional educational landscape," Anna Kaiser affirms. In addition, thanks to Corona, many new learning methods and competences have been acquired, courses have been digitalised and made sustainably available via platforms. They also want to pass on this expanded knowledge, whether virtually or in person.

On 21 September, the one-week intensive language courses at the Deggendorf Institute of Technology (DIT) will start again. Once again, external students are welcome to improve their language skills or learn a completely new language, as there are still free places available for the courses!

Czech, Spanish, Italian, Chinese or English: the Deggendorf Institute of Technology offers beginner and advanced courses for many languages. As was the case last year, these take place mainly virtually and are supplemented by self-learning phases. Only the last day of the course, including the exam, takes place in presence at the campus in Deggendorf on 28 September. The course fee for pupils, trainees and students (also from other colleges and universities) is €39, for all other participants €120. The culmination of the language course is a final examination on the last day of the course, which, if passed, results in a certificate of proficiency.

Interested students can find the exact course programme and all other important information about the intensive language courses at https://www.th-deg.de/en/students/language-electives#intensive-courses . Registration is possible via the DIT Language Centre: sprachenzentrum@th-deg.de.

In autumn 2019, the Deggendorf Institute of Technology (DIT) launched Germany's first Bachelor's degree programme in Artificial Intelligence (AI). After just under two years, Lucas Fobian is now Germany's first AI bachelor's graduate.

"AI experts are currently in high demand on the market," reports Prof. Dr. Patrick Glauner. He adds: "However, companies cannot wait three to four years for the first graduates." In addition to the regular start of the new degree programme, DIT therefore offered a one-time programme called "lateral entry". This enabled professionals with a technical degree or those who had changed their field of study to acquire AI skills in just two years. A concept that originated with the then and now retired programme coordinator Prof. Dr. Dr. Heribert Popp.

Lucas Fobian, now the first graduate, was immediately convinced: "During my studies in general computer science, I realised that I was particularly interested in the sub-field of AI. Fortunately, DIT offered lateral entry at exactly this time. This meant that large parts of my basic studies could be credited to me." He carried out his Bachelor's thesis in cooperation with the Bavarian State Criminal Police Office (BLKA). Here he developed an AI from the field of "predictive policing" to forecast residential burglaries. Prof. Glauner supervised this Bachelor's thesis and proudly reports: "The BLKA is very satisfied with the results. It has been confirmed that our AI graduates are excellently qualified for the implementation of AI applications." Currently, almost 15 more "lateral entrants" are working on their Bachelor's theses. They will complete their studies in the coming weeks and will then also be available to the labour market.

More information on the DIT's AI degree programmes can be found at www.th-deg.de/ai-en . If you have any questions about the AI degree programmes, please contact Prof. Glauner directly at patrick.glauner@th-deg.de. Applications for a place on the programme are still possible until 15 August.

Finally another celebration on campus. Last weekend, the graduates of the Deggendorf Institute of Technology (DIT) said goodbye to their university. As you would expect, ceremonially with gown and hat. But outside, with distance and hygiene concept.

But the event was no less festive for that. Spread over three days, students who graduated between March 2020 and March 2021 could have the campus all to themselves. With a DJ, bars and food, seating and a special illumination, the campus was prepared especially for them. But first there was the presentation of the certificates, speeches and the honouring of a total of nine graduates for their theses. Everything was done virtually and in the presence of friends and family who could join in via stream. The most beautiful moment, the hat toss, then followed open air. A total of 450 graduates said goodbye. For the first time, students of the degree programmes in Business Psychology and Nursing Dual were also present. The graduation ceremony was planned and designed by the DIT Alumni Department in cooperation with the Master’s students in Media Technology and Production. Their motto: “Glow up with us!”

On Tuesday, 20 July, the European Campus Rottal-Inn (ECRI) was pleased to receive a donation from the Bezirksverband der niederbayerischen Sparkassen to the ECRI’s Support Association. This will enable the campus to support projects and students in an even more targeted way.

Campus Director Prof Dr Horst Kunhardt, together with Dean Prof Dr Georg Christian Steckenbauer and Coordinator Georg Riedl, welcomed the two representatives of the Bezirksverband der niederbayerischen Sparkassen at ECRI. As chairman of the Bezirksverband, District Administrator Michael Fahmüller came to the campus together with the chairman of the Sparkasse Rottal-Inn, Martin Ruhland. In their luggage they brought a donation cheque for € 2,500 for the ECRI support association.

After the welcome, the visitors were given a brief overview of what is happening on campus and an outlook on the coming months at ECRI. At the moment, lectures are still held online or hybrid, but ECRI is trying to quickly switch back to face-to-face teaching despite planning uncertainties. This plan met with great approval from everyone involved. As Ruhland emphasised, ECRI contributes to the local economy and thus to the future of the region with its international campus, for which he is very grateful. Fahmmüller, who as the chairman of the Bezirksverband has particularly supported the donation of € 2,500, once again emphasised the importance of the campus in terms of manpower and cultural life in the region.

The ECRI support association has been active in supporting students in recent months, despite Corona. For example, the association supported the graduation ceremony or helped students who were in distress due to the pandemic.

One of five specific pilot regions in Bavaria and Austria, Braunau-Simbach is a partner in the "INTERREG Project AB291". As part of the project, the region held a workshop with the aim of developing ideas and approaches for the health tourism use of forests in Braunau-Simbach. The lead partner is the European Campus Rottal-Inn (ECRI) in Pfarrkirchen.

As part of a joint workshop, the five-member project team together with Georg Bachleitner from the Braunau-Simbach city, tourism and location marketing invited several stakeholders and experts from the fields of "forest, health and tourism" to the Simbacher LOKschuppen on Wednesday, 21 July. In addition to some local guests from Braunau-Simbach, workshop participants from supra-regional project partners and institutions were also welcomed, such as the Bavarian State Ministry in Munich, the State Forests Wasserburg or the Office for Food, Agriculture and Forestry in Pfarrkirchen.

With their local know-how as well as their many years of competence and expertise, the participants make an indispensable contribution to the joint development of ideas and approaches on how forest spaces can be used for health tourism in the specific context of the Braunau-Simbach pilot region. The premise of all joint considerations and efforts is always to be able to create added value for local providers and stakeholders as well as visitors and guests without damaging natural resources.

In joint presentation and discussion rounds as well as in targeted group work on various project topics, the 17 workshop participants gathered important insights and assessments on possible target groups, forest-related offer possibilities or necessary structures and partnerships that are fundamental for a sustainable use of forests in the future. The workshop was hosted by Prof. Dr. Christian Steckenbauer, Dean of ECRI and experienced tourism expert.

The results of the workshop will be used to take a further step towards deriving specific offers for the Braunau-Simbach pilot region, but also to make them transferable and applicable to corresponding destinations together with findings from the other four pilot regions. Georg Bachleitner also sees this as an important step for the future: "The sustainable, health tourism use of forests, especially in regions for which forest use seems commonplace anyway, will be a future-oriented challenge for destinations".

In this ambitious project, an interdisciplinary, cross-border project consortium consisting of a total of 14 renowned partners is approaching the topic of "forest, health and tourism" from different angles and is jointly developing sustainable approaches in five selected pilot regions (in addition to Braunau-Simbach, also Tennengau, Bad Birnbach, Neureichenau, Traunsee-Almtal) as to how local forest areas can be used for health tourism and to create added value.

The Deggendorf Institute of Technology is building a new technology transfer centre in Vilshofen: Today, the groundbreaking ceremony for the "Bavarian Centre for Digital Security" (BayZDS) took place with Minister of Science Bernd Sibler. The BayZDS sees itself as a point of contact for companies from all over Bavaria on issues of digital security in the fields of automotive technology, manufacturing technology and mechanical engineering, energy production and distribution, the process engineering industry, intelligent transport systems and medical technology. The focus of the work is on applied research, technology transfer and basic research. Science Minister Bernd Sibler emphasised: "With its focus on digital security, the BayZDS will deal with a highly topical and at the same time timeless subject. Because if we want to use digital technologies reliably, they absolutely have to be secure. With its tenth technology campus, the Deggendorf Institute of Technology is proving that it can not only develop cutting-edge technology, but is also very aware of the responsibility that comes with its use."

The Free State is funding the forward-looking project together with the town of Vilshofen: for example, the Free State is providing the start-up financing of just under 7.3 million euros via the Hightech Agenda Bayern, while the premises will be provided by the town of Vilshofen for the first five years. "We are investing in Vilshofen in one of the focal points for Bavaria as a business location," said Sibler. The technology campus in Vilshofen - and thus the tenth technology transfer centre of the Deggendorf Institute of Technology - is scheduled to go into operation in 2022. To date, the Deggendorf Institute of Technology operates the Technology Campus (TC) Freyung for applied computer science and bionics, the TC Teisnach for optoelectronics and optical manufacturing technology, as well as another TC for industrial sensor technology, the Technology User Centre Spiegelau for processing hot glass, the TC Cham for mechatronics, the Logistics Campus Grafenau, the TC Weissenburg for plastics technology, as well as the TC Parsberg for digital manufacturing together with the OTH Regensburg and the "Modern Mobility" research centre in Plattling. In addition, the Deggendorf Institute of Technology has set up another location in Hutthurm as a branch of the TC Weißenburg. Technology transfer centres of the Bavarian universities of applied sciences are an essential pillar of the successful Bavarian regionalisation strategy. Their research focus is aligned with the regional economic structure. Science and industry work closely together to develop technologies in an application-oriented manner, to facilitate access to them for regional companies and to facilitate contacts with students and thus future, highly qualified specialists.

On 29 July, the Deggendorf Institute of Technology (DIT) will once again come to town. On the bench at the Oberer Stadtplatz between the town hall and Pustet this time: the DIT expert for artificial intelligence (AI), Prof Dr Patrick Glauner. From 10.30 am to noon, he would like to talk to citizens about how data and its analysis are already changing our health care and will change it even more in the near future.

The complete mapping of an individual’s genetic make-up is no longer a big deal. You can already get the date for a few hundred euros. In a few years, experts say, they may be as normal as a complete blood count. So the door to individualised medicine is open. “The crucial thing, however, will be how we can use the data, for example from a personal genetic make-up, in an ethically sensible way,” says DIT professor Patrick Glauner. This requires the development of technologies such as artificial intelligence to be able to evaluate and interpret the enormous amounts of data. In addition, blockchain technologies to ensure the necessary data security and quantum computers to realise the necessary computing power. The market for the analysis of genetic data alone is expected to be worth $40 billion by 2030. Accordingly, research and work on this is being carried out at full speed worldwide. The first successes are already emerging in cancer therapy. Not only has the connection between certain genetic constellations and the development of cancer been proven, but also that with individually achieved treatment successes. In radiology and dermatology, AI has long provided valuable diagnostic support thanks to pattern recognition. "The concern that this technology will eventually replace real doctors is unfounded," says Glauner. Rather, the technology is an additional, data-based expertise. The analysis result of an AI, which can incorporate a virtually infinite amount of data into the evaluation, combined with the personal medical experience delivers the best possible treatment suggestion. "But in the end, it is always the human being, the doctor, who decides together with her patient," assures Glauner. Nothing will change in that regard. Of course, the topic of data processing in medicine also has a great ethical dimension. Citizens are welcome to talk to Glauner about this, too. An ethical dimension on two levels, by the way. On the individual level, it must be ensured that everyone can decide for themselves who gets access to personal data. Interesting at this point: In the US, there is already a business model of lending your data to universities or pharmaceutical companies. For a fee, of course. On the societal level, the question arises whether we shouldn't all make our data available to research in anonymised form - or even have to. Because it's clear: only when really large amounts of data, keyword Big Data, come together, does a picture emerge, an interpretation with a high degree of reliability. For the benefit of all those who suffer from incurable diseases today and cannot be cured due to a lack of understanding of these diseases. Many questions, then. Questions that move people. Not only computer scientists and doctors. "Some of them can certainly be answered at the DIT Science Bench," Patrick Glauner is sure.

The details and conditions of participation have now been announced for the previously announce “Anton Fink Science Prize for Artificial Intelligence (AI)”, which will be awarded for the first time by the Deggendorf Institute of Technology (DIT) in 2022. Individuals, start-ups, universities, research institutes, foundations or even companies can win. The prerequisites are ground-breaking achievements in the research, development or practical application of AI. The prize is endowed with €10,000.

“Industrial production and mechanical engineering are at the core of our prosperity,” says entrepreneur Anton Fink, explaining his personal motivation for offering this award. The first focus of the current call for entries is therefore also on AI applications related to Industry 4.0 topics. At the same time, Central Europe is increasingly on its way to becoming a service society. “Therefore, the second thematic focus of the current call is on AI applications in the area of Service 4.0,” says Fink. The award is intended to recognise and promote corresponding digital innovations. Applications with projects, research results or teaching offers are accepted from Germany, Austria and the Czech Republic. The deadline for applications is 31 December 2021. Applications must include information on the projects, research results or teaching offers, a sketch of the innovation created by them and a CV of the applicant. Individuals aged 18 and over who are resident in Germany, Austria or the Czech Republic are eligible to apply. But also, groups or companies that have their headquarters in one of the countries mentioned. These must then appoint a natural person to make the application and take responsibility for it. Submissions are accepted in both German and English. Prof Dr Patrick Glauner, who is primarily responsible for the Science Award on the part of DIT, explains that the jury is commited to treat all information made available to it in the context of the competition as strictly confidential and will use it solely for the purpose of conducting the competition. “However,” Glauner explains, “we recommend that all participants secure any patent applications before publishing them as part of the competition.” This is because the presentation of the ideas or projects could eliminate novelty protection. The award ceremony is planned for Spring 2022. The jury includes Bavarian Science Minister Bernd Sibler and the founder Anton Fink himself.

Details on the call for entries are available at www.th-deg.de/ai-prize

Under the leadership of Prof. Dr. Thomas Spittler, the European Campus Rottal-Inn (ECRI) is breaking new ground in virtual teaching formats together with the Catalan University of Vic (UVic) in Spain.

Together with Juan Antonio De Los Cobos and Montse Romera Mas from UVic, Prof. Dr. Thomas Spittler and Anna Schmaus-Klughammer, LLB (hons.) from ECRI conducted a teaching project on e-health with students from Spain, Deggendorf and Pfarrkirchen. A total of 30 students from Nursing and Physiotherapy and Health Informatics took part in the project from home.

At the beginning, all relevant contents on e-health, serious games and gamification, law and ethics as well as robots in nursing were gone through. Afterwards, the students were given a concrete task to apply the knowledge they had learned in practice. In six internationally mixed teams, each consisting of equal numbers of students from Spain, Deggendorf and Pfarrkirchen, the students were to implement the use of gamification in a concrete example. The task was to support a patient with a new hip joint, who had to reactivate his motor skills after surgery, in his rehabilitation by playing games. For this, the students had to research to find out which measures are recommended after such an operation. Based on this, they had to find solutions on how to advance recovery with the help of gamification or a concrete game. Legal aspects and the question of whether results that the patient achieves in the game should also be recorded in the patient's electronic medical record and whether this makes sense or not were also important.

The students developed a wide variety of ideas and rehabilitation games during the project. For example, a virtual pet was created whose state of health adapts to that of the patient. If he achieves good results during the exercises because his condition improves, the virtual pet is also healthy and happy. If the patient regresses, the pet also shows a deterioration in health. Other ideas included the integration of artificial intelligence to optimise exercise progress and thus help the patient recover more quickly, but also the use of virtual reality elements and even a connection between the exercise bike and an app.

The positive feedback from students and teachers as well as the excellent international virtual collaboration rounded off the collaborative teaching project. With the success of the first collaboration in mind, the participants are already planning the next joint project.

If you're looking for inspiring and informative talks, you'll quickly find them on the internet at TED. The world-famous conference and the TED Talks provide the material that can be found on Youtube with millions of views. Such a TED Talk will also take place in Deggendorf on 7 August. It is the first major event for which the campus of the Deggendorf Institute of Technology (DIT) will be open this year. Students have found ten speakers who will speak on the metaphorical topic "We build bridges".

They all follow the motto of TED: Ideas worth spreading - thoughts worth spreading. Most of the speakers will speak English. They are DIT employees, students, professors, CEOs and founders. They want to share their thoughts, ideas, experiences and visions in thematically colourful presentations. Technical, cultural, spiritual, educational, personal and physical aspects will be touched upon. The student association TEDxDIT is behind the event. The members are very keen to attract people from the region to their event. The detailed programme can be found at www.tedxdit.com. Tickets can also be purchased there. Pupils pay 7 euros, students 10 euros and adults 20 euros.

The Deggendorf Institute of Technology (DIT) received the news with great joy and relief that the Budget Committee of the Bavarian State Parliament has decided to grant a heritable building right to parts of the Metten Monastery. This was another important step for the planned expansion of the Faculty of Applied Health Sciences (AGW). In just a few years, up to 1,400 young people should be able to study in Metten on almost 5,000 square metres.

"It's wonderful," says DIT President Prof. Dr. Peter Sperber, "that the next milestone has now been reached with the support of Science Minister Sibler." The health science degree programmes are very popular, he said. New Bachelor's and Master's programmes are also being added all the time. "Space for students, teaching staff and AGW researchers in the Landau as well as in the DEGGs is becoming increasingly scarce," Sperber said. The goal of a joint campus for all health scientists in Metten is therefore more than desirable, he said. The sooner, the better.

Minister Sibler, who is not only responsible for science, but also for culture in Bavaria, points out another important aspect. In addition to the expansion of the university, he also wants to revitalise the historical building fabric of the important architectural monument of Metten Monastery. "The conversion and renovation represent a structural and economic solution that will ensure the permanent preservation of the historically significant building," says Sibler.

In 2022, the Technology Campus (TC) Vilshofen will become the 13th building block of the successful model of the Deggendorf Institute of Technology (DIT) to regionalise research. The ProtectIT Institute, previously located at DIT, will find its new home there in the “Technology Transfer Centre for Digital Security”. The topics for scientists in Vilshofen: IT security, e.g. in automation technology, critical infrastructures, electronic systems in automobiles and avionics as well as so-called embedded systems. Projects already started will be continued at the new research location.

At regular and even shorter intervals, we hear about strategic hacker attacks in the media. They paralyse universities, hospitals, companies or authorities and take them hostage. The topic of cyber security, i.e. securing IT structures and organisational data, must therefore be at the top of the agenda in the age of digitalisation. “With the Technology Campus in Vilshofen, DIT,” says the future scientific director at the TC, Prof Dr Martin Schramm, “is expanding its research in an area that undoubtedly has the highest economic and social relevance.” There has also been a bachelor’s degree course in cyber security at DIT since the end of 2019.

One example of the future scientific work at TC Vilshofen is SKINET (Proactive Security through Artificial Intelligence in Automotive and Industrial IT Networks). The project is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research and is based on cooperation with various industrial companies as well as other research institutions. The core idea of SKINET is the application of artificial intelligence (AI) to detect cyber threats at an early stage and to be able to initiate suitable countermeasures. Areas of application for the technology are vehicles and industrial production facilities, which are subject to ever-increasing networking. And are thus a potential target for attack by hackers. The improvement of detection and reaction mechanisms makes it possible to significantly optimise the security of networked systems.

Another project is called ASSiST, which is currently in the application phase. ASSiST is intended to support citizens in their private IT security. After all, defence against digital attacks is not only relevant for companies and states. With the increasing use of digital devices and one's own smart home, the risk of becoming a victim of cyberattacks is rising. Many are not directly aware of this risk. The evaluation and identification of certain risk indicators is intended to sustainably improve awareness of safe digital use. Among others, the city of Vilshofen is involved in this research project.

"Cooperation with regional and national partners promotes the transfer of knowledge and technology between research and industry. And we," explains Prof. Schramm, "as a university of applied sciences, have a particular obligation here." Direct cooperation with partners in the region will also take place within the framework of contract research, services and further education programmes. In addition to developing and implementing new research ideas.

The European Campus Rottal-Inn (ECRI) of the Deggendorf Institute of Technology (DIT) offers with the newly launched Adult University all education-seeking adults the opportunity to listen to scientific lectures from research areas at DIT. The lecture “DeinHaus 4.0 – Länger Leben Zuhause mit Technikunterstützung” on 22 July will kick things off and is open to everyone interested.

Getting older catches up with us all at some point. Having to leave your own home because of it is a nightmare for most people. To counteract this in the future, DIT is looking at digital assistance systems and how they can make everyday life easier for seniors in the “DeinHaus 4.0” project funded by the Bavarian State Ministry of Health and Care. In a one-hour lecture as part of the Adult University, Prof Dr Horst Kunhardt will go into detail about the project and the individual aspects. Particularly exciting is how digital helpers can support the residents. Participants of the lecture at the Adult University will hear about the possibilities which already exist in this are, how “DeinHaus 4.0” is used in practice and which scientific findings are implemented in the project, and much more. Using the concrete example of “DeinHaus 4.0”, Prof Kunhardt will discuss the challenges of ageing and how they can be mastered with the help of science and digitalisation.

The lecture will take place on 22 July at 5 pm at the ECRI campus in Pfarrkirchen. Prior registration is necessary for participation. Interested parties can register, either by emailing andrea.ebertseder@th-deg.de or by calling Andrea Ebertseder at +49 991 3615 8863. On the day of the event, participants’ contact details will be recorded on site via the app “darfichrein” using a QR code. If needed, ECRI staff will assist with this step. Other requirements for participation are wearing an FFP2 mask and social distancing.

Five new and well-equipped co-working spaces have recently opened in Deggendorf’s ITC1. The special feature: the rooms can be rented free of charge until the end of 2022. The Deggendorf Institute of Technology (DIT) is making this offer as part of the Digitalisation in Dialogue” project. The co-working space is ideally suited as a home office, for freelancers, commuters or start-ups, for example.

The rooms can be rented as needed through the university. The space concept at ITC1 offers everything that makes co-working hearts beat faster. Anyone who wants to use one of the workstations only needs a laptop, mobile phone, pen and paper. Everything from desk chairs and Wi-Fi to lockers for personal belongings and a coffee kitchen is available. With additional video conferencing and meeting corners as well as creative spaces, the result is a comfortable working environment. Here, very different professions and personalities come together. Anyone who would like to find out more about the DIT co-working space can do so at a virtual information event on 21 July at 4pm. Registration is possible by e-mailing coworking@th-deg.de. Information can also be found online at https://www.th-deg.de/en/business/coworking.

The first East Bavarian STEM Days took place online on 2 and 3 July and were full of educational content and many personalities active in the STEM field. Mathematics, computer science, natural sciences and technology (STEM) are the subjects that are considered to have great future potential when it comes to finding skilled workers for the German economy. That’s why it’s important to get young people excited about these subjects. STEM education is a big topic. At the East Bavarian STEM Days there were many impulses to strive for a STEM career. Whether in the STEM talk, in lectures on topics such as quantum computing or the report on the career path of a NASA employee.

Under the patronage of regioFORSCHA and the Deggendorf Insitute of Technology (DIT) and the STEM Region of Lower Bavaria as organisers, other universities and STEM stakeholders have joined forces for the East Bavarian STEM Days. They wanted to make their commitment to STEM more understandable, to immerse themselves in topics in a concrete way and to inspire the audience. They found interested spectators in around 500 pupils, teachers, parents, grandparents and other interested people.

On Friday morning, some school classes even used the programme to enrich their lessons from grades 5 to 11. A programme highlight on Saturday morning was the STEM Talk with Science Minister Sibler, DIT President Peter Sperber, Petra Griebel from regioFORSCHA, Dr Monika Christl from Jugend forscht, Waltraud Erndl in her function as spokesperson for the Association of German Secondary School Teachers and Andrea Stelzl from DIT, Universities are an important partner in STEM education, said Minister Sibler. Good framework conditions are needed to get schoolchildren interested in STEM subjects. Extracurricular activities are also important to prepare the young generation for increasing digitalisation. Petra Griebl and Waltraud Erndl agreed that a close network to and among STEM stakeholders would be helpful. What the STEM Days offer is exemplary, Monika Christl emphasised, and the most important thing is to maintain curiosity, ask the “why” questions and make use of offers such as the East Bavarian STEM Days, was Prof Dr Peter Sperber’s appeal at the end of the talk.

The current programme of the STEM team at the Deggendorf Institute of Technology can be found online at https://th-deg.de/en/study-with-us/dit-at-schools#network. The next big event is the regioFORSCHA on 15 and 16 July 2022 in the Deggendorf Stadthallen.

The last days of the application period at the European Campus Rottal-Inn (ECRI) are approaching. Prospective students still have time until 15 July to apply for a place in the coming winter semester.

The international campus offers a total of seven study programmes in the fields of tourism management, medical informatics and engineering. A special focus of ECRI is the Bachelor’s programme International Tourism Management / Health and Medical Tourism, which was awarded the ESPA Innovation Award by the European Spa Association (ESPA). Students learn about the specifics of business and tourism in this degree programme. In addition, key qualifications, implementation skills and the ability to innovate are developed. Students here have their fingers on the pulse of time and also get to the bottom of current trends from the scientific side in the modern and high-quality equipped eHealth and Smart Tourism Labs. The main focus lies on innovations such as artificial intelligence or eye tracking, which are increasingly being used in the tourism sector, especially in health and medical tourism.

For those who prefer to study computer science or technology, the bachelor’s degree programmes in Health Informatics, Industrial Engineering or Energy Systems Engineering are the right choice. For those interested in a Master’s degree, ECRI offers the study programmes Digital Health, Medical Informatics and Global Public Health. The latter is particularly exciting as it is a joint degree together with the Savonia University of Applied Sciences in Finland.

With English as teaching language, ECRI is the only completely English-speaking campus in all of Bavaria. This makes studying at ECRI in Pfarrkirchen particularly attractive for internationally oriented prospective students. Prospective students can find out all about the degree programmes and how to apply on the ECRI website: https://th-deg.de/ecri-en.

No topic is discussed more emotionally than climate change. While almost 90% of Germans agree in principle with the increased use of green energies, it becomes more critical when this is going to happen at their own doorstep. This absolutely has to be resolved by politics and science.

The East Bavarian university network TRIO is trying to do this in the first week of July with an unusual campaign. Five scientists will sit on a bench in five different cities, the so-called “Science Bench”. In Amberg, Deggendorf, Landshut, Passau and Regensburg – in the middle of the city. Anyone who wants to can sit down and chat with our scientists for a little while. They can talk about wind turbines, smart grids, electromobility, rural development, digitalisation, healthcare, or ideas and concerns related more closely or more broadly to the energy transition. Prof Dr Thomas Sauer, Scientific Director of TRIO, says: “On the one hand, with TRIO we want to intensify the exchange between the eastern Bavarian universities and the economy, but above all we also want to get in touch with the people in our region and make it understandable what is happening at the universities and colleges. That is precisely the goal of the Science Bench campaign. Here, researchers and interested citizens can meet and discuss in a very informal way.”

Climate change is, of course, only superficially a purely ecological issue. After all, the various approaches to solve the problem of minimising our CO2 footprint as quickly and sustainably as possible extend into all areas of life. And they will stop at no one. “Our researchers are keen for people to understand what options are available, where we stand, how things are connected and, above all, what all this means for them,” says Dr Jörg Kunz, responsible for science communication at the Deggendorf Institute of Technology and coordinator of the TRIO-Science-Bench campaign. That’s why you go to the city. To exchange ideas at eye level. “We want a dialogue,” Kunz continues, “we don’t want a lecture on the marketplace, but also to record what moves people and what ideas they have for a better world.”

The Science Bench is a communication format that goes back to an idea of Prof Katja Becker, President of the German Research Foundation. The charm of this kind of science communication lies in the personal closeness that is created between people on the street and researchers. Of course, you only reach a handful of people this way. But they are different from those who visit an Open Day or a Long Night of Science, for example. We speak of “passive supporters”, who generally do not take advantage of such offers by colleges and universities, but without having a negative attitude towards science. “It is estimated that about half of the people belong to this group,” Kunz report. He says that science has recognised that much more integration and participation of the population is needed. The Federal Ministry of Education and Research is therefore also focusing on participatory science communication projects in the Year of Science 2022. Under the motto “Nachgefragt!”  Kunz is pleased about this development: “With the Science Bench, we in Eastern Bavaria have already gone one step ahead, so to speak. But the nice thing is, there’s more to come.”

The International Office of the Deggendorf Institute of Technology (DIT) traditionally organises the International Week every year. The highlight of the week was the virtual event "Taste the World", where international students cooked their favourite dishes from their home countries.

Virtual events are currently on the increase and participants are often already tired of sitting in front of screens. However, the opposite was the case at the first virtual format "Taste the World" organised by DIT's International Office. Participants were given a "Taste the World - to go box", which they could pick up in advance at one of the many DIT locations. The fact that the participants came not only from Deggendorf, but from the locations in Pfarrkirchen, Cham and the total of 12 Technology Campuses shows that food connects people like no other medium.

"Taste the World" offers a somewhat different journeys around the world, which not only makes foreign countries tangible, but also offers a first taste, and that in the truest sense of the word. This year, the event featured three courses from two continents. The starter was "Bread Upma", an Indian speciality.This is a bread with flavourful spices, herbs and tomatoes. The main course came from South Korea. "Kimbap" - a Korean sushi roll. Finally, "Baghrir", a traditional North African pancake made of semolina, was cooked, which is also a popular dessert in Morocco. Everything was prepared by the students at home. Via zoom, the participants could also recreate the dishes in their own homes with the ingredients from the "Taste the World - to go box".

Previously, the event was always held on site at the campus in Deggendorf, but that was not possible this year. Therefore, the idea of the boxes and the transmission via Zoom came up, which in the end hit like a bomb. The consistently positive feedback from the participants and the fact that the offer was equally well received at all DIT locations underline the unifying character of cooking and feasting together. Not only students and staff took part in the first virtual "Taste the World", but DIT President Prof Dr Peter Sperber also cooked at home himself. The student assistants, who prepared the boxes and then distributed them to the respective locations, ensured that everything ran smoothly in the run-up to the event. Due to the great response and the consistently successful event, the International Office is considering offering "Taste the World" again on campus in the future, but also as a virtual format.

During the International Week from 21 to 25 June, numerous other events were offered in addition to cooking together at "Taste the World". For example, there were various information events about semesters abroad and internships, or the traditional Erzählcafé/KULTURcafé, where international students reported on their home countries, this time about celebrities in the various countries. The international tutors and the student association ESN were also actively involved in the International Week. They helped organise quiz and game nights. The Bavarian Crash Course, which taught international students about Bavarian culture and language, was very popular.

The International Office looks back on an informative and entertaining International Week, which not only united people from different countries and cultures, but also the university family across campuses.

The second edition of the international WURI ranking (World's Universities with Real Impact) also certifies that our university is among the best in the world. Overall, the Deggendorf Institute of Technology (DIT) occupies an outstanding 29th place in the global comparison. In the category “entrepreneurial spirit”, DIT even managed to position itself among the top ten in an excellent fifth place. In terms of crisis management, the Lower Bavarian university also made it into the top ten with seventh place. And was able to compete with the big names of the international academic landscape. The results of this year's WURI ranking were presented in mid-June.

"We are listed after Princeton but ahead of Berkeley in the category ‘entrepreneurial spirit’. I am immensely pleased about that. The WURI ranking shows that the small ones can definitely keep up with the big ones when it comes to innovative and creative approaches," says the President of the Deggendorf Institute of Technology, Prof. Dr. Peter Sperber, happily. Academic institutions apply for the new ranking with their programmes and projects. This year, entries were accepted in the categories of Industrial Application, Entrepreneurial Spirit, Ethical Value, Student Mobility and Openness and Crisis Management. In addition to entrepreneurship and crisis management, the Deggendorf University of Applied Sciences applied in the category of Industrial Application and took a very good 29th place there. The programmes are judged on how innovative, feasible and effective they are. In this way, the WURI ranking aims to establish a new approach. Smaller, young and specialised universities have the same chances here as the large and established universities. In addition, all participating institutions are invited to participate in the evaluation process. They assess the contributions of the other universities and colleges, which in turn can lead to new impulses at their own university. The WURI ranking is organised by the Institute for Policy and Strategy on National Competitiveness (IPSNC) in South Korea and is supported by the Hanseatic League of Universities (HLU) in the Netherlands, the Institute for Industrial Policy Studies (IPS) in Seoul, the UN Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) in Geneva and the Tailor Institute of Franklin University (FUS) in Lugano. The results are available on the internet at https://www.wuri.world/wuri-ranking-2021.

The Corona pandemic has demonstrated the challenges that global health problems can bring. In order to be able to cope with such problems in the long term, it is necessary to approach them from an international perspective of digital health. That is why the European Campus Rottal-Inn (ECRI) is offering a virtual workshop series with international experts from the healthcare industry in the run-up to DigiHealthDay-2021. The English-language workshops are free of charge. Those interested can now register at www.th-deg.de/digihealthday.

ECRI offers a total of five workshops on the topic of Digital Health in the DigiHealthDay-2021 series until mid-July. These are carried out by internationally recognised experts from Germany, the United Kingdom, India and the USA. These workshops will focus on patient safety in the context of digital health products, how radiology images can provide business insights, the importance of high-quality health data and its trusted use for health systems learning, artificial intelligence and big data analysis in healthcare, and the need for a telehealth accreditation program.

The virtual workshops are the prelude to DigiHealthDay-2021, an international online symposium, which will take place virtually on 12 November 2021. The events are aimed at everyone who is interested in digital health, whether academics, healthcare institutions, companies and start-ups, authorities or students. Further information about the event can be found on the homepage at www.th-deg.de/digihealthday.

The most important prize for foreign students at the Deggendorf Institute of Technology (DIT) was awarded by university president Prof Dr Peter Sperber on 10 June 2021. This year the award goes to Daniel Rodriguez Perales, who comes from Mexico. He is being honoured for successful academic achievements and voluntary commitment at DIT. The prize of the German Academic Exchange Service (Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst = DAAD) is endowed with € 1,000.

The DAAD prize, which has been awarded for more than ten years, is intended to help put faces to the large numbers of international students at German universities and to connect them with stories. Daniel Rodriguez Perales’ story begins with his visit to a German school in Mexico. He has had contact with German culture and language since childhood. Especially during several visits on school exchange. Studying in Germany has been his wish ever since. With the start of the Bachelor’s programme “International Tourism Management / Health and Medical Tourism” at the European Campus Rottal-Inn, this wish came true. Due to his commitment in student associations, as a tutor for international students and for an aid project for students in difficult situations, he has become this year’s recipient of the DAAD award. In the meantime, he is in the final phase of this studies and can very well imagine staying in Germany for a subsequent Master’s degree and later working in the health industry. Daniel Rodriguez Perales would like to use the € 1,000 for his Master’s degree. The next DAAD prize will be awarded in summer 2022.

For many young people from the region, the time has come to set the course for their studies. It is application time at the universities of applied sciences in Bavaria and thus a peak period for the counselling centres there. In this context, the Centre for Studies at the Deggendorf Institute of Technology (DIT) is offering a study information day on 18 June. Pupils and prospective students will be able to find out everything they need to know about studying and higher education. For all those who have already applied, DIT wants to provide decision-making aids for starting their studies. The ViSIT Students’ Info Day takes place online.

The ViSIT will focus on DIT’s Bachelor’s programmes. Professors, lecturers and students will present the degree programmes or give lectures on them. The audience can ask questions at any time. There will be a broad advisory and support programme on the subjects of studies, orientation studies, dual studies and semesters and internships abroad. There will also be the opportunity to take part in a study orientation workshop.

So that every participant can quickly identify the relevant topics and put together their personal programme, the events of the faculties are assigned to five topic clusters: Business, Engineering, Computer Science, Health and English Language Programmes. In order to offer interested parties as many options as possible, all faculties will present their programmes twice at different times. More information is available at https://th-deg.de/en/virtual-info-day.

The Centre for Studies at the Deggendorf Institute of Technology is the general advisory service for prospective students. The staff provide independent advice; their work focuses on the interests, goals, perspectives and questions of prospective students. The Centre for Studies offers a broad support programme for students, teachers and parents. This includes, among other things, information and advice on the choice of study with targeted assistance, even with very comprehensive questions, through orienting and decision-supporting individual counselling, information events, webinars and lectures at schools. Contact: Alexandra Niewöhner, Head of the Centre for Studies, alexandra.niewoehner@th-deg.de, +49 991 3615 373

In the presence of Bernd Sibler, Minister of State for Science and the Arts, and Vice President Prof. Waldemar Berg, University President Prof. Dr. Peter Sperber transferred the position of Chancellor of the Deggendorf Institute of Technology (DIT) to Birgit Augustin today. Together with Dr Stefanie Duarte-Fernades as deputy chancellor, Augustin will be in charge of the administration at DIT from 1 June. She has already been responsible for this task on an interim basis since January 2021.

"I am very happy we were able to win over Ms Augustin as a long-time employee and intimate connoisseur of our university for the important function of chancellor," said DIT President Sperber in high spirits. Sperber was equally pleased with the choice of Duarte-Fernandes as deputy chancellor. With the female dual leadership of Augustin/Duarte-Fernandes, DIT has now excellent leaders in the administrative management. The extra diversity in the university management is also very welcome. Minister of State Bernd Sibler sees it the same way. As it is well known, he wants to promote the advancement of women at universities in the Free State. Especially in research, but not only there. "In order to develop the full potential of our universities, we need highly qualified women - both in research and teaching as well as in administration. I am very pleased that the office of Chancellor at DIT is now in the hands of Birgit Augustin, who has been very familiar with the university for years. With her and her deputy, there are now two women in the strong management team at the Deggendorf Institute of Technology. This makes the university exemplary - as in many other areas. On the part of the Free State, we want to promote the advancement of women even further with our new Higher Education Innovation Act," said the Minister.

In her new task, Augustin, who was born in Mettingen, wants above all to be an integrative link in the field of tension between academic freedom and state authority. "That," says Augustin, "is not always easy, given all the legal framework conditions that have been set and must be observed." The biggest challenge in the next few years will be the implementation of the Higher Education Innovation Act (HIG). Its goal is a considerable streamlining and deregulation of the universities in Bavaria. "Even though we don't yet know exactly what the HIG will look like in the end," Augustin explained, "one of our main tasks will be to guide our colleagues at DIT along the new path and to create appropriate structures." The change, she said, must take place not only in laws and position papers, but also in the minds of university employees. With Dr. Duarte-Fernandes, Augustin knows she has a competent and pragmatic colleague at her side. The lawyer has been at DIT since 1 February 2020 and heads the Legal Affairs and Real Estate Department.

The pandemic has opened up another field that is currently changing the work at the university in a lasting way. "We have learned that both teaching and office work do not require a one hundred percent presence at the DIT," says the new chancellor. Hybrid forms of teaching and working are the future. For this, she says, it is necessary to design functioning models that will also contribute to a better work-life balance for employees. And at least in the university administrations, digitalisation is to be vigorously promoted. Augustin says: "In just a few years, our previously paper-based way of working should be history. We will develop a largely paperless office."

It remains to be seen how much time Birgit Augustin will have for her hobbies nature and sports. But the 51-year-old is positive: "The most important thing is health. Then all challenges are manageable. In dealing with each other, Augustin wishes for what the philosopher Reinhold Niebuhr once so aptly formulated: "I wish for the serenity to accept things I cannot change; the courage to change things I can; and the wisdom to distinguish one from the other."

On the occasion of the first anniversary of the cooperation between the European Campus Rottal-Inn (ECRI) and the FOSBOS Pfarrkirchen, Campus director Prof Dr Horst Kunhardt and Headmaster OStD Wolfgang Schneider met for an exchange. At the meeting, they reflected on the implementation of the goals set out in the cooperation agreement, summed it up and worked out further possibilities for cooperation.

Originally, attendance events were planned within the cooperation, such as mutual observation by teachers and lecturers, as well as cultural events. Since these cannot take place due to the prevailing pandemic, the meeting focused on the time after Corona. Headmaster Schneider and Campus director Kunhardt pushed for joint projects such as a poetry slam, language events or taster and trial lectures. After the pandemic, these are to become a permanent part of the cooperation and established as regular measures. Both partners are already looking forward to even more intensive cooperation.

The cooperation between ECRI and FOSBOS is intended to promote pupils and students in the STEM field. In addition, the cooperation between the two institutions will intensified and promoted in educational and professional terms. Intercultural exchange and the improvement of foreign language skills is an important goal of the cooperation agreement, along with the reduction of the “dropout rate” in the degree programmes.

OStD Schneider expressed his gratitude at the meeting for the uncomplicated, friendly interaction. Thanks to the use of the lecture rooms at ECRI, the FOSBOS classes could be held smoothly even during the pandemic.

People want to stay healthy and active into old age, which brings with it increased illnesses for which we need an answer. This requires digital transformation in the healthcare system to bring prevention, diagnosis and treatment into harmony. Artificial intelligence (AI) plays a central role here, because more and more data is being collected and generated in the healthcare system. The problem: these have to be evaluated and put into context. AI can help with this. This is exactly what the new OPENvhb course "Health Data Analytics" by Prof. Dr. Thomas Spittler of the European Campus Rottal-Inn (ECRI) is about.

The course is the perfect introduction to the topic of data processing in the health sector. Here, prospective students and those interested in the subject from business and the health sector learn the basics of data analytics. Specifically, it is about the possibilities of what AI can do with data from the healthcare sector and how it can be used for prevention, diagnosis and treatment. Prospective students can familiarise themselves with the topic and find out whether studying health informatics at ECRI is an option for them.

In the English-language online course "Health Data Analytics", participants learn everything about data analytics in the health sector in 15 units of 45 minutes each and are rewarded at the end with a certificate of participation issued by the virtual university of Bavaria (vhb) and the Deggendorf Institute of Technology (DIT). Course contents include the analysis of different types and sources of health data, the evaluation of the quality of these data and appropriate interpretations of the meaning depending on the data source and intended use. However, ethical considerations and challenges in health data analysis are also covered in the course.

The course is free of charge and open to all interested parties. Enrolment takes place via the vhb platform. For more information and registration: https://open.vhb.org/blocks/ildmetaselect/detailpage.php?id=235

The European Campus Rottal-Inn (ECRI) has signed a partnership agreement with Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society, Inc. (HIMSS), the world’s largest Digital Health membership organization. The ECRI is the first academic institution in Germany to join the HIMSS Partner Innovation Exchange.

The cooperation with HIMSS is a huge step for the campus and offers several benefits for students, professors and staff of the ECRI. This includes free access to unlimited tools, resources, webinars and more at the HIMSS Member Center. Especially for students of Health Informatics, Digital Health or Global Public Health this is a valuable advantage and they also profit from the cooperation for their studies.

By signing the partnership agreement ECRI also became the first academic institution in Germany to join the HIMSS Partner Innovation Exchange. This is an initiative to convene key digital health influencers to further the organization’s mission to transform the health ecosystem through information and technology. The HIMSS Partner Innovation Exchange promotes a mutually beneficial collaboration for applicable benefits and services including also educational opportunities among others. For ECRI this is particularly important in regards to the DigiHealthDay series and its promotion among relevant audiences.

HIMSS is a trusted coach, advisor and thought leader in health information and technology. It is the largest Digital Health membership organisation in the world encompassing more than 80.000 global individual members, 650 corporate members, and over 470 non-profit organizations. It is a one-stop-organisation for all Digital Health-related information, knowledge and advice, and offers an unrivalled perspective on what’s happening in the world of health and care IT.

The Deggendorf Institute of Technolgoy (DIT) applied for the International Regensburg Short Film Week with several student works from the Media Technology course programme. Four films were successful and will now be shown online form 21 May to 6 June.

For the young filmmakers at DIT, this event is a big deal and of course they all have the desire to reach as many viewers as possible. In the regional window programme section, the regional film scene shows itself to be diverse and offers something for every taste. DIT productions are the short films “2100”, “Rotlicht” and “Wahlkampf”. The film “Accept”, which has already won international awards, will be screened from 22 May in the Donaublut programme section, which is dedicated to genre contributions from the region. Tickets for online access to the festival are available at https://kurzfilmwoche.filmchief.com/hub.

Film descriptions:

2100: Director: Lea Blöchinger, Cinematographer: Moritz Grötsch, VFX: Alexander Steil, Script: Regina Portje, Sound: Tim Miller, Editing: Lukas Haselberger, Kammerspiel, 5 min, Masterseminar "Kurzfilm", Supervision: Prof. Jens Schanze

In the year 2100, war and destruction reign. Nikita lives isolated in a bunker. In a video message she asks why no one has done anything about the foreseeable catastrophe.

Rotlicht: Director: Julia Meinhardt, Animation, 3 min, Supervision: Prof. Joerg Maxzin

One night, a little red light leaves her "workplace" to go in search of love. During her journey she encounters some problems...

Wahlkampf: directed by students of the elective subject documentary, documentary film, 20 min, supervised by: Prof. Jens Schanze

Five men are running for the office of Lord Mayor of the city of Deggendorf. The CSU wants to defend not only the office but also the absolute majority in the city council. While the SPD is foregoing its own candidate, the AfD is putting one up for the first time. What dynamics are emerging in a community of 30,000 inhabitants in eastern Bavaria?

Accept: Director: Manuel Klavers, Camera: Maximilian Stahl, Set Sound/Sound Design/Mixing: Paul Bickhoff, Mystery Drama, 18 min, Bachelor Thesis, Supervision: Prof. Jens Schanze

After the death of her father, a girl has to hide her true self in order to lead a normal life with her family. When she is pursued by threatening figures, she has to face her fears and accept herself.

In a new project, researchers at the Deggendorf Institute of Technology (DIT) have been pursuing the idea of equipping charging points for electronic vehicles with multi-functional features and generating added value for users, cities, municipalities and operators. Classic charging stations for electronic cars are now often seen in public areas/ parking lots. They are accessible to everyone. Simply plug in your car, pay and charge or refuel. Theoretically, however, charging points could be equipped with many more functions than just charging. This is being investigated in the project entitled “CrossChargePoint”, which is assigned to the Technology Campus Freyung.

For example, additional energy storage facilities could be created where charging points are installed. This would result in many advantages: Fluctuating demands on the local power grid could be better absorbed. The rapid and simultaneous charging of several electronic vehicles is possible. Or the energy is converted by electrolysis and power-to-gas so that gas- or hydrogen-powered cars can also be refuelled. In the “CrossChargePoint” project, the special requirements of different regions due to different geographical, climatic and economic conditions are taken into account. This and the development of a prototype that should be applicable on a larger scale in the future with only a few adjustments is the main challenge of the project. Ten partners from four different countries have joined forces for the project. Experts from Israel, Austria, Germany and Switzerland, from various companies and research institutes will work together over the next three years to develop this electromobility project. The team from Freyung is responsible for developing the simulation and planning software. For the planning and operation of a CrossChargePoint, conditions are collected and integrated into the simulation and optimisation tool, which specifies the optimal locations, sizes and technologies – such as an energy management system – for new CrossChargePoints by entering the required data. A special focus is also on developing a plan to enable easy energy transfer to other regions with different economic, infrastructural and geographical conditions. For the team at the Technology Campus Freyung, this project led by Professor Dr Javier Valdes offers a great opportunity to advance topics that have already been worked on in the transport and energy sectors in recent years. For this purpose, Professor Dr Wolfgang Dorner, the head of the Technology Campus Freyung has built up a team with extensive experience through the development of projects such as Increase, Cross Energy or e-Road. The project is funded by the Horizon 2020 programme of the European Union.

Tamas Nemes attends the grammar school of the Regensburger Domspatzen. The 17-year-old is interested in studying Artificial Intelligence (AI) at the Deggendorf Institute of Technology (DIT). That’s why he is currently taking the course Algorithms and Data structures in the so-called early studies programme there.

“In order to better understand the algorithms underlying AI, I started an early study programme in March,” Nemes reports. The secondary school student benefits from this special offer at DIT for pupils: “The lectures are highly interesting. And working independently on the associated tasks is a lot of fun for me.” Previous knowledge of computer science was not required for participation. The 16-year-old pupil Anna Daiser is also convinced by the early study programme. The early study programmes was introduced for highly talented pupils in high school. While they are studying for their A-levels, they can already participate in University lectures in different study fields. She appreciates that the lectures are well structured and that “the content is conveyed in an understandable way.” Digital teaching has also opened up completely new possibilities for the early study programme, reports lecturer Prof Dr Patrick Glauner: “My course is now taken by interested people from all over Germany. We couldn’t reach them at all before.” Another example is Christian Normann, who did the early study course from his home in Rheinland-Pfalz. He describes his experience as follows: “Last semester I had taken the Computer Vision course. The accompanying robotics project was very educational and I enjoyed it a lot.” Incidentally, the application deadline for the winter semester 2021/2022 at DIT is currently open, until 15 July. From 1 October, prospective students such as Nemes, Daiser or Normann will be able to train as AI experts in seven semesters. For this purpose, DIT offers an AI Bachelor’s programme, optionally in German or English. Participants in the DIT early study programme will then have a good idea of what to expect at the university. Enquiries about early study can be directed to the DIT STEM team at fruehstudium@th-deg.de. More information on the AI degree programmes can be found at www.th-deg.de/en/ai. If you have any questions about the AI degree programmes, Prof Glauner will also be happy to answer them directly at patrick.glauner@th-deg.de or +49 991 3615 453.

Next year, the Deggendorf Institute of Technology (DIT) will award the “Anton Fink Science Prize for Artificial Intelligence” in the amount of € 10,000 for the first time. This is the highest amount of an award that DIT has presented in the past. As the name suggests, the new “Anton Fink Science Award for Artificial Intelligence” is intended to contribute to strengthening teaching, research and development explicitly in the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI). On 18 May, founder and DIT Honorary Senator Anton Fink made the agreement official with his signature on the cooperation agreement.

As a pioneer in the university landscape when it comes to AI, the DIT can use this award to strengthen, the region in this promising field in parallel to successful initiatives such as the AI Campus Bavaria. Founder Anton Fink has been associated with DIT for many years and would like to see many applications for the science award. The topic of AI fascinates him and he wants to support DIT in a meaningful way. For DIT President Sperber, the advantages are obvious: such a prize will make DIT better known as an institution in the AI scene. In addition, important contacts will be made from which the university will benefit. The prize will be announced for the first time at the end of the year, around October or November 2021. Applications will be accepted from Germany, Austria and the Czech Republic. The jury consists of DIT professors Prof Dr Dr Heribert Popp and Prof Dr Patrick Glauner, DIT President Prof Dr Peter Sperber, from Austria FH Prof DI Dr Stefan Huber, from the Czech Republic Assoc. Prof Ivo Bukovsky, PhD and Minister of Science Bernd Sibler. The award will be presented in spring 2022 and is to be continued annually.

Last year, the federal and state governments launched the "FH-Personal" programme, which provides financial support to selected universities of applied sciences (HAW) to recruit staff for teaching and research. 95 universities of applied sciences applied, 64 received the award. Among them is the Deggendorf Institute of Technology (DIT), which is now beginning to implement the measures to strengthen the career option of a university professorship.

Universities of Applied Sciences face tough competition in the search for young professors. Suitable applicants with the relevant professional experience are often attracted to work in companies in the private sector. Those interested in research tend to be drawn to universities. The DIT is also experiencing this. Although the overall balance is very positive, the university has been experiencing a downward trend in the number of suitable applicants for professorships for some time. For example, because the required practical experience is not given. Because few women submit applications. And the needed international applicants are missing. The federal-state project "FH-Personal" therefore came at the right time. Now the university can take various measures to fill the applicant gaps. As an employer, the university wants to become more visible in the future, especially for female and international young academics. If possible, professorial staff should grow out of the university's own ranks. A tandem programme for doctorates, post-doc positions and a certificate programme to accompany the doctorate are planned. In addition, the university wants to develop in an employee-friendly way so that the compatibility of research and teaching as well as career and family are an issue. Four million euros are available to the university from the federal and state governments to achieve the envisaged measures and goals by 2027 and thus continue the innovative growth course and expand the research strength of the DIT.

In Oberschneiding in Lower Bavaria, German inventive talent will meet American market management in the future. The Deggendorf Institute of Technology (DIT) has found a location there for its world-leading Silicon Valley Program and will establish the Bavarian Innovation and Transformation Centre (BITZ) on the grounds of the Alte Spenglerei. Bavarian Minister of Science Bernd Sibler and Member of the State Parliament Josef Zellmeier announced on Wednesday, 12 May that funding from the Free State of Bavaria amounting to three million euros will flow into the centre over six years.

Science Minister Bernd Sibler emphasised: "Rooted in the homeland and internationally networked: The BITZ fits perfectly into the modern university landscape and integrates perfectly into the structure of DIT. With the core of the Silicon Valley Program, we are creating a new Bavarian start-up and scaling culture. Here in Oberschneiding there will be a high-calibre course offering with exclusive company visits in the USA, but also at branches of Bavarian companies. I would like to further strengthen the forward-looking field of 'entrepreneurship' in the Bavarian university landscape. Especially in the up-and-coming regions of Lower Bavaria, such offers fall on fertile ground."

Professor Peter Schmieder, scientific director of the BITZ, illustrated how closely connected Lower Bavaria will be with Silicon Valley in the future with a live link to Santa Clara University in California during the press conference. Santa Clara University has been a permanent partner of the Silicon Valley Program for years. BITZ Oberschneiding is thus not only the first institution of DIT in the district of Straubing-Bogen, but also of the American university. Anyone who has an invention or business idea in mind can learn here from and according to the American model how to make it successful for the market. The next round will start in June 2021.

The European Campus Rottal-Inn (ECRI) of the Deggendorf Institute of Technology (DIT) has focused on sustainability since its foundation and has now been accepted as a cooperation partner of the German Sustainable Building Council (DGNB) in Europe's largest network for sustainable building.

For the ECRI, the cooperation offers new opportunities in the field of sustainable planning and building, from which the students of the Master's programme "Healthy and Sustainable Buildings" in particular will benefit. All of the society's teaching materials are available to them via the DGNB's knowledge platform. In addition to teaching units in online courses, this also includes modular topic blocks that can be used by the professors in classroom teaching.

The cooperation also provides direct practical relevance and knowledge exchange with other DGNB cooperation partners. This means that ECRI and its students have access to a wide range of opportunities and a large network. This is an important advantage for the students, especially with regard to their entry into professional life. In addition, they have the opportunity to take the exam to become a "DGNB Registered Professional" and thus clearly position themselves as future experts in the field of sustainable planning and building.  This not only offers advantages on the job market, but also saves students time and money if they wish to train as DGNB consultants or auditors later in their careers.

Prof Dr Michael Laar, who as an architect has been a member of the DGNB since its founding, was accepted into the pool of experts in 2018 and coordinates the cooperation, sees a win-win situation in the partnership as the head of the "Healthy and Sustainable Buildings" degree programme: "Our students get preferential access to this important benchmarking system, while the DGNB receives national and international multipliers for its certification system for 2nd generation sustainable buildings. The German system is characterised in particular by a very holistic approach that takes into account not only ecological, economic, socio-cultural and functional quality, but also technical quality as well as process and site quality. It is precisely the understanding of the very complex interrelationships of sustainable building that this imparts that forms the basis for truly successful planners of sustainable buildings. And to train very successful planners of sustainable buildings later on is our aspiration."

The DGNB, based in Stuttgart, is Europe's largest network for sustainable building. It was founded in 2007 and has been campaigning for a sustainable built environment ever since. The focus of the non-profit organisation is the future topic of "sustainable planning and building". On behalf of the German government, the DGNB also developed the BNB sustainable building assessment system, which has been mandatory for federal buildings for several years and is also increasingly being used at the state level. The new ECRI building, for example, is to be certified with this system.

On Thursday, 27 May, the Deggendorf Institute of Technology (DIT) is offering a virtual information event on its Master's degree programmes, which are taught full-time. Currently, prospective students can choose from 21 Master's programmes in the fields of business, technology, health and computer science. From 4 to 7 p.m., the university will present the specific study contents, how to apply properly and which admission requirements apply. Those interested can connect to the online event via a link. There will be a virtual room for each of the Master's programmes in "Technology and Information Technology", "Business" and "Health". The event will be accompanied by live feeds on the university's Instagram channel. Interested parties can meet students there and ask questions. The exact agenda of the information event and the necessary links can be found on www.th-deg.de in the event calendar.

In October, the new Bachelor's degree programme Physician Assistant / Medical Care will start at the Deggendorf Institute of Technology (DIT). The underlying job profile is relatively new in Germany. Only a few universities offer this degree, and from this autumn the DIT will do so as well.

Internationally, and especially in the USA as well as in other English-speaking countries or in the Netherlands, the Physician Assistant has been established for a long time. Prof Dr Michael Frey, the responsible course director at the Faculty of Applied Health Sciences, explains: "Physician assistants work closely with doctors and take on tasks delegated to them by doctors. They support doctors in making diagnoses and carrying out therapies." These people are in great demand on the German labour market. Also because there are still very few physician assistants here. Most of them work in the inpatient sector. In the operating theatre on the ward or in the emergency room. They accompany ward rounds, take medical histories, document findings and assist in the treatment of patients. For the high requirement profile of this profession, physician assistants need well-founded medical knowledge. "This is exactly what the new Bachelor's programme at the DIT can teach them over eight semesters," affirms Frey, a medical doctor. The initiator of the degree programme, Prof Dr Horst Kunhardt, adds: "The study programme ranges from digitalisation to health economics to management in the health system." The aim is to equip students with all the knowledge and skills to later take on a leading role in a massively changing health system.

A special feature of the new degree programme is the high practical component. There is the practical semester, which introduces students to their later professional work in clinics and practices. From the first semester onwards, however, there is also an internship integrated into the degree programme and work in the faculty's learning and training centre. In simulations, the students are trained to take an anamnesis, draw blood or suture wounds, for example. Assistance during an operation is also practised. Together with students from other degree programmes of the faculty, interprofessional skills for working in a multi-professional team are also acquired.

Entry requirements are either a general university entrance qualification or a completed 3-year training in a health profession plus 3 years of professional experience. Those interested can find out more at the online information evening on Monday, 17 May at 6 pm. The access link and further information on the Bachelor Physician Assistant : pha-info@th-deg.de.

For the past three months, physicists at the Deggendorf Institute of Technology (DIT) have been working on a new generation of spectrometers. Like the human eye, they examine reflected light. However, they surpass the eyes' ability many times over and enable insights into the world that would otherwise remain hidden. The Teisnach researchers' new spectrometers are to be cheaper and more compact. They are currently testing the new method in the laboratory.

Scientists have been working on the measurement of light for centuries. The model is the human eye. The human eye recognises whether a strawberry is red and therefore ripe by the light that is reflected from the strawberry. It is examined by the eye for its components and can distinguish between millions of shades of colour. In science, spectrometers perform this task. Today, it is impossible to imagine the diverse applications of spectrometers without them: doctors use them to find clues to certain pathogens in the air they breathe, biologists measure the oxygen content of rivers and oceans, criminologists examine crime scene evidence, modern combine harvesters measure the nutritional value of grain. And modern astronomy relies almost exclusively on spectrometric investigations because of the inaccessibility of the objects being studied. However, the size and high price of high-precision spectrometers are still a hurdle for many applications. This is where the research work of three physicists from the Deggendorf Institute of Technology comes in. At the Technology Campus in Teisnach, Alois Schneider and Abdul-Hamid Fattah are researching a new method for examining light, for which a patent has been filed by Prof. Dr. Gerald Fütterer. This method enables a number of new technical applications, including the development of more compact and cheaper spectrometers. The scientists expect first results in autumn.

The European Commission wants to create a uniform legal framework for Artificial Intelligence (AI) within the EU through its proposed regulation published in April 2021. To evaluate the proposal, the Committees for European Union Affairs of the German Bundestag and the French National Assembly held a joint meeting on 6 May. Prof Dr Patrick Glauner from the Deggendorf Institute of Technology (DIT) was invited as an expert.

“I explained to the MPs why, in my opinion, AI should not be regulated by its own legislation,” said Prof Glauner, who is also deputy head of the Bavarian regional group in the AI Feder Association. Today, safety-critical use cases are already covered by existing regulations, laws, standards and norms in almost all cases, Glauner continued: “The proposed regulation threatens overregulation, which would make the use or development of AI in the EU significantly more difficult or even impossible.” The DIT professor also called for a High-Tech Agenda Europe based on the High-Tech Agenda Bavaria. This would bring the added values of AI for citizen to more attention and take measures to increase competition. DIT President Prof Dr Peter Sperber proudly emphasises: “The fact that two national parliaments are interested in DIT’s AI expertise impressively proves that we are leading in the field of research and teaching on AI.” The new insights on AI regulation from the committee meeting would also be directly incorporated into teaching at DIT. Prof Glauner’s full written statement is freely available at www.glauner.info/expert-evidence. If you have any questions about the potential impact of the planned EU-wide AI regulation, Prof Glauner is also available as a direct contact at patrick.glauner@th-deg.de or +49 991 3615 453.

The Deggendorf Institute of Technology (DIT) is being allocated five new professorships. Part of the funding comes from the High-Tech Agenda Bavaria, the Free State’s major future and technology offensive, and part from additional resources that Science Minister Bernd Sibler was able to obtain for the Bavarian universities of applied sciences and for the technical universities in the budget negotiations. The Minister made the announcement today in Munich.

Three of the five professorships are earmarked for the European Campus Rottal-Inn at the Pfarrkirchen location, which will also receive three additional positions for science support staff. The other two professorships and two positions for science support staff are earmarked for the Technology Campus Cham. “It is not least thanks to the high quality of the Pfarrkirchen study location that the European Campus has gained an excellent reputation worldwide in just a few years. With the additional three professorships, we can now massively strengthen this Lower Bavarian success model beyond the already planned new building by further expanding the degree programmes offered,” explained the Minister of Science. “The successful model of the Technoloy Campus (TC) Cham with its thematic focus on mechatronics and automation will also benefit with two additional professorships, a clear commitment by the Free State to the importance of the campus for applied research and its great significance for the regional science, business and industry location,” Sibler continued.

Funds from the Bavarian High-Tech Agenda Bavaria

https://www.bayern.de/politik/hightech-agenda/

https://www.stmwk.bayern.de/allgemein/meldung/6565/freistaat-zuendet-den-turbo-fuer-die-hightech-agenda-bayern.html

The Department of Digitalisation and Innovative Teaching at the Deggendorf Institute of Technology (DIT) will present the university's new English-language degree programmes in Artificial Intelligence (AI) at its next DigiCamp on 19 May. The DigiCamps are a virtual series of events at the Deggendorf Institute of Technology on the topic of digitalisation. Under the title "Artificial Intelligence - Create (y)our future", the people responsible for the AI degree programmes are addressing prospective students, company representatives and the interested public with this DigiCamp.

Several short lectures are planned during the English-language event. Prof. Dr. Cezar Ionescu will talk about the broad field of AI and provide a basic understanding. Afterwards, the programme directors Prof. Dr. Patrick Glauner and Prof. Jürgen Wittmann will present the new Bachelor's programme "Artificial Intelligence" and the Master's programmes "Artificial Intelligence and Data Science" and "Artificial Intelligence for Smart Sensors and Actuators" in detail. Participants will also receive input on dual study options, cooperation opportunities for and with companies, the application process at DIT and other useful information and dates for both prospective students and company representatives. The programme for the DigiCamp "Artificial Intelligence - Create (y)our future" can be found on the DIT website at https://th-deg.de/en/business/digitalisation-in-dialogue. Participation is free of charge, access data will be sent after registration.

With over 300 square metres of new space in the ITC2 in Deggendorf, the Startup Campus of the Deggendorf Institute of Technology (DIT) is creating room for innovative minds who want to start their own business. An official inauguration of the Startup Lab took place digitally on 28 April. Here, all network partners of the Startup Campus as well as DIT employees had the opportunity to virtually visit the premises.

Among the invited guests was Minister of Science Bernd Sibler. He emphasised in the video conference: “With the Startup Campus, the Deggendorf Institute of Technology is further expanding its excellent environment for the start-ups of its graduates. As a central contact point closely networked with the region, it will bring young, creative and imaginative people together with attractive partners. Their founding spirit and courage are needed for our progress. The Startup Campus at DIT will also promote both and thus pave the way for promising technologies of tomorrow. On the part of the Free State, we are providing the optimal framework with the innovation offensive Hightech Agenda Bayern.”

Together with the Startup Lab, the Startup Campus is a central contact point for all those interested in starting a business at the university. Through the rented space, the Startup Campus provides founders with a creative working environment. Teams that are currently being mentored and supported are allowed to use the office space, the co-working space and the seminar room. The Startup Lab is open for everyone to visit and exchange ideas.

The event also served as the first networking meeting with all companies, institutions and politicians involved in strengthening the start-up culture regionally. Special attention was paid to the network partners learning more about the Startup Campus and their current projects. Of course, the start-up teams are also part of this. A few young founders had the chance to present their start-up ideas to the audience. After all, the innovative teams in particular are the ones that really bring the Startup Lab to life.

The Deggendorf Institute of Technology (DIT) is once again receiving funding to intensify its start-up work. As part of the funding priority "regional networking", a sustainable, regionally anchored start-up culture is to be established through networking in the rural region in the area of Eastern Bavaria. Austria and the Czech Republic are also a focus of the project. Almost one million euros are available to the DIT Start-Up Campus team from the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy.

The university wants to create more start-ups and thus more jobs for the region. The DIT Start-Up Campus team is not the only one advising the founders. Professors and academic staff at the university make themselves available as mentors and DIT alumni from the field are arranged as contacts for exchanging experiences. Companies, politicians, business associations, start-ups and government institutions in the rural region are also asked to participate in the regional network. A major challenge at present is to hold all events virtually. Nevertheless, the best possible effort is being made, because regular network meetings, the transfer of know-how and the exchange of ideas among the founders are enormously important. For example, the monthly information events on the topic of start-up financing or the start-up regulars' table take place via Zoom. There is a range of digital seminars especially for women, such as Female Empowerment. A female founder, who herself studied at DIT, also reports on her self-employment in the virtual alumni founder talk. Those interested in founding a company with an exciting idea are invited to contact the DIT Start-Up Campus. Particular attention is paid to innovative or high-tech start-ups. The Start-Up Campus team advises not only students, but also alumni and staff of the university.

Since 2002, the university has gradually built up its profile as a start-up university. Over the years, numerous successful start-ups, activities and qualification offers have resulted, so that in 2017 the Start-Up Campus team was finally formed from DIT's Institute for Start-ups as a central point of contact. The university can further strengthen its activities through the funding measure "regional networking - establishing a sustainable, regionally anchored start-up culture" Exist V Potentiale of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy.

Following the success of the first DigiHealthDay (DHD) at the European Campus Rottal-Inn (ECRI) last year, the Campus is now continuing the international symposium as an annual event. The DHD-2021 will take place virtually on November 12. A series of pre-event workshops will be held in the run-up to the DHD-2021. The first workshop will take place next week, on April 26. Registration for the workshops and the event is now open.

The DHD-2021 offers a comprehensive programme on modern Digital Health and its role in tackling global health problems from a uniquely international perspective, with a special focus on Digital Health Education. It will include Keynote Talks by top German and international experts, an extremely interesting Panel Discussion on the “Future of Digital Health Data”, as well as oral and poster scientific presentations, student thesis and project presentations, and (virtual) networking possibilities.

The DHD-2021 is preceded by a series of virtual workshops, which will take place in spring and summer. The extensive programme with a total of eight workshops has something in store for everyone interested in Digital Health and related issues. Topics range from Data Integration and Interoperablity, Human-Computer Interaction in Digital Health, Digitalisation of Healthcare in Germany and in the US to Digital Imaging and Artifical Intelligence in Radiology, to name but a few.

Everyone with an interest in Digital Health such as researchers, healthcare professionals, businesses and start-ups, authorities or students is invited to participate in ECRI’s DigiHealthDay-2021. For further information about the event and workshops, please visit the homepage www.th-deg.de/digihealthday.

The first DHD last autumn was attended by 348 participants from 59 countries. Due to the great success, the event will be held annually from now on. The event series is organised and conducted by Prof. Dr. Georgi Chaltikyan.

On Monday, 12 April, around 40 participants met virtually for the Interreg workshop "Cross-border Health Care" and achieved a very good success on this day, which will contribute to research work in the field of cross-border digital health in the future.

The workshop was organised by Prof. Dr. Thomas Spittler and Anna Schmaus-Klughammer, LLB (hons.) from the European Campus Rottal-Inn (ECRI) in cooperation with Thomas Kern from the FH Oberösterreich. They invited experts from health institutions, business and science to develop ideas for joint projects.

At the beginning of the workshop, the approximately 40 participants were introduced to the topic of cross-border health through the presentation of the Interreg project INDEED, which has set itself the goal of advancing and improving the medical care of dementia patients in the European area. INDEED was kindly presented by Prof. Dr. Alexander Kurz and Lea Pfäffel, both from the Technical University of Munich.

This was followed by three workshops in which the participants delved deeper into the topic. Digital processes - the path to better health or the transparent human being?" dealt with digital health and digital processes in the healthcare system and the question of how a patient summary file can be implemented across borders. Then the topic of health and AI was combined and the question was asked whether bioinformatics and medical informatics, explainable artificial intelligence and core clinical processes can be the solution for a better life. Finally, it was about sensor technology for medical applications and whether these can be used as a source for innovative therapy and prevention.

This was followed by the creative part of the day with brainstorming and finalising the research question. The participants from companies and clinics worked in a highly concentrated manner and also networked between the workshop topics, which gave the process further momentum. In the end, eight concrete research questions emerged, which is an above-average success for a workshop of this kind. These research questions now need to be translated into project proposals in order to advance cross-border health care.

For almost 40 years, the Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC) has been in demand when it comes to proving job-related English. It serves both employees and educational institutions worldwide as a standard for reliable proof of English skills. Because by "good" English, applicants and personnel managers often understand two different things. DIT offers the next examination date in May, also for external candidates.

The TOEIC Listening & Reading Online covers the two areas of listening comprehension and reading comprehension. The two-hour pure multiple choice test is taken on the computer. Each candidate is placed exactly in his or her respective language level and always receives a result - there is no failure. The next TOEIC Listening & Reading Test Online will take place at DIT on Friday, 21 May at 1.30 pm. The test date on Wednesday, 12 May, also at 1.30 p.m., is obligatory. Registration is possible until 1 May at sprachenzentrum@th-deg.de. The examination fee is € 130, or € 150 if a certificate is desired. The number of participants for exams is limited.

More information at: https://th-deg.de/de/studierende/sprachkurse-awp-faecher#accordion-toeic

The application period for the winter semester at the European Campus Rottal-Inn (ECRI), the international faculty of the Deggendorf Institute of Technology (DIT), starts on 15 April. In addition to the existing degree programmes, prospective students can also apply for the new Master's programme in Global Public Health.

Especially in times of a global pandemic, it has become clear how important health is worldwide. The Global Public Health programme takes these requirements into account. As a joint degree together with Savonia University in Finland, the programme is internationally structured and addresses the challenges of global public health.

Students learn during the Master's programme Global Public Health how health can be managed and promoted in the global health system. The programme focuses on health care in industrialised countries as well as in developing regions worldwide. It also looks at the connections between health problems and culture, politics, human rights and ethical values. These topics are explored in greater depth in the Winter School at ECRI and in the Summer School at Savonia University in Finland. The students benefit from the expertise and intensive research on digitalisation in healthcare of Prof. Dr. Thomas Spittler, the head of the programme, and his team.

With the Master's degree, graduates of the Global Public Health programme have a wide range of career opportunities open to them. They can either join governments, non-governmental organisations, international organisations such as the WHO or consultancies. But also positions in health management, health promotion, human resource management, administration, marketing and controlling or occupational health care are possible for students of this degree programme after successful completion.

With a joint degree and the division between Germany and Finland, the Master's programme is a unique joint degree that has not existed in this form at DIT before. This is an absolute added value, especially for an internationally oriented degree programme that has set itself the goal of taking on global challenges and improving the health system worldwide.

In addition to the Master's programme in Global Public Health, the Master of Digital Health will also start in the coming winter semester. Those who want to do a Bachelor's first have the choice between Health Informatics, Industrial Engineering, International Tourism Management / Health & Medical Tourism and Energy Systems Engineering. Information on the degree programmes is available on the ECRI website at https://th-deg.de/ecri.

With English as the language of instruction, ECRI is the only completely English-speaking campus in the whole of Bavaria. This makes studying at ECRI in Pfarrkirchen particularly attractive for internationally oriented prospective students, for whom all doors are open after successful completion.

The year 2020 has drawn a great deal of attention to the topic of health and created new political and legal framework conditions for digitalisation in the health sector. How these can be used as quickly as possible for the benefit of all involved and how Germany can catch up in the area of digitalisation in healthcare is the subject of Prof Dr Dominik Böhler’s research. He is a new professor at the European Campus Rottal-Inn (ECRI) of the Deggendorf Institute of Technology (DIT).

In his field of expertise, “Management in Digital Healthcare”, Böhler deals with the digitalisation of processes and digital business models in the healthcare sector. It is therefore not surprising that the past year was also a particularly formative one for Prof Böhler in professional terms. For him, the pandemic has shown that health is a valuable commodity and that the obvious “under-digitalisation” in the health sector creates many points of friction for all involved. However, in his eyes, this also offers immense opportunities for young talent with new ideas. Seeing how start-ups in the health sector bring new technologies to a supposedly highly regulated market and how the confidence of individuals with a strong vision can positively change the reality of many people fascinates him every time.

When it comes to start-ups and new ideas, Böhler knows what he is talking about. After studying business administration and earning his doctorate in business informatics on the topic of “What influence does AI have on organisations?”, he took over as head of entrepreneurship education at UnternehmenTUM. There he dealt with the question of how project-based learning can work in large numbers and high quality and accompanied over 2,000 project teams and over 150 start-ups. He was also involved in setting up the Digital Health Summit in Munich.

At DIT, he wants to advance applied research in the health sector quickly and pragmatically and make healthcare in rural areas and the global south more digital and better. He has also set himself the goal of developing new business models in the health sector with established companies. For Böhler, there are too many hurdles, especially in higher education and health care, and too few who really break them down. We need more courageous people like Bertha Benz, who led the way at the beginning of the last great transformation: get on and go. Because especially in a time of transformation, as is currently the case, holding on to the tires and tested is, in his opinion, a bad strategy.

As a pragmatic, performance-oriented idealist, Prof Böhler finds it a sense of achievement to achieve goals together with little resources and a lot of enthusiasm. He should thus easily succeed in inspiring, challenging and encouraging his students. His wife and two sons provide the necessary grounding for all these ideas.

Artificial intelligence, tourism, civil engineering, media technology or something completely different – with more than 60 different Bachelor’s and Master’s degree programmes, there is something for everyone at the Deggendorf Institute of Technology (DIT). Those who want to get hold of one of the study places for the winter semester 2021 for start in October can apply for it from 15 April until 15 July.

Since 1994, DIT has developed into one of the most successful new universities of applied sciences founded in the 1990s. Today, more than 8,000 students study at the campuses in Deggendorf and Pfarrkirchen. The range of courses is constantly being expanded. New in the winter semester 2021, for example, are the English-language Bachelor’s programme Artificial Intelligence, the part-time German-language Master’s programme Digital Business Engineering, the Bachelor’s programme Interdisciplinary Engineering Sciences and the Master’s programme Applied Sports Sciences. Because there are more and more degree programmes at DIT, undecided students will be able to try out various subjects and also studying in general for the first time from the winter semester 2021 in form of an orientation study programme. In one to two semesters, young students will have the opportunity to get a taste of various degree programmes. Prerequisites for the orientation study at DIT are a university entrance qualification, e.g. the Abitur, and a letter of motivation. Interested students can apply via DIT’s applicant portal. Even if it is not currently possible to come to the campus in person, the university offers a wide range of online services to provide information about the degree programmes and campus life in Deggendorf. Prospective students can take part in webinars on degree programmes or on student finance. The Centre for Student Advise also provides support on individual degree programmes via phone, WhatsApp or video chat.

The Deggendorf-based start-up Quimedo has taken second place in this year's Ideenreich business plan competition. The competition, sponsored by Bayern Kapital, is organised by BayStartUP and takes place in cooperation with the Gründerzentrum Digitalisierung Niederbayern (GZDN). Innovative founders from south-eastern Bavaria who are in the process of setting up a company are supported. In this context, Dr. Timo Steininger, founder of Quimedo, also applied and convinced the jury.

The idea of the start-up was born in 2019, namely to digitalise and simplify the transition of patients from inpatient treatment to rehabilitation/nursing or from home to care with the app Quimedo. Via the app, healthcare facilities enter free capacities as well as possible forms of treatment. Within a very short time, patients can be referred directly to the right place for optimal treatment. The digital networking is an enormous relief for the nursing staff. The start-up was founded in October 2020, with Prof. Dr. Thomas Geiß and Prof. Dr. Christian Rester from the Faculty of Applied Health Sciences supporting the team throughout the entire start-up process. Quimedo is based in Deggendorf with founder Dr. Timo Steininger, co-managing director Stefan Klein and four employees. They use the coworking space of the start-up centre at ITC1, where Thomas Keller (managing director of ITC1) is a strong partner.  An important factor of the app is user-friendliness. Therefore, the platform should also be put through its paces. Students of the Health Informatics degree programme agreed to check the usability of the Quimedo app during the test phase. In January 2021, the time had come - the app could go live. Since then, it has been confirmed that the platform works very well. A large number of successful patient referrals have already been made.  The Deggendorf Institute of Technology (DIT) is a valuable partner for Quimedo. DIT has been heavily involved in building up the network in the eastern Bavarian region. In the meantime, many joint projects are underway, such as AI in care. Founder Dr Timo Steininger himself will be head of the practical nursing department at the Faculty of Applied Health Sciences from 1 April 2021. One of Steininger's goals is to dovetail science and Quimedo in the long term.

The workplace in the company vs. home office is currently a hot topic. “A co-working space has the potential to combine the best of both worlds,” says Lisa Geib, Digitalisation Officer at DIT. Co-working is an integrated and flexible working model in which start-ups, freelancers and other employees rent a flexible workspace in an open-plan office. The focus of co-working spaces is on networking and the exchange of innovative ideas. The advantages are as varies as the concept. For commuters from rural areas, co-working offers working close to home in a modern working environment. This work concept can be particularly interesting for working parents. In times of the pandemic, the needs of employees and, at the same time, of companies have changed rapidly: Home offices, purely virtual meetings plus childcare and home schooling are taking their toll. DIT is leading the way by offering five free, project-funded co-working spaces at ITC1.

The virtual DigiCamp shows the possibilities of a co-working space. Several short lectures are planned. The main topics are the opportunities especially for rural areas, co-working experiences from practice and the presentation of the new co-working spaces at ITC1. The programme will be founded off by a joint discussion and an exchange of experiences on how co-working can succeed despite the Corona pandemic. Information on the “DigiCamp Co-Working Space” can be found on the DIT website at https://th-deg.de/en/business/digitalisation-in-dialogue . Participation is free of charge, access data will be sent after registration at coworking@th-deg.de.

On 13 April, pupils, students and job seekers can make contact with companies at firstcontact, one of the largest and most successful company contact fairs in Lower Bavaria. The fair will be held virtually from 10 am to 3 pm, allowing visitors to participate from the comfort of their own homes.

Although the firstcontact has to move from the Deggendorf Stadthallen to an online platform, it will once again offer visitors countless and unique career opportunities. A total of 110 companies are on board and present themselves to the virtual visitors in the usual professional environment. The new format also offers new opportunities: With a get-to-know-you app, participants can already get to know the exhibitors before the actual fair. Another new feature is that exhibitors and visitors can get in touch in advance and arrange to meet on the day of the fair.

The firstcontact is particularly aimed at students who are looking for jobs for an internship or their bachelor's or master's thesis, as well as all prospective graduates. However, school pupils and job seekers are also cordially invited to firstcontact on 13 April. Information on how to participate can be found at: https://www.firstcontact-deggendorf.de/.

The fair is organised by the student association First Contact e.V. in cooperation with the Career Service of the Deggendorf Institute of Technology (DIT). The firstcontact takes place annually in spring and regularly attracts almost 200 companies and about 2,000 visitors to Deggendorf.

The Deggendorf Institute of Technology (DIT) starts the first English-language technical Bachelor's degree programme in Deggendorf: Artificial Intelligence. Prospective students will be able to study Artificial Intelligence (AI) in English as early as October 2021.

One of the world's first Bachelor's degree programmes in Artificial Intelligence has been available at DIT since 2019. Artificial intelligence makes it possible to automate human decision-making behaviour and will change almost every industry in the coming years and decades. The demand for AI experts on the market is correspondingly high. The future programme coordinator Prof. Dr. Patrick Glauner describes AI as the next step in the industrial revolution. This means excellent career prospects for the students. With the new degree programme, the university wants to take this and the advancing internationalisation of the German labour market into account. Above all in Europe, Germany-wide and regionally, the university hopes to interest more young people in studying AI in Deggendorf. Both, lectures and exams, are held in English. A great advantage is the possibility to attend the first two semesters, both in Deggendorf and virtually. Minister of Science Bernd Sibler emphasises: "Being future-oriented and international are among the hallmarks of the Deggendorf Institute of Technology. Its future offer of an English-language degree programme in ‘Artificial Intelligence’ proves this once again. After all, artificial intelligence is the key technology for diverse new developments worldwide." The degree programme offers over ten modules on AI, providing a broad and in-depth education. Computer science basics are not neglected. Spread throughout the degree, eleven core computer science modules form the backbone of the programme. A highlight of the degree programme is the practical semester, which is scheduled for the fifth semester, in which students apply their knowledge in practice in companies and thereby deepen it. However, the acquisition of key competences and soft skills, for which suitable modules are included, is also important for later professional life. Foreign students also learn the basics of the German language necessary for a successful professional life during their studies. More information on the AI degree programme can be found on the DIT website: https://www.th-deg.de/ain-b-en. Applications for a place on the programme can be submitted from Thursday, 15 April. If you have any questions about the degree programme, Professor Glauner can also be contacted directly at patrick.glauner@th-deg.de or +49 991 3615 453.

The Deggendorf Institute of Technology (DIT) once again officially has three vice-presidents. Prof Dr-Ing Andreas Grzemba, Prof Dr Horst Kunhardt and Prof Waldemar Berg will represent University President Prof Dr Peter Sperber at official appointments for the next three years and support him in the implementation of university policy objectives and in the development of the university.

In the election on 25 March, Andreas Grzemba and Horst Kunhardt were elected by the University Council for the third time, and Waldemar Berg for the second time for the office of Vice President. In addition to elected members of the Senate, the University Council is made up of ten people from science, culture and, in particular, from business and professional practice who do not belong to the university.

Andreas Grzemba is responsible for the area of research and knowledge transfer, Horst Kunhardt is in charge of the area of health and manages the European Campus Rottal-Inn (ECRI) in Pfarrkirchen, and Waldemar Berg, as Vice Presidents, is responsible for the area of studies and study matters.

The Host Family Programme of the Deggendorf Institute of Technology (DIT) enters the next round for the summer semester. Due to Corona this year virtually. The programme is currently looking for interested people in Deggendorf, Cham, Pfarrkirchen and the surrounding area who would like to exchange ideas with students and give them an insight into Bavarian cuture.

The Host Family Programme enables foreign students to make contacts outside the campus and thus contributes to integration and exchange. The Host Family Programme is indispensable for exchanges with people from other cultures, not only in Deggendorf, but also at the two international study locations in Cham and Pfarrkirchen. The programme is quite simple: host parents meet with students informally and as often as they like. Due to the current situation, this will be virtual for the time being. This enables the students to make contact with locals, gain an insight into the local way of life and get to know Bavarian culture. This can also be a meeting for coffee and cake or a joint excursion into the surrounding area, depending on what is possible under the current regulations.

The Host Family Programme also offers many advantages for the host families. All students speak English, but many can also speak German very well. This offers the perfect opportunity to speak English casually and this deepen their vocabulary. In addition, they get to know the students’ respective countries, their inhabitants and their culture. Last but not least, friendships are made and togetherness is enriched.

Further information and the application form for the Host Family Programme can be found at www.th-deg.de/hostfamily. If you have any questions, Andrea Ebertseder for Pfarrkirchen (andrea.ebertseder@th-deg.de) and Marion Löfflmann for Deggendorf and Cham (marion.loefflmann@th-deg.de) from the Centre for International Affairs at DIT are available via e-mail.

The Host Family Programme is a non-profit organisation at DIT that is dedicated to the integration of foreign students. In Deggendorf, the network includes people from a wide variety of nations, religions and cultures and currently consists of more than 80 host families from Deggendorf and the surrounding area. At ECRI in Pfarrkirchen, the programme started for the first time in the winter semester 2019/2020 with six host families and ten students.

The Corona pandemic still has the whole world firmly in its grip. Nonetheless, the International Office at the Deggendorf Institute of Technology (DIT) is making every effort to maintain its international relations and especially the international student exchange. On Wednesday, 3 March, 50 international exchange students from 25 different countries around the world were welcomed at DIT - this time for the first time with a completely virtual orientation programme.

While almost half of the exchange students will start the summer semester online from their home country, 25 guest students from countries less affected by the corona virus, such as South Korea, will spend a semester abroad on site in Deggendorf or Pfarrkirchen. Since almost all students arriving from abroad have to spend at least five days in quarantine as a safety measure in addition to presenting a negative corona test, a shopping service - contactless, of course - has been organised by the International Office. In order to provide the students with the essentials immediately after their arrival, the student assistants of the International Office also distributed small welcome packages in the students’ halls of residence. In addition to the most important basic groceries, these also contain second-hand dishes and cooking utensils that were collected in advance for the students.

The International Office’s one-and-a-half-week virtual orientation programme is intended to enable the international guest students to make connections in Deggendorf and at the university despite the lack of personal contact. Via video conferencing systems, the students will not only get to know the various facilities of the university, such as the library, but there will also be a colourful supporting programme organised by the university’s international tutors and the student association ESN Deggendorf. This offers exciting and varied virtual events and activities such as a Bavarian evening, an Escape Room game or various team-building measures, which should make it easier for the students to get to know each other and exchange ideas. The aim of these measures is to give the students as warm a welcome as possible despite the corona-related circumstances and to show that internationality is important at DIT even in times like these.

The Department of Digitalisation and Innovative Teaching at the Deggendorf Institute of Technology (DIT) is organising the next DigiCamp on 24 March from 4 pm. This time, the series of events on digitalisation will focus on the topic of “Virtual Reality in Construction - 3D, BIM & more” and is aimed at civil engineers, architects, engineering firms, interested companies and university members. Under the leadership of Prof Dr-Ing Gerd Maurer, the faculties of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Electrical Engineering and Media Technology are participating in the event.

Digitalisation in companies in the construction industry brings a whole range of advantages to businesses. In the construction industry, the planning method Building Information Modelling (BIM) in particular has extraordinarily great potential. While architects used to work on the classic drawing board, most of them now use modern CAD systems to create their designs on the computer. Plans of this kind can not only be submitted to authorities and experts more easily, but also enable applications in the field of virtual reality. The construction industry can make use of these advantages, for example, when it comes to showing clients the finished objects in advance and thus planning together and also preventing misunderstanding. With the help of virtual reality and computer-generated 3D images, builders can walk through their own house as if they were standing directly in the room, even before construction begins. The virtual DigiCamp will demonstrate the possibilities that virtual reality can bring to construction. A live demonstration of current 3D projects at DIT in the “Laboratory for New Forms of Reality”, led by Prof Dr Stephan Windischmann, is planned, as well as several short lectures by renowned experts from business and science, and a virtual panel discussion to exchange opinions. The technical possibilities on the construction side and on the media side will be discussed in detail.

The complete programme with an introduction of the participants and the registration form for the event can be found on the DIT homepage at https://www.th-deg.de/en/business/digitalisation-in-dialogue. Participation is free of charge, access data will be sent via e-mail after registration.

Together with four other partner institutions the Deggendorf Institute of Technology’s (DIT) international faculty European Campus Rottal-Inn (ECRI) founded the Consortium of Educational Institutions in Digital Health (CONEDIG). The consortium is an initative under the umbrella of the International Society for Telemedicine and eHealth (ISfTeH) and will serve as a global platform for advancing digital health as well as telemedicine education.

CONEDIG sets out to develop ‘a la carte’ training courses in digital health as well as creating an evalutation and accreditation framework for study programmes in digital health. It will also create generic modular study courses on various topics in digital health. This includes developing guidelines and recommendations of good international practices in digital health. Furthermore, the consortium recognizes the necessity to approach the health needs of each country and will participate and collaborate in international research. The goal is to make CONEDIG a global meeting place of academics in the digital health field with experts sharing knowledge, expertise, content and personnel for education and research.

Apart from ECRI there are four other founding members from all over the globe: Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), Université de Bordeaux (France), Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia (Russian Federation), and University of KwaZulu Natal (South Africa).

CONEDIG was first introduced during a session at the International Scientific Symposium DigiHealthDay-2020 hosted by ECRI in November 2020, where Professor Georgi Chaltikyan invited the founding partners to the first joint session of the newly established consortium.

Daniel Fuchs is the founder of the start-up threesixty-drones. His business idea is based on a specially designed drone for 360-degree video recording. Less than a year after presenting his innovation at the Deggendorf Institute of Technology (DIT), the 21-year-old is an independent entrepreneur and offers the creation of promotional videos using drones as a service. The "Kickstart Incubator" funding programme, which is still fairly new at the university, helped him along the way.

Innovative technology-oriented start-up projects or services with high customer value can apply for the Kickstart Incubator programme. For Daniel Fuchs, this was one of the most decisive factors, as it enabled him to finance the construction of the first prototype of the drone and part of his equipment. Particularly important for him was a free patent consultation, which he was able to take advantage of through the Kickstart Incubator programme. That's because the drone can capture 360-degree video footage without being visible in the video itself. Such footage was previously impossible with other 360-degree drones due to their size and inertia, making the project unique. Flying the drone creates realistic virtual tours of buildings. It can also easily fly over sensitive locations near people. Thus, for example, it is possible to fly past athletes at indoor sporting events up close and with maximum maneuverability as well as speed, or to fly between the dancers' feet at dance events.

During the 6-month funding phase, Daniel Fuchs was able to continuously draw on selected experts from DIT and the Start-Up Campus Team and exchange ideas with other founding teams. He also survived a drone crash or two. And even found a company partner. Together, they are now working on their first orders. You can contact Daniel Fuchs via his Instagram channel or via e-mail: mail@threesixty-drones.com

About the incubator programme

The Kickstart Incubator is a newly created programme for all founders of tomorrow. Innovative technology-oriented start-up projects or services with high customer value can apply for the programme. After successfully presenting the idea, the first step is to develop the business model and build the founding team. Selected experts from DIT and the Start-Up Campus team act as coaches and mentors for the young founders. Free access to the premises of the StartupLab creates a creative working environment and enables the exchange with other founding teams. With up to € 7,500 in funding per team, nothing stands in the way of building the first prototype. After completion of the incubator programme, the teams are ideally equipped for the upcoming start-up and ready for subsequent funding such as the EXIST founder scholarship. More information about founding can be found here: https://www.th-deg.de/startupcampus-en

New at the Faculty of Applied Economics at the Deggendorf Institute of Technology (DIT) since March 1 is Prof Dr Christian Mandl. The newly appointed professor wants to realign the study focus on Procurement & Logistics and place a stronger focus on the topics of digitalisation, data analytics or data analysis, and Artificial Intelligence (AI). Mandl has also set himself the goal of researching the potential of AI and data analytics in the operational areas of purchasing, production planning and logistics. In this direction, cooperations with medium-sized companies in the region are to be established and expanded.

“The future-oriented orientation of DIT with the upcoming Centre for Digitalisation Technologies fits perfectly with my research focus of data-driven analysis and optimisation of operational processes,” explains the Osterhofen native. This was a key reason for him to move from the management consultancy McKinsey to the university. Mandl’s research moves at the interfaces of business administration, mathematics and computer science. “I am particularly concerned with the development of mathematical models and AI for the effective control of operational procurement, logistics and warehousing processes under risk aspects,” says the professor. He said these models are particularly relevant for companies whose commodity prices or customer deman fluctuate widely. Mandl studied at the Technical University of Munich and earned his doctorate. During his doctorate, he took the opportunity to do a visiting academic residency at Cornell University, one of the eight Ivy League universities in the United States. Mandl later joined McKinsey as a management consultant. There he advised clients from the automotive, chemical and consumer goods industries worldwide on the digital transformation of procurement and logistics processes.

Prof Mandl wants to give students a practical understanding of the fundamentals and current developments. Industry 4.0, digitalisation, data analytics and big data are important keywords here. The new DIT professor attaches great importance to interdisciplinarity and wants to emphasise the connection between economics and other disciplines such as computer science or psychology. Mandl is also happy to provide advice and support to young founders at DIT’s Start-Up Campus. The economist brings personal experience to the table from his own logistics start-up prelytico.

The 33-year-old, who describes himself as level-headed and determined, likes to spend his free time doing sports and in nature. In addition, travelling is one of his passions.

The 8th Day of Research of the Deggendorf Institute of Technology (DIT) will take place on 11 March. Like last year, this time it will also be virtual. Start is at 1 pm. The event ends at 3.30 pm with awarding the three best posters and the best presentation.

Anyone interested in applied research at DIT can take a digital look over the fence for two and a half hours. Whether business, industry, society or even future students, everyone is invited to take part in the Day of Research. Uncomplicated from the office or from home. A total of eleven research topics will be presented. From the areas of sustainable management, innovative materials and energy, intelligent mobility, digital economy and society, as well as innovative working environments and healthy living. Each in three short minutes. After all, the aim of the Day of Research is not so much to delve into the depths of the respective scientific topic, but rather to create the basis for a reciprocal and, if desired, interdisciplinary dialogue. The same applies to the poster exhibition. The posters are designed in such a way that one grasps what they are about at a glance. This makes it possible to enter into a very low-threshold discussion with the young researchers at DIT. The three best posters will be awarded prizes. As in previous years, the trophy for first place was designed by the design class at the Zwiesel Glass College and produced in the educational institution's own manufactory.

Registration for the Day of Research is possible until 10 March via the DIT website: www.th-deg.de/dor-2021. Participation is free of charge.