How well are degree programmes set up and how high is the quality of teaching? Insights can be gained from the demand for graduates on the labour market and an analysis of their employment. An expert committee of representatives from universities and the Ministry of Education and Research of the Republic of Moldova is currently working on this issue as part of the UPGRADE project funded by the European Union under the Erasmus+ programme. Delegates visited Deggendorf Institute of Technology (DIT) at the end of November to get to know its service centres and advisory services, which are designed to provide students and alumni with the best possible career prospects.

As an international university, DIT presented itself as a role model for established student offices, alumni work, further education options and support services for those interested in founding a company and for young entrepreneurs. During the five-day visit, the Centre for Studies and the International Office first introduced themselves. Following this, there was an exchange about the work of DIT alumni and the services of the Centre for Academic Further Education. The meeting then continued with the Service Centre for Studies and the Career Service for Cooperative Studies, STEM, and the project coordination for cooperation between faculties and administrative units. Sharing their experiences on internationalisation and integration was also a key topic. Prof. Dr. Marcus Herntrei, Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs, and Prof. Dr. Martina Heigl-Murauer, Vice President for Internationalisation and Integration, took part in a discussion on possible cooperation with the universities from Moldova. Finally, the group addressed the extensive range of support on offer in the areas of start-up and scaling up companies. To this end, the group visited the Startup Campus in Deggendorfer Veilchengasse and the Bavarian Innovation Transformation Centre in Oberschneiding. Here, Vice President for Third Mission Prof. Dr. Veronika Fetzer presented the DIT’s approach to promoting entrepreneurial thinking and action as well as the university's efforts to forge close links with society and business in the region.

UPGRADE pursues the assessment of employability in the national and international environment as well as the improvement of academic education and the provision of information, advice and guidance centres at universities in the Republic of Moldova. So far, the project group has visited several universities and higher education institutions in EU partner countries for surveys, international exchange and discussions on cooperation opportunities. The project aims to develop a concept for a national framework for measuring and improving employability in Moldova to improve the quality of academic education and to deepen international contacts with universities, higher education institutions and companies.

For more information on the UPGRADE project or on cooperation opportunities with Moldovan institutions, please contact Dr. Viachaslau Nikitsin.

The Deggendorf Institute of Technology (DIT) has been granted the right to award doctorates in the so-called NITRO research area (»Nachhaltige Intelligente Technologien für eine Ressourcenoptimierte Produktion«/sustainable intelligent technologies for resource-optimised production). This was announced by the Bavarian Ministry of Science and the Arts on Tuesday, 16 July. This means that from now on, junior scientists can also do doctorates in this area at the DIT. The first Promotionszentrum ‘Digital Technologies and their Applications (DigiTech)’ was authorized back in October. In both Promotionszentren, the DIT is represented within a network with the Technical University of Applied Sciences Augsburg (THA) and Landshut University of Applied Sciences (HaWL).

Within both Promotionszentren, the DIT has the right to award doctorates. Graduates with a suitable Master's degree in the relevant subject areas are qualified. DIT‘s President Prof. Waldemar Berg reports: „A total of 19 professors ‒ including five from the DIT ‒ are part of NITRO due to their scientific expertise and research strength. They are now authorized to supervise doctorates independently“. Research activities at this Promotionszentrum focus on production systems and processes, product design and materials engineering as well as on technology and innovation. The key topics of sustainability and resource efficiency are an integral part of all focus areas. In particular, the DIT is contributing to the areas of nanotechnology, high-frequency and sensor technologies as well as bionics. „All of these key topics are important foundations for further developing intelligent and resource-efficient technologies and are therefore also indispensable for AI, for instance,“ says Berg.

Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Dorner, Vice President for Research at the DIT, adds: „The aim is for young scientists to conduct interdisciplinary research into new materials, manufacturing processes and methods for environmentally friendly, resource-preserving and economical production and thus to contribute to solving current social, economic and ecological problems“. While 24 doctoral students have already begun their projects within the first Promotionszentrum DigiTech, the first doctoral candidates are expected to be admitted to NITRO towards the end of 2024 or the beginning of 2025. „By establishing the two Promotionszentren, the three Bavarian Universities of Applied Sciences (UAS) are creating perfect conditions for their students‘ academic careers“, Dorner explains. The right to award doctorates at UAS is a logical step towards recognizing the scientific achievements of their researchers and leading excellent students to a doctorate, just like at universities.

As one of the Bavarian UAS which are strongest in research, the DIT can offer young doctoral students an attractive research environment at its many technology campuses. „Doctoral studies at the DIT have a long tradition,“ says DIT President Berg. „A considerable number of young scientists have already been prepared for a career in research and development in Deggendorf and at our technology campuses in the region through cooperative doctorates with universities“. Today, they work in leading positions in research & development departments and in the management of companies or as professors. Berg also adds: „By collaborating with companies, our doctoral students also gain an insight into the importance of research and innovation in an entrepreneurial context and how science, theory and practical relevance interact.“

Today, scientists at the DIT conduct research at 17 technology campuses at twelve locations within the region and beyond. „NITRO will in particular strengthen research at the sites in Deggendorf, Plattling, Hutthurm, Cham, Parsberg, Weißenburg, Freyung, Teisnach and Pfarrkirchen,“ Professor Dorner concludes. This is because research groups and institutes in the fields of materials research, production technology and sustainability research are based there.

Additional information: Doctorate

At the beginning of June, the international founding team "future-link" from the Startup Campus of the Deggendorf Institute of Technology (DIT) received an EXIST startup grant of €131,500 for their idea of a retrofit solution for easy machine data collection.

The young founders—Shivam Parmar (India), Ali Aljalali (Syria), and Johannes Bardon (Germany) got to know each other at DIT and have set themselves the goal of offering companies a manufacturer-independent plug-and-play retrofit solution for recording machine data. This should then be able to be used for fully automated process monitoring of machinery. Since older machines often lack the necessary interfaces for data extraction, future-link is developing a product using DIT's patented "Method and System for Machine Data Collection" (DE102019101132). This product enables uncomplicated machine data collection (MDE) without external sensors or existing interfaces. Additionally, the startup offers operational data collection (BDE), which, when combined with MDE, provides a comprehensive overview of the production process. To ensure information security, the data traffic of the system, which runs on Raspberry Pi and Windows, can operate within a completely independent network, separate from the manufacturing operation.

Having moved into the Startup Lab in Veilchengasse, Deggendorf, the three founders now have twelve months to turn their prototype into a market-ready product. Concurrently, they are also working on expanding their business model.