Federal Education Minister meets transfer-strong HNEE - First visit to university in Brandenburg

Federal Minister of Education and Research Bettina Stark-Watzinger visited Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development (HNEE) on Thursday, 31 March 2022. The Minister gained an impression of the research, doctoral and transfer activities and learnt about some of the research projects funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). Stark-Watzinger was accompanied by the former mayor of the city of Eberswalde and member of the Bundestag Friedhelm Boginski (FDP) and Martin Hoeck, chairman of the city council of Eberswalde, who initiated the meeting in advance.

In his welcoming address, Prof. Dr Matthias Barth, President of HNEE, emphasised HNEE's focus on application-oriented sustainability research and the associated major future task of sustainability transformation in society and practice. "I was very pleased to see the spirit of optimism that has also found its way into the planning of research funding during this legislative period and I am convinced that instruments such as the German Agency for Transfer and Innovation (Deutsche Agentur für Transfer und Innovation, DATI) will help us to transfer the many good ideas from us and other universities to society and industry more quickly. We would like to contribute to this," said the President.

The Vice President for Studies and Teaching, Prof. Dr Uta Steinhardt, and the Vice President for Research and Transfer, Prof. Dr Alexander Pfriem, then presented the university's portfolio and, during the two-hour meeting, the Minister was informed about the current status of HNEE's Biosphere Reserves Institute (BRI) application as a UNESCO partner institute and the doctoral programme based there, in which six doctoral students are currently working on topics relevant to biosphere reserves.

Dr Bettina König and Dr Christine Hobelsberger presented the interdisciplinary and cross-university research centre [Sustainability - Transformation - Transfer], which was founded in January 2020. The research centre deals with issues ranging from sustainability transfer to sustainability transformation at various levels. The aim is to strengthen HNEE's cooperation with stakeholders from society and practice in order to contribute to the sustainable transformation of society.

Prof. Dr Pfriem emphasised: "HNEE combines high profile and research strength with a wide variety of transfer activities. These include the three research professorships established at the university with a focus on transfer. We have managed to successfully institutionalise sustainability transfer at HNEE. These and other examples show the great potential of universities of applied sciences as drivers of innovation and sustainable development in the region and worldwide."

The professorships (transfer) at HNEE were established in explicit fields of applied research with the aim of making a decisive contribution to the implementation of Brandenburg's state transfer strategy and HNEE's transfer strategy, which provides for an expansion of activities and networking. The "transfer professorships" are currently held for a total term of 2.5 years by Prof. Dr Inga Schleip and Prof. Dr Jens Pape from the Faculty of Landscape Management and Nature Conservation and Prof. Dr Alexander Conrad from the Department of Sustainable Business.

Stark-Watzinger was impressed by HNEE: "HNEE has an exceptional portfolio. What makes HNEE so special is not only its application-orientated and future-oriented teaching and research, but also its pioneering role in the field of sustainability transformation. The projects and activities presented in conjunction with the great importance of social innovations in this transformation process have impressively confirmed this."

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