Orange Days link the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and Girls on 25 November with International Human Rights Day on 10 December. The HSNR is once again taking part in this global campaign. All events are free of charge, are open to people of all genders and some will take place in a hybrid format. An overview of the programme and registration details can be found at: www.hsnr.de/orangedays

“Violence is not a private matter. It affects safety and participation, including at our university. Through the Orange Days, we provide information, build confidence in taking action and highlight support services. I invite anyone interested to come along, ask questions and join us in sending a message,” says Dr Sandra Laumen, Equal Opportunities Officer at the HSNR.

Five events on different forms of violence

The series kicks off on 15 November with a reading by Berlin-based lawyer Christina Clemm. Under the title “An Indignant Plea”, she will provide insights into her many years of work supporting victims of gender-based violence and shed light on the social structures that facilitate violence. The event will take place at 7.00 pm (doors open at 6.30 pm) at the L64 Education and Training Centre run by the Arbeiterwohlfahrt (AWO) in Mönchengladbach-Rheydt. It is organised in collaboration with the Orange Mönchengladbach initiative.

On 19 November, to mark International Men’s Day, the focus will be on masculinity, responsibility and equality. Patrick van Lier will read from his book *What We Men Really Lose*. The event will take place from 5 pm to 7 pm in the main auditorium V2 at the HSNR, Webschulstraße 41–43, Mönchengladbach. The event is organised in partnership with the City of Mönchengladbach’s Equality Office. Registration is open until 17 November via 02161 25 3611 or gleichstellungsstelle(at)moenchengladbach.de.

On the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and Girls, 25 November, the focus will be on digital violence. Under the title ‘From dick pics to deepfakes – recognising digital violence and taking action’, experts from HateAid and the Mönchengladbach Police will explain the different forms of digital violence and the options available to those affected. The event will take place from 5 pm to 7 pm (doors open at 4 pm) in the main auditorium V2 (Webschulstraße 41–43) at the HSNR in Mönchengladbach, as well as online via Zoom. Short films made by students on the topic of violence will complement the programme before and after the event. The event is organised in collaboration with the City of Mönchengladbach’s Equality Office and the Mönchengladbach Police.

How can abuse of power at universities be recognised and prevented? This question is the focus of the event ‘Power, Responsibility and Gender – Preventing Abuse of Power’ on 3 December. Martina Lörsch from the Legal Advice Centre on Abuse of Power at Universities will explain, from 5 pm to 7 pm, how abuse of power arises and what options are available to counteract it. Afterwards, experts will discuss specific approaches to prevention. The event will take place in room ZE34 (Richard-Wagner-Straße 101) on the HSNR’s Mönchengladbach campus. Digital participation via Zoom is also possible. The event is being held in cooperation with the HSNR’s Support Office for Anti-Discrimination and Diversity.

The Orange Days will conclude on 10 December with the event ‘When violence is experienced – securing evidence, anonymously and confidentially’. Specialist doctor Christine McTaggart will explain how injuries resulting from violence can be medically documented and evidence secured without those affected having to report the incident to the police immediately. Experts from hospitals and the police will then discuss the topic. The event will take place from 5 pm to 7 pm in the main auditorium V1 (Webschulstraße 41–43) at the HSNR. Doors open at 4.30 pm. The event is organised in partnership with the City of Mönchengladbach’s Equality Office and the Mönchengladbach Police.

A visible symbol on the campus too

In addition to the programme of events, The Hochschule Niederrhein is also drawing attention to the Orange Days in public spaces: during the campaign period, the university’s orange flag will be flown at all campus locations. Furthermore, the university logo at the Mönchengladbach campus will be illuminated in orange.

A cross-border research team is investigating this as part of the Interreg project LEAF. The funded project in the Germany–Netherlands border region has a total budget of almost 4 million euros. For intelligent plant monitoring, innovative sensor technologies are to be combined with energy-efficient, wireless communication and digital platforms. The aim is to create an end-to-end solution – from measuring plant indicators, through the transmission and processing of data, to the presentation of information for the farmer.

Unlike conventional monitoring tools, which often provide delayed or indirect measurements, the sensor to be developed in the research project will deliver direct insights into the plant’s health, stress levels or nutrient status – before any visible symptoms even appear. In the agricultural sector, this can help to optimise cultivation and make plant production more sustainable overall. In this way, LEAF provides an important impetus for smart farming amongst its industry partners.

HSNR is strengthening activities at the interface between digitalisation, sustainable agriculture and intelligently networked systems

HSNR is primarily contributing its expertise in the areas of the Internet of Things, wireless sensor networks, system integration and projects with a practical orientation to LEAF. Each consortium partner is contributing individual technological components, which are being integrated into an overall sensor system and tested under real-world conditions. “Through this German-Dutch project, the HSNR is strengthening its activities at the interface between digitalisation, sustainable agriculture and intelligent networked systems,” says Dr Matteo Zella. The professor of Technical Computer Science in the Faculty of Engineering and Computer Science is leading the LEAF project at the Hochschule Niederrhein, in which students are also involved in the laboratory.

Around 70 per cent of the total costs of almost 4 million euros are being funded, including by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the Ministry for Economic Affairs, Industry, Climate Protection and Energy (MWIKE) of North Rhine-Westphalia. As one of the project partners, the Hochschule Niederrhein (HSNR) is contributing around 215,000 euros of its own funds.

In addition to the HSNR, the consortium includes Maastricht University as project coordinator, as well as several partners from industry. This cross-border collaboration makes it possible to pool expertise across the entire technological value chain – spanning the fields of sensor development, communication technologies, cloud infrastructures and user interfaces, as well as know-how in horticulture and agricultural cultivation.

“Moving images and photography bring together artistic practice, technical developments and social issues. With this symposium, we aim to create a space where different experiences and viewpoints come together and new perspectives emerge,” says Gudrun Kemsa, professor of Moving Image and Photography at the Niederrhein University of Applied Sciences and moderator of the event.

The programme will explore, amongst other things, digital art, public space as an image space, and the collection and presentation of video art. Professor Etienne Heinrich and William Klein, lecturers in ‘Motion Design’ at the HSNR’s Faculty of Design, will open the event with the lecture ‘Time Is on Our Side: More Reasons Why Motion Matters’. Dr Marcel Schumacher, Director of the Kunsthaus NRW Kornelimünster, will then speak about digital art both in front of and behind the camera. Dr Linnea Semmerling, Director of the IMAI – Inter Media Art Institute Foundation, will present approaches to videos from the institute’s archive that are sensitive to issues of diversity and ableism. Georg Elben, Director of the Skulpturenmuseum Marl, will present new video works for the Kunstmuseum Marl.

In the afternoon, conceptual artist Prof. Mischa Kuball will explore the significance of images for the perception of public space. Friederike Fast, Deputy Director and Curator at the Kunstmuseum Bonn, will provide insights into the work of building a collection of time-based media. Dr Sylvia Martin, Deputy Director of the Kunstmuseen Krefeld, will demonstrate the role museums play as venues for engaging with video art.

Further information on the event is available at: https://www.hs-niederrhein.de/design/ueber-den-fachbereich/news/symposium-bewegte-bilder-und-fotografie/

Through laboratory, technical centre and campus tours, those interested can take a look behind the scenes of the nine faculties. Alongside exciting talks on cutting-edge topics and programme presentations, students will showcase their creative work and answer questions. At the Central Student Advice Service, visitors can find out about the various degree programmes and receive personalised advice.

A particular highlight: numerous workshops offer a first impression of the degree programmes with a practical emphasis and the chance to get hands-on.

For example, the Faculty of Design will demonstrate how etchings and linocuts are created, or how ceramic vessels are produced using 3D printing. Visitors can cast their own porcelain mugs, take home custom-designed key rings produced on the 3D printer, or bind their own notebooks.

The Faculty of Chemistry is offering advice on sun protection, skin types and hair care. In workshops, those interested can collect and analyse microplastic samples; there are also workshops on ‘Coffee roasting & catalyst measurement’, ‘Colour measurement of coatings’ and ‘Experiments with supermarket products’.

At the Faculty of Textile and Clothing Technology, attendees will learn about the wide range of textile possibilities in the lecture ‘From jeans to space – what textile research can do’, whilst the open workshop ‘Bits & Cotton: The Future of Clothing’ will explore digital product development and AI applications.

At the Cyber Management campus, plans include a digital escape room game and a gaming room featuring BSI briefcase games.

In addition, the AStA Café in the R Building on the Mönchengladbach campus will be open, and the HSNR racing team will be presenting its cars in the I Building on the Krefeld South Campus.

Further details of the programme, including times and locations, can be found at https://www.hs-niederrhein.de/tag-der-offenen-tuer/. Teachers are welcome to attend the open day with their school classes or courses. Further information and registration at schule(at)hs-niederrhein.de.

Her research centred on the question of which factors, incentives and interests shape the design of accounting in the public sector. In particular, she focused on the stakeholders involved and their influence on the development of accounting standards. Her findings show that public sector accounting follows similar mechanisms to those of corporate accounting. Both areas are significantly influenced by institutional structures, differing interests and control mechanisms.

Her doctoral thesis was supervised by Prof. Dr Marius Gros from the Hochschule Niederrhein, Prof. Dr Martin Stawinoga from the Ostwestfalen-Lippe University of Applied Sciences and Prof. Dr Lilia Pasch from the Cologne University of Applied Sciences. Prof. Dr Marius Gros and Prof. Dr Patrick Velte from Leuphana University Lüneburg acted as examiners.

A PhD as a path of professional and personal development

For Dr Julia-Isabelle Heise, the path to a PhD initially arose rather by chance. Whilst working at Goethe University at the time, she happened to mention in conversation the possibility of pursuing a PhD after completing her Master’s degree. Just a few days later, she came across a job advertisement posted by Prof. Dr Marius Gros at the HSNR. The academic fit ultimately tipped the scales in favour of her submitting an application.

She experienced her PhD, undertaken in cooperation with the PK NRW, as a participatory process. As a member of the departmental council and deputy PhD student representative for the Business and Markets department, she played an active role in the further development of the doctoral programme. “My PhD was an intense, challenging and, at the same time, very enriching journey. Above all, however, it was a time during which I surpassed myself both professionally and personally and repeatedly stepped outside my comfort zone,” says Dr Julia-Isabelle Heise.

She particularly values the semi-structured doctoral programme, which provides a reliable framework for continuing education whilst leaving scope for professional and personal growth. She also received support from The Hochschule Niederrhein throughout her doctoral studies.

Heise now works at the accountancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). She says she benefits from her PhD not only through the specialist knowledge she has acquired, but also through the personal and interdisciplinary skills she developed whilst undertaking her doctoral studies.

Pursuing a PhD at Universities of Applied Sciences

The NRW Doctoral College was founded in 2020 as an inter-university research institution of the Universities of Applied Sciences (HAW) in North Rhine-Westphalia. In November 2022, following an assessment by the German Science Council, it was granted independent doctoral degree-awarding powers. This enables the PK NRW to conduct doctoral programmes and award doctoral degrees itself. The Hochschule Niederrhein is one of the 19 partner universities of the programme.

The PK NRW offers structured doctoral programmes and training opportunities in the field of applied research. In addition to independent doctoral programmes, it continues to support collaborative doctoral programmes in which professors from universities of applied sciences and research universities jointly supervise doctoral candidates.

Further information on the NRW Doctoral College is available at: https://www.pknrw.de/

The Faculty of Design’s Artistic Printmaking Workshop was established over 20 years ago and has been gradually expanded – despite, or perhaps precisely because of, the ongoing digitalisation, which has led to this traditional craft increasingly being regarded as outdated. “We have taken a different path because we are convinced that analogue practice is indispensable when teaching creative working processes. With a wide variety of techniques, printmaking offers ideal scope for the development of individual visual concepts,” says Jochen Stücke, professor of Drawing, Illustration and Artistic Printmaking.

Over time, exemplary works from the courses have been publicly presented under the title ‘Krefelder Grafik-Edition’; since 2023, the students’ works have also been on display at the Krefelder Kunstverein.

The lecture will focus on the specific characteristics of service companies in this sector and how private equity works. Using current case studies, Scholich will demonstrate the strategies financial investors employ to increase the value of companies and the resulting developments for the sector.

Martin Scholich is Chairman of the Supervisory Board at PricewaterhouseCoopers GmbH (PwC) in Frankfurt am Main. Previously, he was a member of PwC’s Global Advisory Leadership Team.

The “Banking & Finance” forum is organised by Dr Bernhard Müller, Professor of General Business Administration with a specialisation in Finance at the Faculty of Business Administration and Economics at HSNR. The event is free of charge. External guests are requested to register by emailing forum_bankingandfinance(at)hs-niederrhein.de.

In collaboration with Slow Food Mönchengladbach and the Oecotrophology faculty student body, the HSNR is drawing attention to the issue of food waste in a creative way. Together, participants will prepare and use food that might otherwise end up in the bin. The initiative aims to demonstrate how supposedly surplus food can be put to good use, whilst at the same time fostering a greater appreciation for food.

“We want to show just how much fun sustainable eating can be, whilst also imparting knowledge,” says Annemarie Cormann, a graduate in oecotrophology from the Faculty of Food and Nutrition Sciences.

The series kicks off on Thursday 29 October with an event featuring an interactive workshop, a guided tour of the exhibition and an evening lecture. Attendance is free of charge. Please register for the evening lecture at: ns-doku(at)krefeld.de

The focus is on the exhibition “Some Were Neighbours – Perpetrators, Bystanders and Resistance” by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, which is being presented in a new format by the City of Krefeld’s Nazi Documentation Centre. Posters display photographs and personal stories from the period of the Shoah. They encourage visitors to reflect on the scope for action, social responsibility and the significance of historical experiences for the present day.

Guided tour of the exhibition

From 2.30 pm to 5.30 pm, those interested can explore the exhibition on a guided tour and engage with patterns of anti-Semitism in an interactive workshop. Villa Merländer is organising the guided tour. The workshop provides a space for personal reflection and discussion about perceptions, emotions and experiences. Participants are welcome to bring along historical or contemporary images and photographs in which they recognise anti-Semitic depictions or messages. These will be viewed and analysed together.

Lecture on attitudes that threaten democracy

From 6.00 pm to 7.30 pm, there will be a lecture entitled ‘Attitudes that threaten democracy in Germany and the role of anti-Semitism’ by Professor Dr Beate Küpper from the SO.CON Institute within the Faculty of Applied Social Sciences at the Hochschule Niederrhein. Küpper will provide an overview of pro-democracy and anti-democratic attitudes in Germany. She will explain how anti-Semitic attitudes pose a direct threat to Jewish people and undermine the democratic order. She will also highlight the social and political consequences, as well as potential avenues for action to strengthen democracy.

Further events in autumn and winter

The series of events will continue in November and December with further sessions. On Monday 16 November, the exhibition will be officially opened from 4.00 pm to 6.30 pm. On Thursday 17 December, another workshop featuring a guided tour of the exhibition will take place, also from 4.00 pm to 6.30 pm. An event focusing on the transfer of knowledge from the AKS project run by the Federal Ministry of Education, Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth (BMFSFJ) is also planned for February or March 2027. The exact date has not yet been confirmed.

“The first graduates of this Degree programme have carried out pioneering work for the North Rhine-Westphalia police force. Over the course of four years, they have combined their studies with police practice and acquired knowledge that we urgently need for modern, successful and constitutionally sound law enforcement. Digital evidence must be collected in a manner that preserves its evidential value, documented in a traceable way, professionally analysed and prepared so that it can be used in court – this requires police officers who are proficient in both the language of criminalistics and that of technology,” says Gerrit Weber, summarising the significance of this for the North Rhine-Westphalia Police.

“With 151 police officers currently enrolled on the Degree programme, it is clear that this approach has a bright future. We are continuing to expand our digital investigative expertise, thereby creating the conditions needed to combat crime effectively in an increasingly technological, data-intensive and globally interconnected digital world. The graduates also act as key ambassadors within their departments and in criminal investigations. We need digital investigative skills in every department of the Criminal Investigation Department,” Gerrit Weber continues, looking to the future.

“Digital forensics demonstrates how important it is to translate scientific findings into practical skills. During the studies, students combine knowledge from computer science, IT security and criminalistics and learn to systematically investigate complex digital issues. Our collaboration with Bonn-Rhein-Sieg University of Applied Sciences and the Ministry of the Interior enables us to address the specialist requirements of digital investigative work within academic apprenticeships. The first cohort to graduate demonstrates what can be achieved through this approach,” says Prof. Dr Susanne Meyer, President of the Hochschule Niederrhein.

“In our digitalised world, the frequency of cyberattacks has risen sharply. In close cooperation with the Hochschule Niederrhein, we offer the cybercrime investigators of tomorrow practically oriented studies at the Cyber Campus NRW to prepare them comprehensively for their challenging role,” says the President of the Bonn-Rhein-Sieg University of Applied Sciences, Prof. Dr Marion Halfmann. In doing so, the two universities are demonstrating their social responsibility. “We are delighted about the extension of the cooperation agreement with the North Rhine-Westphalian Ministry of the Interior. It is a clear commitment: to the future of digital forensics, to the future of the Cyber Campus NRW, and to a long-term, reliable partnership between academia and the security authorities,” said Halfmann. “I am firmly convinced that the police officers trained here will, with their IT expertise, make our digital world a little safer.”

Preparation for digital investigative work

The Bachelor's degree programme in Digital Forensics imparts applied knowledge and skills with a practical emphasis in computer science, IT security and criminalistics. The focus is on how digital traces can be secured, analysed and evaluated as evidence. Among other things, students learn how to solve crimes in which information technology is used or which are directed specifically against IT systems and networks.

The Digital Forensics degree programme is offered at the HSNR’s Cyber Management Campus in Mönchengladbach and is run as part of the Cyber Campus NRW (CCNRW) in cooperation with the University of Applied Sciences Bonn-Rhein-Sieg. Since 2021, the Cyber Campus NRW has received separate funding from the NRW Ministry of Science (MKW). The studies can be completed on a full-time or part-time basis and are aimed not only at first-year students but also at those already in employment. Among other things, they offer law enforcement officers the opportunity to gain further qualifications in digital investigative work whilst continuing to work.

Cooperation to continue until 2035

With increasing digitalisation and rapid developments in the field of artificial intelligence, the importance of specialists in this area is growing. Businesses, public authorities and critical infrastructure are increasingly affected by cyber-attacks. At the same time, investigative authorities must be able to solve digital crimes and reliably analyse digital evidence. The academic training of police officers to become cybercrime investigators is therefore a key component of the collaboration between the State of North Rhine-Westphalia and the universities. The Ministry of the Interior had already signed an initial cooperation agreement with the partner universities in 2023 regarding the academic training programmes.

With the extension now agreed, this successful collaboration will continue beyond the previous term. The agreement governs the design, implementation and evaluation of the academic training programmes.

The Cyber Campus NRW

Cyber Campus NRW is a joint project between the Hochschule Niederrhein and the Bonn-Rhein-Sieg University of Applied Sciences. Through this initiative, both universities combine their expertise in the field of cyber security and offer apprenticeships for specialists in a range of different areas of application. At the Hochschule Niederrhein in Mönchengladbach, the range of courses on offer includes the Bachelor's degree programme in Digital Forensics as well as the Bachelor's and Master's degree programmes in Cyber Security Management. The Bonn-Rhein-Sieg University of Applied Sciences offers the Cyber Security & Privacy degree programme at Bachelor’s and Master’s level at its Sankt Augustin campus.

Further information is available at: https://cybercampus-nrw.de/