The Hochschule Niederrhein (HSNR) is participating in the project with the Institute of Pattern Recognition (iPattern) and the competence centres EthNa Competence Centre CSR (Ethics and Sustainability), ISA (Intelligent System Solutions Automation) and FAST (Intelligent Assistance Systems and Technologies). The project will run until 31 December 2028 and is being funded by the state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the European Union with around 1.7 million euros. HSNR will receive around 745,500 euros of this.

In addition to HSNR, IMST GmbH from Kamp-Lintfort, which is coordinating the project, and Telefonbau Arthur Schwabe GmbH & Co KG from Mönchengladbach are also involved in the project. The Mönchengladbach Police Headquarters, the Düsseldorf Police Headquarters, the Federal Police and the Bavarian State Office of Criminal Investigation are also involved as associated partners.

The aim of KIRaPol.Next is to develop a mobile police observation system that intelligently combines radar and video sensor technology. A particular focus is on the further development of the existing sensor technology: the radar technology is designed in such a way that persons are not identified via the radar signal. The artificial intelligence (AI) used analyses abstract movement patterns and should be able to differentiate between dangerous situations (punches, kicks, falling people) and harmless interactions such as hugs.

If the radar technology generates an alarm message, the situation is examined by the police using the video image. Only after the human assessment is a decision made as to whether further police action, such as the deployment of emergency services, is required. No radar or video analysis takes place outside of the core observation times. To ensure that the AI-supported radar technology works reliably, the required radar signals are recorded in collaboration with the partners under laboratory and realistic conditions and used to train the pattern recognition.

"As an institute for pattern recognition, our strength lies in the intelligent analysis of complex data. By using modern AI methods, we can precisely classify movement patterns and distinguish between harmless and potentially dangerous situations," says Professor Dr.-Ing. habil Regina Pohle-Fröhlich, Head of the iPattern Institute and Professor of Computer Science and Graphic Data Processing in the Faculty of Engineering and Computer Science at HSNR.

Georg Lehnen, police project manager: "Compared to radar-supported video surveillance using stationary systems, the mobile version not only allows the police to be more flexible in terms of location and time, but also enables video surveillance to be implemented in a resource-saving manner in the phases that are always busy."

At the community centre "Das Westend", they discussed how existing offers can be better interlinked and new target groups can be reached. The focus was on closer cooperation between schools, universities, companies, local authorities and extracurricular learning centres.

The conference was opened by Julia Schienke ("Das Westend") and Michael Heber, Vice President for Studies and Teaching Education at The Hochschule Niederrhein.

Networking as the key

The participants analysed existing programmes and developed new approaches for STEM promotion in workshops, specialist presentations and discussion rounds. One of the key findings was that there are already numerous programmes in the region, but they have often not been sufficiently interlinked to date.

In future, cooperation should be made more binding. Companies in particular could be more closely involved, for example through practical orientation projects, cooperation with schools or additional learning opportunities outside of the classroom.

Focus on educational equality

Another specialisation was on children and young people who have so far found it difficult to benefit from educational opportunities, for example due to social disadvantage or a migrant background. The aim is to improve access to STEM subjects and create greater educational equality.

Region well positioned - but with challenges

In a panel discussion, Prof. Dr Michael Heber (The Hochschule Niederrhein), Mönchengladbach's Mayor Felix Heinrichs, Markus Lewitzki (Smart City project), Prof. Dr Axel Plünnecke (Institut der Deutschen Wirtschaft) and Elmar Schmitz (Ministry of Culture and Science NRW) exchanged views on the future of STEM education. They all agreed that the region already has a strong network. It is now crucial to secure these structures in the long term, especially after the public funding programme ends.

"STEM education is a crucial key to the future viability of our region. It is our joint task to open up prospects in science, technology and the skilled trades sector to young people at an early age. From heating installers to technology professors, we need people everywhere who can develop and implement technical solutions to our challenges," says Professor Dr Michael Heber, Vice President for Studies and Teaching Education at HSNR.

Initiatives showcase their work

At the "Market of Opportunities", 13 initiatives presented their projects, including the zdi centres from Mönchengladbach, the Rhine district of Neuss, Krefeld and Viersen, the JuniorUni Mönchengladbach, NEW AG and the Centre for Digital Learning Worlds Krefeld. The HSNR was also represented with its service-learning programmes such as the Food and Nutrition Labs of the Faculty of Food and Nutrition Sciences. They provided insights into existing programmes and invited visitors to exchange ideas.

"Our aim is to bring the regional players together. The players need to know each other and be able to refer to each other. This is the only way we can really utilise the existing potential," explains Dr Monika Eigenstetter, head of the MINT in Mind joint project and professor at HSNR.

New MINT prize for inclusive education projects

As part of the conference, the David Andreas Bergens Prize was awarded in memory of the dedicated entrepreneur. In future, the prize will recognise extracurricular STEM projects that are particularly aimed at children and young people from educationally disadvantaged backgrounds.

The prize money amounts to 500 euros. Schools, youth centres and voluntary initiatives can apply. Innovative, cliché-free and long-term effective projects are welcome. The deadline for applications is 30 September. Enquiries can be sent to mint-in-mind(at)hsnr.de.

As an entrepreneur and networker, David-Andreas Bergens is particularly committed to supporting young people and founded the WorXademy in 2023 in cooperation with the zdi in the district of Viersen - a school laboratory with innovative learning spaces for STEM education.

About "MINT in Mind"

The "MINT in Mind" cluster was sponsored by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research from 2020 to 2025. To ensure that the network remains active, the event was organised by The Hochschule Niederrhein in the context of the Third Mission, the Centre for Digital Learning Worlds of the City of Krefeld, the City of Mönchengladbach with its WFMG, the Regional Agency Mittlerer Niederrhein and the zdi centres Mönchengladbach and KReMINTec in Krefeld.

"The 'Ich lach' mich Job' format was trialled with students for the first time. We are delighted that it was so well received. The positive re-registration from the companies about the quality of the discussions and the great potential of our students confirms that such formats can provide important impulses for professional orientation, practical contacts and entry into the regional labour market," says Désirée Krüger, Head of Career Service at the HSNR.

The joint organisation of MG Connect, Wirtschaftsförderung Mönchengladbach (WFMG), the HSNR Career Service, the Faculties in Mönchengladbach and KREFELD BUSINESS has resulted in an event that combines the needs of students and regional companies.

For companies, 'Ich Lach' mich Job' shows how valuable early contact with students can be. Through dialogue, career opportunities can be presented in concrete terms, questions can be clarified directly and initial contact can be made with potential junior staff. The immediate impact of the format was already evident on site: participants reported that jobs were already being offered during the event.

Anyone who would like to continue to draw attention to offers such as theses, internships, working student and graduate positions after the career fair can publish them in the job exchange managed by the Career Service at www.hs-niederrhein.de/stellenboerse/.

The conference at the university's Mönchengladbach location was opened by welcoming addresses from Karl-Josef Laumann, Minister of Labour, Health and Social Affairs of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, the Mayor of Mönchengladbach Felix Heinrichs, the President of The Hochschule Niederrhein Prof. Dr Susanne Meyer and the Dean of the Faculty of Applied Social Sciences Prof. Dr Anne-Friederike Hübener. The contributions emphasised the importance of social work for social cohesion, regional responsibility and the role of the university as a place of academic and social exchange.

One of the four keynote speeches was given by Prof. Dr Beate Küpper, professor of social work in group and conflict situations at The Hochschule Niederrhein and deputy director of the SO.CON institute. Under the title "The tense centre - between hostility towards democracy and commitment to democracy", she examined current social tensions and their significance for social work.

The Hochschule Niederrhein was also strongly represented with numerous academic contributions: Prof. Dr Beate Küpper and Alina Jugenheimer, for example, addressed anti-Semitism in the context of schools and challenges for social work. Tina Leber focused on resistant young people in the context of right-wing extremism, while Christine Manthei, together with Prof. Dr Ann Marie Krewer, Saskia Griffig and Julia Schatzschneider, presented findings on democracy work in municipalities in North Rhine-Westphalia. Further contributions by Prof. Dr Sven Steinacker on the historical classification of social work under National Socialism and by Prof. Dr Michael Noack and Melanie Oeben on participation and trust rounded off the academic programme.

The conference was accompanied by a preliminary conference for doctoral candidates with a view to the right to award doctorates in the field of social work. Two doctoral prizes from the Barbara Budrich Foundation were also awarded during the conference. An evening event with around 350 participants also provided space for informal dialogue and networking. During the course of the conference, committee decisions were also made, including the discharge of the Executive Board and the farewell to the long-standing office manager.

The successful organisation of the conference was the result of a successful application by the Faculty of Applied Social Sciences as part of a DGSA call. On the university side, a team led by Professor Anne-Friederike Hübener and Mirco Wessolly, together with Dr Hannah Wachter, Jil Klother, Barbara Lenders and Serena Berghaus, were responsible for the on-site organisation. The realisation was supported by student assistants, media technology, IT and Jonathan Hörst.

"The Hochschule Niederrhein is very positive about the event overall, which strengthened academic discourse as well as the exchange between practice, politics and academia in the field of social work," says Dean of Faculty Professor Dr Anne-Friederike Hübener.

The award ceremony took place on 29 April 2026 at the Palmengarten in Frankfurt am Main. The distinction was presented as part of the 67th TextilWirtschaft forum in front of around 500 industry representatives. The Wilhelm Lorch Prize is one of the most highly endowed distinctions in the German textile sector and is supported by companies and personalities from trade, industry and services.

Wachs' project centres on the combination of skilled textile knowledge and digital technologies. Students will design textile products in virtual and augmented environments to develop sustainable design solutions. "To date, VR glasses have primarily been used in the industry as a communication and evaluation tool. The funding enables us to use XR technologies specifically in teaching education and to open up new forms of experimental and sustainable design to students," explains Wachs.

There is a particular focus on practical learning methods: VR glasses, mixed reality tools and AI-supported applications are used in smaller groups to promote experience-based design. The project also offers the opportunity to work closely with industry partners and integrate realistic case studies into everyday teaching.

Marina-Elena Wachs is also active as an industrial designer and develops sustainable material solutions for a wide range of applications. "Without the close interdisciplinary collaboration with colleagues, students and industry partners, these innovations would not be possible," she emphasises. She is particularly grateful for the support she has received for her new project "Cross Design Engineering in VR and AR", which is being implemented together with Professor Dr Sue Rossano-Rivero and Dr Lennart Hofeditz from the Faculty of Business Administration and Economics at HSNR. AR (augmented reality) and VR (virtual reality) are technologies that integrate digital content into the physical world or create completely virtual environments. While AR (augmented reality) adds digital elements to reality using a camera, VR (virtual reality) isolates the user in order to offer a fully simulated experience.

In addition to the technological perspective, Wachs, as a master craftsperson in tailoring, is also committed to preserving the traditional textile trade. Her aim is to promote the balance between skilled trades, sustainable design and modern digital tools. "The funding from the Wilhelm Lorch Foundation is a great opportunity to impart these future skills in a targeted manner and prepare students for the challenges of the creative industries," says Wachs.

The guest speaker is design master's graduate Chantal Rexhausen, who works successfully in the field of strategic development and new work in a large administration. She will show how designers are increasingly working as creative experts in change management. Change management encompasses the structured planning, management and support of change processes in organisations in order to anchor new strategies, structures or cultures in a sustainable way.

The combination of design and management opens up new professional perspectives and at the same time offers opportunities for innovative ways of thinking, more creativity and sustainable co-operation. Particularly in the context of major social challenges and increasing digitalisation, design approaches can help to rethink processes and develop human solutions.

Current developments, personal experiences and the potential of this unusual interface will be examined in an interview with Professor Dr Erik Schmid, Dean of the Faculty.

The project focuses on an interactive extended reality (XR) serious game that conveys environmental knowledge in a playful way and promotes sustainable behaviour. The game is played using Meta Quest glasses, which augment virtual objects such as rubbish, animals or plants into the real environment. A 6th grade class from the Realschule an der Niers recently completed a first practical test in the Rheydt city forest. Together with the character "Max the Bee", the pupils played various sequences in which they had to collect rubbish virtually and separate it correctly. They received points and virtual rewards for successfully completing the tasks. Parallel to the digital learning experience, some of the class took part in a real rubbish collection campaign in the city forest. In this way, virtual learning was directly linked to practical environmental protection.

"We want to make environmental education motivating, low-threshold and sustainable. We focus on playful content in a non-playful context. The combination of a real environment and digital content creates an immersive learning experience that appeals to children and young people emotionally and motivates them to act in an environmentally conscious way," explains Dr Lennart Hofeditz, project manager and scientific director of the MXR Lab at HSNR.

"XR" stands for Extended Reality and describes technologies that merge real and virtual worlds. Together with student employees Kate Kaufmann, Alessandro Carrillo, Mohamed Ahabbal and Nicole Maier, Dr Hofeditz is continuously developing the application. The pupils' feedback from the practical test will be incorporated into the next development phase and a possible follow-up project.

Further functions are already planned for the future: These include AI-based plant recognition and a multiplayer mode to make the application even more interactive and collaborative.

The project is part of the smart city strategy of the city of Mönchengladbach and is supported by the Federal Ministry of the Interior and Homeland (BMI) as part of the Mönchengladbach Smart City programme. The GEMIT Institute at the Faculty of Business Administration and Economics at HSNR received funding totalling 65,433 euros for the project.

The project is also part of Dr Lennart Hofeditz's work as part of the Tandem Niederrhein programme, which supports young academics on their way to professorship and supports application-oriented research in cooperation with regional partners.

The project runs from 1 June 2025 to 31 May 2026 and is aimed at children and young people aged 12 to 18, schools, educational institutions and visitors to the Mönchengladbach city forest.

In the Shedhalle on the Krefeld West campus (Frankenring 20), visitors can gain insights into a wide range of fields of work and make contact with companies and creative professionals. Admission is free.

In its ninth edition, the fair will once again bring together practitioners, theorists and students. Companies from the fields of communication and product design - including Scholz & Friends, dreiform and BUTTER - will be on site. The fair offers the opportunity to find out about internships, training places, job profiles and career opportunities.

The programme is complemented by presentations on current topics such as starting a business in the creative industry, the influence of artificial intelligence on design and advertising and freelancing in creative professions.

"With 'designberufe rufen!', we are creating a platform that brings young talent and companies together and offers guidance for starting a career," says Professor Dr Erik Schmid, Dean of the Faculty of Design at Hochschule Niederrhein.

Further information on the fair can be found at: www.hs-niederrhein.de/design/studierende/designberufe-rufen/

The competition took place as part of the Engineering Days on 23 and 24 January 2026. In the tournament, the driving robots have to transport as many balls as possible from their own half of the field to the opponent's side or into the goal without crossing the centre line. First place went to team 14-c with Jamila Elhassani, Volodymyr Tyshchenko and Maximilian Schwab.

The aim of the project is to introduce students to key engineering working methods at the commencement of studies. These include, in particular, interdisciplinary thinking, problem-solving skills and scientific work. "In the application-oriented degree programmes in Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Mechatronics and Robotics as well as Computer Science and Digital Forensics, we place particular emphasis on practical orientation," says Dr Matteo Zella, Professor of Computer Engineering. The aim is to prepare students for professional life at an early stage.

The students were divided into teams of four and three from different degree programmes. "The practical and playful approach enables a quick sense of achievement, strengthens confidence in one's own abilities and promotes teamwork," says Dr Matteo Zella, Professor of Computer Engineering and part of the support team for the first semester project.

The prize-winning robots are currently on display in the showcases on the first floor of the A building at Reinarzstraße 49 in Krefeld.

The focus was on interactive and experimental programmes in which the young people could become active themselves. The technical offerings ranged from robotics and artificial intelligence (AI) in the AI lab, 3D visualisation and animation to product design, 3D printing and virtual reality. Creative and trade formats such as enamelling, textile design and upcycling also met with great interest.

Science, health-related and social faculties also opened their doors. The programme included insights into engine development, DNA and nutrition, the hygiene and cleaning technology laboratory, midwifery and Applied Social Sciences. In addition, the young people were able to familiarise themselves with the work in the university library, the HR department and the university management.

"It is important to us to open up perspectives for young people that go beyond traditional role models. Girls' and Boys' Day shows how diverse the paths to studies, research and careers are at our university," says Dr Sandra Laumen, Equal Opportunities Officer at The Hochschule Niederrhein.

The re-registration of the participants was also positive. "I chose plastics recycling because I'm interested in materials science. I would like to work in aerospace and I read that Matthias Maurer also studied something like that," reports one Girls' Day participant. Anton (14 years old) from Geilenkirchen adds: "I'm here today because I wanted to try something new." These statements reflect the aim of the day of action: to get young people interested in different careers and open up new perspectives.

By taking part in Girls' and Boys' Day, HSNR is sending out a clear signal in favour of equal opportunities, stereotype-free career guidance and the early promotion of young talent. The wide range of programmes on offer underlines the university's commitment to promoting young talent and bringing science and practical applications to life in the region.