Using examples with a strong practical orientation, the researchers will demonstrate how robots in industry can take on simple and repetitive tasks, thereby reducing the workload on employees. Humanoid systems are also becoming increasingly important in the healthcare and service sectors, for example in the transport of materials, in support roles within care settings, or as assistants at the reception.

Two humanoid robots will be on display at the event, giving visitors a first-hand impression of their capabilities and the possibilities for human-robot interaction. The event also offers an opportunity to discuss the opportunities and challenges presented by this technology. Topics to be covered include aspects such as quality of work, precision, acceptance, safety and cost-effectiveness.

Numerous tutors from various faculties at the HSNR accepted the invitation to the tutors’ reception. The guests were welcomed by the Vice-President for Studies and Teaching Education, Prof. Dr Michael Heber, and by Heike Kröpke, Head of the Tutoring Programme. In addition, participants were provided with the latest information about the tutoring programme.

A highlight of the event was the presentation of certificates to dedicated tutors and the awarding of this year’s Tutor Prize. The distinctions were awarded to Cedric Damen from the Department of Engineering and Computer Science in the subject-specific tutoring category, and Florian Dust from the Faculty of Chemistry in the first-year tutoring category.

“Tutors are a vital pillar of our teaching education. They support students as equals, make the transition to studies easier, contribute significantly to academic success and ensure that students feel welcome at the Hochschule Niederrhein. With the Tutor Award, we aim to highlight and recognise this special commitment,” says Heike Kröpke, a qualified educationalist and head of the tutor programme.

Following the official programme, participants took the opportunity to socialise and engage in informal conversation over cold drinks and finger food.

Residents from the surrounding neighbourhoods are particularly welcome. Through the campus garden, the university aims to consciously open itself up to the urban environment and strengthen the exchange between the university and the wider community. “We are a university that draws its projects from real life and designs them for society. That is why we look forward to engaging with our neighbours,” says Prof. Nicolas Beucker, Professor of Public & Social Design, who launched the Campus Garden in early 2025 together with students.

The campus garden stems from an initiative by ESSBARES KreFELD. With a wildflower meadow, a vegetable patch and herb garden, as well as a strip of deadwood, the garden offers plenty of space for biodiversity. In addition, the university has planted three fruit trees on the West Campus. Next to the garden, a boules court has been created, featuring benches designed by Prof. Beucker as part of a collaboration with a Swiss street furniture manufacturer.

The campus garden is now also being used in a variety of ways in teaching education. Lecturers from different disciplines are incorporating it into their projects, thereby strengthening interdisciplinary collaboration at the Hochschule Niederrhein. The collaboration between Social Design and Social Work also gave rise to the idea of using the garden specifically to promote diversity and democracy.

On Open Society Day, a day when people are invited to meet in person in public spaces, the students are organising a celebration of diversity in the campus garden. For this event, students from both faculties have developed a programme in collaboration with Prof. Beucker and Prof. Dr Heike Niemeyer from the Faculty of Applied Social Sciences.

Activities on offer include planting sessions in the herb beds, building a herb sandpit with the team from ESSBARES KreFELD, information on food rescue and food sharing, discovery trails through the garden, games for children, stories about democracy for young and old, and a “free shop” for clothes, toys and everyday items. The programme is complemented by a garden café serving homemade lemonade and guided boules sessions.

“We look forward to inspiring encounters with everyone from the university community,” says Prof. Dr Heike Niemeyer, emphasising the open nature of the event. The aim, she explains, is to forge even closer links between the university and the wider community on this day.

In addition to the activities at Frankenring 20, on the opposite side of the ring, in Lewerentzstraße, design students will be presenting objects they have designed for public spaces. These objects are specifically intended for temporary use and demonstrate how this unique space could be utilised. The Faculty of Design is also regularly involved in this “foyer” of the university on Lewerentzstraße.

The "Algacore" project, led by Leon Blanckart, research assistant at the Faculty of Textile and Clothing Technology in Mönchengladbach, is supported by the EXIST research transfer funding programme. With a funding volume of around 968,000 euros and a term of 18 months, the approval is one of the rare successes of universities of applied sciences in this programme and underlines the scientific quality and economic potential of the project.

From April, the five-strong team will be working on the development of a new type of fibre resource based on freshwater algae. "Our aim is to develop special green algae as an alternative source of textile raw materials and thus create a more sustainable basis for textile production," says project manager Leon Blanckart. The researchers are thus responding to a fundamental challenge currently facing the global textile industry. The demand for natural fibres is constantly increasing, while the production of traditional raw materials is reaching its ecological and capacity limits. The cultivation of cotton requires large amounts of water, arable land and pesticides, while synthetic fibres are made from non-renewable resources and can release microplastics.

The predecessor project "AlgaTex", which was funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research and spent four years investigating filamentous green algae as a potential fibre of the future, came to an end in February of this year. The starting point was Leon Blanckart's Bachelor's thesis, which developed into a comprehensive research project. Together with the affiliated institute for Plant Science and Microbiology (IPM) at the University of Hamburg and various industrial partners, the team worked on the optimisation of cultivation processes, fibre preparation and processing as well as initial approaches to textile product development. The knowledge gained in the project now forms an important foundation course for the new "Algacore" research project.

"With Algacore, we want to show that innovative materials can be developed from renewable raw materials that are both ecologically sound and industrially usable," says Leon Blanckart. "Our aim is to create a real alternative to existing fibre materials and make textile production more sustainable."

In the coming months, the team intends to further develop the research results and create the foundation course for founding a company. The project is being supervised by Professor Ellen Bendt and Professor Dr Groten from the Faculty of Textile and Clothing Technology as well as the HNX team for business start-ups.

The EXIST research transfer funding programme is an initiative of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy. It supports particularly ambitious technology-orientated spin-offs from universities and research facilities with the aim of bringing innovations into application more quickly.

On 25 June between 4 and 8 p.m., interested parties can attend presentations, ask questions and receive individual advice. The Long Evening will take place at Krefeld South Campus in the foyer of Building J, Obergath 79, 47805 Krefeld.

All faculties of the university will be represented with information stands. Visitors can speak directly to contact persons and find out more about programme content and types of degree programmes. In addition to traditional full-time studies, The Hochschule Niederrhein also offers dual, career-integrated, training-integrated and part-time degree programmes. This makes it possible to combine studies with apprenticeship, vocational training or family commitments.

Student Services can answer questions about applications and registration. The Federal Employment Agency and the Arbeiterkind.de initiative, which supports first-time graduates in particular, also provide advice.

The entire programme is available at:
www.hs-niederrhein.de/langer-abend

The food industry plays a key role in the structural change of the Rhenish mining district. As a stable economic sector, it combines agriculture, industry, trade and research and thus offers ideal conditions for innovation and sustainable value creation. With its strong food industry, efficient logistics and close links between business and science, Neuss has particular strengths to actively help shape this change.

The Hochschule Niederrhein and the Rhine district of Neuss are jointly developing the foodineum against this backdrop. The innovation and transfer hub aims to connect companies, start-ups and research facilities along the entire value chain, accelerate innovation processes and promote new solutions to the challenges facing the industry.

The conference organised by the Zukunftsagentur Rheinisches Revier will address these topics in various formats. After a welcome address by District Director Dirk Brügge, Professor Dr Georg Wittich, Dean of the Faculty of Food and Nutrition Sciences, will give a keynote speech highlighting current challenges and future opportunities in the food industry. The pitch session will offer insights into current research projects at the foodineum. Thomas Selders will present the HUMFOOD project, in which the use of humanoid robotics in food production is being researched together with companies. The aim is to develop innovative automation solutions for the requirements of a modern food industry.

Professor Dr Kathleen Diener, Vice President for Research and Transfer at the HSNR, will also be setting the tone with her presentation "Change through open innovation: tradition is not a business model". She will show how companies can strengthen their innovative capacity through new forms of collaboration. The foodineum itself will take centre stage at the degree. In the session "The foodineum as an opportunity for transfer?", the project will be presented as a platform for innovation, knowledge transfer and cooperation in the Rhenish mining area.

The conference offers the opportunity to exchange ideas, network and discuss new perspectives for the food industry in the Rhenish mining area. Interested parties can register until 18 June 2026. All information, the entire programme and registrationhere.

The funding secures students a mobility grant of 350 euros per month during their two-semester stay at the Université de Haute-Alsace (UHA) in Colmar. Erasmus funding can also be applied for. In addition, the Faculty of Business Administration and Economics will receive infrastructure funding, which can be used for meetings with the cooperation partner, trade fair visits and marketing measures, among other things.

"We are very pleased that the cooperation, which has existed for more than 25 years, is thus financially secured for the coming years and that students can continue to successfully leave the university with a German and a French Bachelor's degree," says Janina Biller, Head of the International Marketing programme at the Faculty of Business Administration and Economics at Hochschule Niederrhein.

The Franco-German study programme has been in existence since 1999 and enables a double degree at both universities. Up to 15 students from each university can take part in the programme each year. The studies begin together in Mönchengladbach and after the first two years, the students move to Colmar in Alsace for the fifth and sixth semesters. German and French students complete their entire studies together and graduate in France.

The languages of study are German in Mönchengladbach and French in Colmar. Interested students must therefore have a good knowledge of French at a minimum B2 level. In addition to acquiring international specialist skills, students benefit in particular from intensive intercultural experience and advanced language practice in neighbouring France.

The aim of GREATER is to network universities in Rwanda and Europe in order to promote innovative and decentralised energy solutions and at the same time develop new programmes in the field of smart and renewable energies. The aim is to prepare Rwandan students specifically for the requirements of a sustainable energy future. A so-called Living Lab, a real-life demonstration and learning centre, has been created in the immediate vicinity of the University of Technology and Arts of Byumba (UTAB). This is where technological innovations, academic apprenticeships and the local population come together.

Experts from the Faculties of Industrial Engineering, Engineering and Computer Science, Business Administration and Economics and Faculty of Food and Nutrition Sciences at the HSNR worked together across disciplines to further develop degree programmes, implement the Living Labs and train local teachers.

The UTAB in northern Rwanda plays a key role in the project. With its strong practical relevance in teaching education and its commitment to sustainable development, it enables students to work directly on real energy systems and develop innovative solutions together with local stakeholders.

The Living Lab itself is located at a nearby school, which previously had a limited power supply. The installation of a decentralised energy system consisting of solar modules, battery storage and safety lighting now ensures a reliable energy supply. This not only enables the use of digital learning tools such as laptops, but also improves the quality of education in the long term.

The Living Lab also serves as a practical orientation for learning: students and lecturers acquire comprehensive knowledge in the installation, operation and maintenance of photovoltaic systems. At the same time, the system is accessible to the local population and sponsors the understanding and acceptance of renewable energies in everyday life.

"The project shows how valuable international cooperation is: we learn from each other and jointly develop solutions that are both technologically and socially viable," says Dr Arne Graßmann, Professor of Energy Technology and Deputy Director of the SWK E² - Institute of Energy Technology and Energy Management.

The 30-year-old studied Textile Technologies at The Hochschule Niederrhein. Parallel to her studies, she gained practical experience at the Research Institute for Textile and Clothing (FTB) in Mönchengladbach. She completed her internship semester at the Institute of Textile Technology at RWTH Aachen University.

In her award-winning master's thesis, Freeman investigated the biochemical recycling of polyester textiles. To this end, she developed a thermal pre-treatment for amorphisation, after which polyester can be broken down into monomers using enzyme-based processes. A polymer can then be synthesised from these molecules. The work thus makes a contribution to more sustainable recycling processes in the textile industry.

Today, Freeman works as a textile engineer in the development department for military textiles at Hexonia GmbH.

The Wilhelm Lorch Foundation bears the surname of the founder of Deutscher Fachverlag and TextilWirtschaft, who died in 1966. Every year, projects and talented young people in the textile and fashion industry are honoured in the categories of creation, business, technology and continuing education in retail.

Representatives from science, politics, the funding landscape and practice discussed the future prospects of the humanities and social sciences. The public part of the kick-off event was opened by Federal Minister Dorothee Bär, who presented the new GSW framework programme with four pillars of research funding.

The Hochschule Niederrhein (HSNR) was also represented at the event: Professor Dr Beate Küpper from the Faculty of Applied Social Sciences joined Professor Dr Ulf Brunnbauer (Leibniz Institute for East and Southeast European Studies; IOS) and Professor Dr Ute Frevert (Max Weber Foundation) in a panel discussion on "Humanities and social sciences in the current world situation: threats and potentials of free research" to discuss the challenges and opportunities of free scientific research.

In addition, the HSNR presented itself with a stand of the project network Knowledge Network Right-Wing Extremism Research (Wi-REX), in which the university is involved. The externally-funded project, which is sponsored by the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space, aims to strengthen the network of right-wing extremism research and strengthen it in the long term.