alumni
Stories and memories

Hochschule Niederrhein. Your way.
Portrait Scott Anderson

Scott Anderson | HSNR 2014 - 2018

The accident of the week

For a graduate in chemical engineering, saying that the "accident of the week" was a fond memory does not bode well at first.

However, this then hides case studies about current or historically relevant accidents in chemical plants, such as the Bhopal disaster, which were explained in the safety engineering lecture by Prof. Dr. Ing. Heyko Schultz for a practical orientation of the topic. Scott Anderson, who completed a cooperative bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from 2014 to 2018, has fond memories of his time at The Hochschule Niederrhein, which prepared him well for his future career. Questions and topics that he already knew from lectures by Prof. Naderwitz, for example, were encountered again in his subsequent master's studies at the Clausthal University of Technology. He also remembers well the Christmas party in Technical Chemistry and other instructive lectures. However, the meetings with Prof. Becker at six o'clock in the morning were rather exhausting. Above all, the professors have a formative influence and in the course of the following years this will certainly become even more apparent.

Looking back, Scott Anderson doesn't see himself as a typical student when it comes to the usual stereotypes. "We weren't lazy back then, nor did we party more than we studied. I remember the majority of my fellow students as being very hardworking, ambitious and intelligent" he sums up, who is now working on his doctorate in the field of heterogeneous catalysis as an academic staff member at the Clausthal University of Technology.

Scott Anderson sees his cross-striathlon sport as a good balance to the mental strain of studies and/or work. In 2021, after winning several European Championship titles, he became world champion in his discipline in Extremadura, Spain. This naturally raises the question of how he has always been able to balance sport and studies/work. "I have tried to separate this as far as possible from the studies. Only once did I have to make an arrangement with Prof. Naderwitz to go to the European Championships. Otherwise, it worked out very well" answers Scott Anderson. The question remains whether he would study the same thing again if he had the choice. And it would indeed be something in the engineering field again, such as chemical engineering, process engineering or mechanical engineering. But - who would be surprised, given his athletic successes - sports science would also be a choice. All subjects he is interested in and enthusiastic about, which is always a good foundation course for studies.