FAU celebrates 281st anniversary
“FAU is a platform of freedom, community spirit and innovation – especially in challenging times,” said FAU President Prof. Dr. Joachim Hornegger in his speech on the occasion of the 281st anniversary of Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) on November 4, 2024, thus announcing the theme of the event. The president emphasized: “FAU stands for clear, courageous and honest research.”
“FAU stands for clear, courageous and honest research.”
“Freedom begins with freedom for ideas,” Hornegger explained and emphasized the significance of collaboration in research going beyond the boundaries of subjects and institutions – such as is the case at the new Max-Planck-Zentrum für Physik und Medizin (MPZPM). The large number of awards and grants received by FAU researchers during the past year are proof of the success of this FAU strategy, for example, the German Future Prize of the Federal President for Prof. Dr. Michael Uder and Siemens Healthineers, five ERC grants and three Humboldt professorships.
FAU submitted prestigious research proposals with conviction and foresight as part of the Excellence Initiative and created new clusters with which it is making its mark: TransFORming HUMAN RIGHTS specifically puts the focus on the topic of freedom and thus stands for the excellent and interdisciplinary research at FAU that tackles global issues such as autocratization, environmental crises and migration.
“As a center of innovation, FAU carries ideas from research out into industry and society,” said Professor Hornegger. This was the case during FAU’s world market leader Innovation Day, where representatives from industry, politics and research came together to discuss artificial intelligence and pioneering technologies. FAU has received an award from the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action for its visionary concept for a start-up factory.
“These are all strong indicators for FAU as an excellent location for research – this is where research comes to life, global challenges are tackled and solutions for the future are developed,” said Hornegger.
The president thanked representatives from politics, in particular the Bavarian State government, for reliable partnerships and continuing support, for example for the construction of the Max-Planck-Zentrum für Physik und Medizin, for the new Technical Chemistry building, the construction of four new lecture halls at FAU Campus Erlangen South, and for appointments, and underlined the significance of the High-Tech Agenda Bavaria that gives FAU the freedom to implement its strategic and ambitious plans, invest in new fields of research and further develop the University.
Congratulations from representatives from politics
Bavaria’s Minister of Science, Markus Blume, and the Bavarian Minister of the Interior, Joachim Herrmann, spoke on behalf of the Bavarian State Government.
“FAU is celebrating its achievements, and quite rightly so,” said the Minister of Science Markus Blume. “Nearly 40,000 students, a record-holder for the renowned Humboldt professorships, top of the league for patent applications and one of Germany’s best universities in leading rankings: Excellent results for our flagship university in Middle Franconia. The State Government is providing its full support. Our High-Tech Agenda Bavaria has brought 170 positions to FAU, 60 of which are professorships. And our extensive construction projects worth over 2 billion euros are providing the best surroundings for students and staff. May FAU’s success continue for many more years!”
Minister of the Interior, Joachim Herrmann, explained: “FAU is absolutely world class in science and research. The Bavarian State Government will continue to promote this strength in innovation. We have made significant investments in the construction and structural expansion of the University since 2019. Almost 2 billion euros have been made available or have been approved. This is a fantastic investment that will have an impact way beyond Franconia.
Alina Abel and Christian Peppel congratulated the University on behalf of the student community with a look back at the successes and challenges of the past year: “The abolition of compulsory registration for resit examinations and the introduction of an additional examination attempt have been a great success for us. An idea that originally came from the active student group became an issue for all the Students’ Representatives. Despite the loss of the constituted student body (“verfasste Studierendenschaft”) in 1973, which has significantly limited our rights, we have successfully campaigned for the rights of students and call on our representatives in politics to reinstate this official student body.”
2024 FAU Innovators
Once again, FAU used its anniversary celebrations as an opportunity to shine the spotlight on its particularly creative thinkers: the FAU innovators of 2024.
Two against the wolf
Sandra Jeleazcov and Prof. Dr. Benedikt Morschheuser have set themselves the goal of providing information about serious diseases in the form of a game. Together, knowledge manager Jeleazcov from the Department of Medicine 3 at Uniklinikum Erlangen and professor of gamification Morschheuser have developed the “Fighting Lupus” app.
In the app, users take on the role of a young female patient with systemic lupus erythematosus and learn more about treatments for the disease and its disease mechanisms in the body in the form of a game. The autoimmune disease was thought to be incurable – until the first patient succeeded in overcoming the disease after a treatment involving cells from her own body at Uniklinikum Erlangen in 2021. The app, which is mainly aimed at young patients and their relatives, has already won several awards, such as the German Digital Award and the Deutsche Preis für Onlinekommunikation 2024.
Internet of things
The curator of the University collections, Udo Andraschke, has committed himself to presenting old artifacts in such a way that they still have a lot to say to the world of research or to the public, for example in a graphic novel. In a complex digitalization project, he would like to make the one million objects in the University collections available online and document the history of each exhibit at the same time. The aim is to revert the collections that contain a total of one million objects back to what they used to be until well into the 20th century: places for academic research, exchange and knowledge transfer.
In 2017, FAU launched the project “Objekte im Netz” (Objects on the Net) together with the Germanische Nationalmuseum, focusing initially on six collections: the Collection of Prints and Drawings, the Medical Collection, the Geoscientific Collection, the History of School Education Collection, the Pre- and Early History Collection and the Musical Instrument and Media Study Collection.
Speed and precision
The High Voltage Motorsports student group, established in 2007, has successfully competed in international student competitions with racing cars they have designed and built themselves. The group provides students from a range of different disciplines with the opportunity to gain practical experience and subject knowledge in everything from design and manufacturing, where aerodynamics and chassis design play a role, to cost analyses and public relations.
The association was founded in 2007 under the name High Octanes Motorsports. The students switched to designing and building only electric vehicles in 2021. In total, approximately 50 to 60 students work together each season, with most staying in the association for two years on average.
Keynote speech on diagnostics without borders
The keynote speech was held by Prof. Dr. Michael Uder on the topic “A new MRI for the world”. In conjunction with Siemens Healthineers, Uder, who is director of the Institute of Radiology at Uniklinikum Erlangen and Chair of Diagnostic Radiology, developed a new magnetic resonance imaging system that can also be used in places where it is currently not possible, such as in developing countries for instance. In 2023, he received the German Future Prize of the Federal President for the innovation. Professor Uder presented his invention in his keynote speech.
Accolades for FAU members and supporters
Before the Dies academicus, the University honors high achievers, academic achievements and services in teaching at FAU every year. A list of all award winners is available on our website.
More information on the event: www.dies.fau.de
A recording of the event is available via FAU’s video portal, www.fau.tv, and will be broadcast on Tuesday, November 12 at 8.15 pm and Saturday, November 16 at 10 pm on Franken Fernsehen.
Further information
Communications and Press
Phone: +49 9131 85 70229
presse@fau.de