Frankfurt. The Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences (UAS) is one of the largest German universities for applied sciences with around 16,000 students. She recently became a cooperation partner of the Hessenmetall employers’ association in the areas of research and training. actively spoke to university president Professor Dr. Frank E. P. Dievernich about opportunities through education and the importance of interdisciplinary knowledge to master the challenges of the future.
Professor Dievernich, what is special about your university?
Education is society’s greatest asset, and that is exactly what we are passionate about here. We make young people fit for their entry into attractive professional fields and want to support them afterwards with suitable further training offers. Our KompetenzCampus is a kind of ‘charging station’ for knowledge, where you can always stop to acquire new skills. You need them too, not least because of the rapid developments in the area of digitization, for example. In all of this, we see ourselves not only as a place of knowledge transfer and research, but also as a place of integration. Our students come from over 100 nations. People from a wide variety of cultures live and learn here. We are very proud of that, because we show how integration works.
And you can even study here without a high school diploma?
Yes, as long as you have a good professional qualification. You can now do that at many universities, but we were the first to offer it and are now leaders. Why should a good mechatronics technician without a high school diploma be able to study mechanical engineering or an industrial clerk in business administration? You know the practice. This is a good basis for an application-oriented course.
Why is practical knowledge so important?
Knowledge through practice is our conviction and philosophy of life. Education benefits when it is anchored in practice, when the theory is supported by application-oriented examples. Only through this connection will it be possible to master the challenges of the future.
Do you have any examples of this?
A lot. We work together with companies on the future of living and also on the future of aging. With Continental, we implemented autonomous shuttle buses, tested, among other things, particularly quiet garbage trucks and a lot more. It is important to us that research and project work is also viewed across departments, so that ethics, sustainability or climate protection are not left out. When it comes to the use of robots in nursing, for example, we clearly need technical solutions, but we also have to think about ethical issues.
Your university is celebrating its 50th birthday this year. Is celebrated?
Of course, although at the moment mainly via virtual channels due to the corona. We plan events and campaigns on and off campus, live on site, hybrid and digital. We started as the Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences in 1971 and have since shown time and again how important it is to move ahead and offer opportunities. And that’s what we want to do in the future, because education is our greatest asset.
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To person
Professor Dr. Frank E. P. Dievernich
- Born 1970 in Frankfurt
- Training as an industrial clerk and trainee at BMW in Munich.
- Studied sociology in Munich
- Doctorate in Economics at the Private University of Witten / Herdecke
- Activities at Deutsche Bahn and Kienbaum management consultancy, among others
- President of Frankfurt UAS since 2014
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