Funding applications are intended to further strengthen cooperation with two partner universities. Professional exchange and research approaches.
Cooperations thrive on real exchange and encounters. “Latin America is one of the HOST’s focus regions,” explains Caroline Neumann, Head of the International Office at Stralsund University – and was the destination of a delegation trip at the end of the year.
Seven colleagues from Stralsund University visited the partner universities Universidade Regional de Blumenau (FURB) and Universidade Federal do Pará (UFPA) in Belém in the Amazon region. “We are very pleased that the FURB and the UFPA are our partners,” says Caroline Neumann, listing the Spring School, SustainMV, international programs, laboratories and projects as connecting elements.
From the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering Sven Klimaschewski and Andreas Reinke, from the International Office alongside Caroline Neumann and Magdalene Weber and from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Prof. Dr. Johannes Gulden (Head of the Institute for Regenerative Energy Systems (IRES)), Prof. Dr. Michael Bierhoff (vice dean of the faculty) and Romy Sommer from IRES set off on the delegation trip. Stralsund University of Applied Sciences has had a long-standing partnership with the Universidade Regional de Blumenau (FURB), especially with regard to renewable energies, almost since the university was founded. Hans-Jürgen Bauch and worn by Prof. Dr. Jochen Lehmann and Prof. Dr. Thomas Luschtinetz from IRES. “In terms of content, the common approaches are the use of regenerative energies and their storage,” explains Prof. Dr. Johannes Gulden. On site, he and his colleague Prof. Dr. Michael Bierhoff therefore teaches courses, for example on the role of hydrogen and power electronics. “Our wish would also be an exchange of teachers and scientists for the future,” explains Prof. Dr. Gulden. “Brazil has completely different options than we do with biomass resources.” Research institutes there use pyrolysis to extract carbon and hydrogen. “Our methanol synthesis plant at IRES needs this carbon. One idea would be to set up such a system in Brazil. The know-how we have built up could be used there. We could, in turn, bring this green methanol to us in tankers across the Atlantic. That would be something that you could prepare in the research area, which could then be used really economically,” says Gulden. In order to strengthen the cooperation, joint funding applications were also worked on during the stay. “We want to take the cooperation to the next level,” explains Gulden.
A different situation presented itself during the two-week journey 9000 kilometers further. The cooperation with the Universidade Federal do Pará (UFPA) in Belém in the Amazon region is still in its infancy. An agreement on this has only existed since this year. “Strictly speaking, that was the kick-off meeting,” says Prof. Dr. Gulden, “I think it is very important that – especially at the beginning of a cooperation – you actually see and get to know each other and not just online”. Clear thematic interface in Belem: grid stability. When the sun sets near the equator at around 6 a.m., it gets dark very quickly and when the sun goes down, there is also an abrupt end to the generation of electricity from solar energy. “This causes problems when integrating into systems that are not so stable anyway,” explains Prof. Dr. Gulden. A starting point at which Prof. Dr. Bierhoff talked to the colleagues on site about storage approaches across the seasons and discussed research approaches to grid stability. One vision is also to set up hydrogen laboratories there because they are not yet very present there, says Prof. Dr. Gulden.
Represented by Andreas Reinke and Sven Klimaschewski, the Stralsund University of Applied Sciences has also created the basis for cooperation with Brazilian universities for the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering. “We presented the main topics of the faculty – the ArtIFARM project for the application of artificial intelligence in agriculture, the 5G-PortVG project for the application of the 5G network to optimize logistics, transport and organizational processes in commercial ports, the selective laser melting Plant (for melting metallic powder for the pore-free production of three-dimensional components) and the research on magnesium alloys of the Rector, Prof. Dr. Petra Maier. “We had many discussions on site, exchanged views on intersections and explored common approaches,” explains Sven Klimaschewski.
Cross-faculty student and teacher exchanges between the Universidade Regional de Blumenau (FURB) and the HOST as well as between the Universidade Federal do Pará (UFPA) and the university are planned.
