June 2013

Spread your wings around the world

INTERNATIONAL ALUMNI NEWSLETTER

WOrld Wide alumni neWs annOuncements | service | JObs

On 28 June 2013, TU Dortmund University’s inter-national alumni team organized its fi rst alumni kick-off day at the IBZ. 40 students from 10 coun-tries and from different study programs partici-pated in the half-day event. The purpose of the kick-off day was to raise awareness of TU Dortmund University’s young international alumni network and its activities among the international students and future alumni. The event began with a welcome message by the Director of the International Offi ce, Dr. Barbara Schneider. After an introduction to the network’s features by team assistant Barba-ra Pinello, the participants went on a “trip around the alumni world”. This “trip” included six stations; each station represented a different continent and a different topic. Tasks connected with topics like “alumni communication and marketing”, “online ser-vices” and “regional networks” had to be completed at each station. Each station was then analyzed and fi ndings presented to the plenum by a group of students. After a coffee break, professional trai-ner Barbara Sametinger conducted a workshop on international business etiquette. The students had to refl ect on their own perceptions of cultural diffe-rences and work on topics such as dos and don’ts in foreign countries, diverging concepts of politeness and more. The event ended with a barbecue and a relaxed get-together for both students and the alumni team, giving everyone the chance to get to know each other better and to do some networking.

What are your memories of TU Dortmund University?

I loved to be at TU Dortmund University. I lived in a student dormitory at the back of the main library, only a 5 minute walk away from the class room. The S-Bahn was directly at my front yard. The students were nice, a student cafe was directly at my front door which had 1 Euro servings. I miss the H-Bahn. What else could I have asked for? Besides that, I also had a job at the faculty BCI to support me fi nancially during my studies. I am blessed to have been there and have only good memories. I would like to connect to other TU alumni.

What happened after you left TU Dortmund University?

I worked for the Automotive R&D Industry (FEV) in Germany for 7 years, and then I decided to go back to Indonesia to establish a start-up business in an industrial area in the fi eld of automation, automo-tive electronics and coating technology. I would love to help other alumni in Indonesia to establish their own business, too.

first internatiOnal alumni kick Off daY launched

alumni flag‘s trip arOund the WOrld - update

It started off with a great idea: A fl ag like the one you can see on the picture above was created to travel to our alumni and university partners around the world. With the help of 23 recipients in Canada, the US, Mexico, Brazil, Australia, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Nepal, Czech Republic, France and the UK, we were able to put together a great itinerary for the alumni fl ag. Each recipient was to take a picture with the fl ag, sign it and send it to the next station. We were planning to put together a gallery on Facebook and our website to document this journey. Unfortu-nately, our idea met reality: After arriving in Canada, the trip’s fi rst country, the fl ag was delivered to the wrong address, 6km away from the original address! Somebody even signed for it but never got in touch with us. The original recipient tried to get the parcel back and went to this address twice. Nobody would open the door and when fi nally somebody answered, it was said that such a parcel was never received! We have no idea what somebody would do with a fl ag of a foreign university’s alumni offi ce… We had to give up hope to retrieve the fl ag and are now trying to get the value of the fl ag back from the delivery service, whose name shall not be named here. We hope to start again with a new fl ag soon. We thank everybody for their support!

We are proud to announce that TU Dortmund Uni-versity is one of eight winning German universities in the competition “Research Alumni Strategies” launched by the Alexander-von-Humboldt Foundati-on. Research alumni are international scientists and scholars who have spent time working on research projects at universities in Germany before continuing their academic careers in other countries. They are ideal multipliers who can inform junior researchers in their specialist networks about the opportuni-ties and potential for a research stay in Dortmund and the Ruhr Area. The funding is designed to help implement the strategies and develop structures for activities targeting research alumni. TU Dortmund University’s strategy pursues measures like an en-hanced data base, online services for international researchers and their hosts, professional develop-ment events and conferences abroad as well as re-invitations for former TU researchers.

Welcome message // ruhr fellows and isp students discover dortmund

summer events spice up life on campus// logistics campus Opens its doors

uamr delegation meets federal president in brazil // communicator award goes to tu professor

first international alumni kick Off day launched // alumni profi le: san san lim

alumni flag‘s trip around the World // tu research alumni strategy successful

international alumni newsletter 07/2013international alumni newsletter 07/2013 5 6

imprint neWsletter published by tu dortmund university

international Offi ce, emil-figge-str. 61, 44221 dortmund

germany

edited by anna-Julia toll

+49(0)231-7556351, annajulia.toll@tu-dortmund.de

www.aaa.tu-dortmund.de

photos: Jürgen huhn, dana Jacob, initiativkreis ruhr

layout: it & medien centrum

July 2013 June 2013

alumni prOfile: san san lim, msc. autOmatiOn and rObOtics

infO

If you would also like to share your story with other TU alumni, please get in touch with us on our website www.aaa.tu-dortmund.de/alumni where you will fi nd a fast and easy form.

tu research alumni strategY successful

June 2013

June 2013

June 2013

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On and arOund campusWelcOme back! cOnferences, cOOperatiOns and cO.

Summer at TU Dortmund University is always the time of some great events on campus. This year’s summer event season kicked off with the campus run in May. Almost 1,500 running enthusiasts from all over the region competed in the 2.5, 5 and 10 k runs. During the traditional “Mathe tower run”, competitors had to climb 242 steps to reach the top of the building. In early June, the annual Festival of Cultures displayed the diversity on campus as stu-dents from all over the world participated in a bazaar with 16 booths. Visitors had a chance to learn about foreign countries, taste-test different cultural dishes and take part in activities. The fest was rounded off by several dance and music performances along with a barbecue. On 25 June, international students and graduates had the opportunity to meet regional companies at the 3rd International Career Fair at the IBZ. The event was organized by the International Office in cooperation with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IHK). 10 companies and enterprises from Dortmund and the Ruhr Area took part in the fair. The whole campus was out and about on 11 July as students, staff and guests celebrated TU Dort-mund University’s 3rd annual summer fest. Many departments, student associations and other groups prepared fun activities, food and drink stands and more. Our international students sold traditional food from their home countries on top of the Mensa-brücke. This was one of the most popular spots during the fest. On stage, several bands contributed to the cheerful atmosphere that filled the bustling campus.

Greetings from the international alumni team! We hope that you’re enjoying the summer season wherever you are in the world! Dortmund’s summer season started off with a nerve-racking soccer game which, the clad in black-and-yellow of course, put everyone in town in front of their TVs: Borussia Dortmund played Bayern München in the Champions League final at Wembley Stadium in London. Thousands of BVB fans crossed the English Channel to support their team in the British capital, showing amused and somewhat surprised Londoners a fan culture made in Dortmund. In the end, Bayern beat Borussia with a close 2:1. The disappointment was soon forgotten, the prevailing pride even lead to the creation of a new word: Siegerlage, a combination of Sieg (victory) and Niederlage (defeat). Besides soccer, many things are going on in town and on campus. This issue will give you a brief overview of what is happening at TU Dortmund University and beyond. Find out how ISP students and Ruhr Fellows spent two months in the Ruhr Area, how we now have a “logistics campus” next door wand about other exciting events. Last but not least, there will be some changes in our team since alumni coordinator Anna-Julia Toll will leave us at the end of July. Jane Kniffka will be taking over her position starting in August. We are happy to welcome her to the team. We hope you enjoy this summer issue. As always, you are very welcome to share your comments and stories with us.

Alles Gute!

Anna-Julia, Daniel and Barbara

A high-ranking delegation of the University Alli-ance Metropolis Ruhr (UAMR) attended the official opening ceremony of “Germany + Brazil 2013-2014”, held by Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff and German Federal President Joachim Gauck. TU Dortmund University was represented by Chancellor Albrecht Ehlers and ConRuhr Latin America Director Christoph Käppler. Through summer 2014, the rela-tions between the two countries will be strengthe-ned through a number of activities, festivals and initiatives in the areas of science, business, sports and culture. During the kick-off events in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, Gauck was impressed by Brazil’s dynamic development efforts and its investments in education and science. This appreciation recon-firms UAMR‘s decision to open a ConRuhr office in Brazil. This year, the UAMR universities welcomed the highest number of Brazilian “science without borders” scholarship holders in all of Germany. 120 students are currently finishing their year-long stay in Dortmund, Bochum, Duisburg and Essen. The next batch is about to arrive in September. DAAD’s President Margret Wintermantel emphasized that Germany needs even more active universities like those represented by the UAMR to further develop the strategic relationship with Brazil. The ConRuhr office in Rio de Janeiro and a second representative office in the German House of Science and Innova-tion opened in 2011. They serve as a first point of contact for international students and researchers interested in the UAMR institutions, support stu-dent and faculty exchange, develop and deepen research contacts and more.

The new logistics campus at TU Dortmund University is a cutting-edge project within the field of logi-stics. Built in cooperation with Fraunhofer Institute for Material Flow and Logistics, the new building is an interdisciplinary research center for logistics. It unites research and teaching under one roof. Completed within two years, Svenja Schulze, North Rhine-Westphalia’s minister for innovation, science and research officially inaugurated the building on 22 April 2013. During the ceremonial hand-over of the keys with TU Rector Gather and Fraunhofer Institute’s Director ten Hompel, she emphasized: “Dortmund as a logistics headquarters now has a new signature facility.” The logistics campus provides an important basis for the further development of Dortmund’s excellent interdisciplinary research in logistics. The new, six story building features office space for 50 staff, a lecture hall and a large lobby for events. Architectural and technical highlights such as overhead heat powered by geothermal energy and a “logistics promenade” with trees and seating are also part of the complex. Businesses and compa-nies such as Audi support TU Dortmund University’s fundamental research in logistics through endowed chairs. Up to eight new chairs will be established at the logistics campus. Rector Gather underlined the importance of the new institution: “This campus is not only an investment for TU Dortmund University’s profile area production and logistics but also a con-tribution to our city’s academic future. This field of research is of exceptional importance for Dortmund, as highlighted in the Masterplan for Science.”

June marked the start of our two popular short term programs: The International Summer Program (ISP) and the Ruhr Fellowships. 38 ISP students from Brazil, USA, Hong Kong, Mexico, Ukraine and Canada spend two months at TU Dortmund University. During their stay, they take language and culture courses, attend seminars and lectures in their field of study, go on excursions and enjoy fun events such as hiking trips and a city tour.

Within the framework of the 2013 Ruhr Fellowship Program, 14 students of engineering and natural sciences from the Ivy League universities of Harvard, Princeton and the University of Pennsylvania also experience the Ruhr Area. The Ruhr Fellows attend an academic-cultural program at the three univer-sities of the UAMR – the Ruhr-Universität Bochum, the University of Duisburg-Essen, and TU Dortmund University. Subsequently, the Ruhr Fellows intern with several companies from the region. The sum-mer, however, is not only supposed to be beneficial in terms of getting to know the Ruhr Area and to gain practical professional competence, but also to foster the intercultural exchange with German students. For this purpose, the Ruhr Fellows are matched with Ger-man students, so-called buddies, who assist them in their everyday lives and help with planning free-time activities. Further, the program targets at establi-shing a long-term research and business cooperation between the Ruhr Area and the participating Ameri-can Ivy League universities, emerging from contacts developing during the student exchange.

Experimental physicist Metin Tolan is the winner of this year‘s Communicator Award, awarded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) and the Donors‘ Association for the Promotion of Sciences and Humanities in Germany. The TU Dortmund University scientist was selected in recognition of his diverse and innovative approaches to communicating physics and research findings to the public and the media. The Commu-nicator Award is endowed with € 50,000 and is the most important prize for science communication awarded in Germany. Established in 2000, the award is bestowed on researchers who have communica-ted their own scientific findings and their research field to the public. The laureates are selected by a judging panel of science journalists and public relations and communications experts. The panel is chaired by a vice president of the DFG. Prof. Tolan impressed the judges with his original and varied approaches to science communication, such as “Shaken, Not Stirred – James Bond and Physics” and “The Titanic – The Physics of Sinking”. Prof. Tolan regularly teaches physics classes at a local school in Dortmund and makes appearances on radio and television as a guest and presenter. In more than 500 public talks, he explained common phenomena and puzzles from history, everyday life and movies from a physicist‘s perspective. In 2008, he won TU Dortmund University‘s research prize and in 2010, he was declared professor of the year for natural sciences and medicine by Unicum Beruf magazine. He is currently TU Dortmund University‘s prorector for academic affairs.

summer events spice up life On campus DEAR INTERNATIoNAL ALUMNI AND FRIENDS,

uamr delegatiOn meets federal president gauck in brazil

cOmmunicatOr aWard 2013 gOes tO prOf. dr. metin tOlan

lOgistics campus Opens its dOOrsruhr fellOWs and isp students discOver dOrtmund

international alumni newsletter 07/2013 2 3 4international alumni newsletter 07/2013 international alumni newsletter 07/2013

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