The oldest mining university in the world, the Technical University Bergakademie Freiberg, was founded in 1765 on the basis of centuries of active silver mining, which had already led to a concentration of expertise and research spirit in our mining and university town. Today, around 850 years after the mining town of Freiberg was founded and over 250 years after the founding of the Bergakademie, this traditional institution is one of the world's most recognised teaching and research institutions in the field of geosciences, mining and engineering.

The Institute of Mining Engineering and Specialised Civil Engineering is integrated into this environment. The Chair for Underground Mining Methods focuses on the topics of extraction, production, backfilling and sealing structures, Mining 4.0, standardisation, mine planning and mine rescue. The professorship's offices are located on the highly visible and traditional Freiberg landmark, the "Reiche Zeche" mine. This shaft is also the entrance to the TU Bergakademie Freiberg's research and training mine, which celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2019. Today, it offers unique opportunities to conduct modern research for the global mining industry and thus contribute to the sustainable optimisation of this industrial sector.