What was your most formative event at the university?

In 2000, I had just arrived at the university and was elected Vice-Rector. Then the TU Bergakademie Freiberg was ordered by the Saxon University Development Commission to cut 131 budget posts (around 15 per cent of the posts at the time)! The task was solved in a consensus-building process with the broad participation of the faculties and the administration. With the "equipment model", a consolidation of professorships and thus better, competitive equipment and equal treatment was implemented, which despite initial protests and concerns has had a positive effect to this day. The process has shown how we can overcome crises together and emerge stronger.

What three emojis would you use to describe your time at TUBAF

😊👍🚀

In 2024, you received the Federal Cross of Merit: how would you describe this moment?

Yes, an honour like that is really something special. First of all, I always think of the many people who have supported me in implementing ideas and concepts, because the honour is for the visible things that many people are involved in, whether in the family, club or university.

How many dissertations have you read?

As a university lecturer, I have read at least 90 dissertations, 60 as a supervisor and 30 as a reviewer. The authors so far come from 26 countries. On top of that, I've prepared/demarcated my own academic work twice or three times as many times. Working through a text takes up to two days - that can add up to one or two years...

Do you have a favourite place on campus?

The face and character of our campus have changed very positively over the last 25 years - our new lecture hall centre and library building are the highlight so far and a strong argument for acquiring knowledge here in Freiberg undisturbed, like in a fine living room. The only "eyesore" with no tangible prospects is "my" open-cast mining technology centre, the Helmut Härtig Building. Nevertheless, I love the charm of the 1950s here and our alumni feel at home in the "Affenfelsen" ... We make the best of it in terms of content and I like coming here, where I have spent most of my life. I hope I'll live to see the major construction project at the open-cast mining technology centre, which I've been involved in for the last 10 years.

Which lab have you spent the most time in? Here we demonstrate how digital technologies are developed and used for teaching and research. I would like to emphasise physical simulators on which we construct mining equipment - digital twins - and test them in a virtual environment with real properties, such as rock strength, in order to then develop them further. The students recently built a Mars rover here using 3D printing. 3D simulations and visualisations support the transfer of knowledge in the classroom and in digital textbooks. My first acquisition as a professor in 2000 was a 3D display for stereoscopic, spatial vision and the first major project was the visualisation of the formation of the Elbe Sandstone Mountains. We have been using AI (neural networks) regularly since 2010.

What would you recommend to your successor not?

My successor will go their own way. Recommendations can only be misunderstood. If there are specific questions, I am happy to share my experience.

What specialist literature do students need to have read in your subject?

The Chair of Opencast Mining represents a broad range of topics in geoengineering: from planning and organising the use of mining equipment and technologies, to safety, water management, environmental protection / recultivation, mining economics and foreign mining. There is relevant literature - books and journals - for every specialised field. We also recommend "old textbooks" with existing knowledge. As the Chair also offers three English-language Master's degree programmes with specialisations and the Bachelor's degree programmes "Space Resources - Space Technologies" and "Responsible Production and Consumption", the list of literature is very long. We also write our own specialist and textbooks - 27 so far. The MiReBooks series will initially publish textbooks supported by Mixed Reality for the above-mentioned subject areas in English until 2028. The first volume "Sustainability in Mining and Mine Planning" is available in the university library.

If you could decide again today: Which degree programme at TUBAF would you choose?

"Space Resources - Space Technologies" - it contains everything that can fulfil the dream of many students and interested people, including my own, to be involved in the conquest of space and even be an astronaut. This is a fantastic opportunity for our university to further raise its profile and be at the forefront when humans will soon be present on other celestial bodies, as we have all the necessary expertise to build and operate habitats and infrastructure with local resources.

Ukraine, Mozambique, Mongolia... You have travelled a lot: Which country has surprised you the most?

Every time I come back to a country, I'm surprised by all the positive developments that have taken place in the meantime. Even when I visit a country for the first time, I look for something special and quickly realise that it's the people - friendly, helpful, curious, open-minded. I have always made friends on over 500 trips abroad - what could be more valuable in life?