To mark the opening of the exhibition “Tanatar – A German-Ukrainian Search for Clues”, the TU Bergakademie Freiberg welcomed a delegation from Dnipro University of Technology (DniproTech). The visit also aimed to initiate further concrete projects in research and teaching.
“During the exhibition opening, the Rectors and guests spoke movingly about shared visions, partnership and mutual trust,” reports Lena Bussmann Fuentes of TUBAFdigital, a project office that supports innovative digital teaching projects. “The cooperation between the two universities has been in place for some time, but has been intensified since 2022 through numerous projects, and now once again in a special way through the interdisciplinary 5050 project.”
Travelling from Ukraine to Freiberg were the Rector, Professor Oleksandr Aziukovskyi; the Vice Rector, Professor Ihor Nikitenko; the Dean of the Faculty of Finance and Economics, Professor Kateryna Pilova, and the Head of the Marketing Department at the Ukrainian partner university, Professor Tetiana Kuvaieva, as well as the Head of the Department of General and Structural Geology, Professor Serhii Shevchenko. They were accompanied by four undergraduate students specialising in marketing. The students had prepared the exhibition ‘Tanatar – A German-Ukrainian Search for Traces’ during an intensive on-site working phase, working alongside the project coordinators to carry out in-depth research and select suitable exhibits.
A special ambassador for the partnership
During the delegation’s visit, Professor Emeritus of Mining Carsten Drebenstedt received a special honour as part of a programme run by the Ukrainian Ministry of Education in recognition of his services to the university partnership, along with an important task: With immediate effect, he is DniproTech’s “Scientific Ambassador” in Germany. The programme aims to strengthen international networks between Ukrainian and German universities.
Discussions were also held with the guests regarding the continuation of the collaboration in the field of virtual laboratories (Remote Labs). In the field of mineralogy, the collaboration is continuing with a joint PhD programme. Innovations are also planned in the field of Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL), a digital teaching format between two international partner universities. The COIL-Eng project, TUBAFdigital and the Marketing Department at DniproTech are set to be particularly involved in this.
