Openness, cooperation and communication were key themes when you took office. Has the TU Bergakademie Freiberg changed in this respect over the past year?

As the first female rector in the 260-year history of the TU Bergakademie Freiberg, I naturally bring about change. Even though I’ve only been here for a year – yes, things have changed! Together with the entire Rector’s Office team, we stand for openness and transparency, for communication and cooperation – this is not only our central guiding principle, but it also characterises our working atmosphere at TUBAF. At the heart of this is a culture of empowerment and responsibility. Dialogue with all member groups is a key priority for us. Over the past year, we have not only strengthened collaboration within the university but also successfully expanded TUBAF’s external partnerships and networks.

As a specialised university, we are a strong partner in various regional, national and international networks. It is a great achievement that we have signed international cooperation agreements with, amongst others, the Ivy League university Dartmouth and the United Nations University Resource Nexus. The combination of a clear research profile and networking enables us to achieve greater dynamism, maximum visibility and easier access to talent and funding – thereby further expanding our own research excellence and creating new opportunities for our students.

As the region’s largest employer, TU Bergakademie Freiberg is closely integrated with the economy of Central Saxony and the wider Saxony region, which provides our graduates with the best possible conditions for starting their careers – regionally, nationally and abroad.

When you took office, you announced a cross-faculty hub for artificial intelligence – what is TUBAF’s current position on this topic?

The AI hub for the resources and energy sector is currently being set up. We already have a wide range of AI applications at TU Bergakademie Freiberg – for example, in mining, environmental protection (such as water monitoring, processing technology, circular and resource management, materials development, process optimisation, geodata analysis and energy management. The aim now is to pool these areas of expertise more effectively and raise their profile. A major advantage is our data base: thanks to our close links with the mining, raw materials and energy sectors, as well as industrial partnerships, we have access to datasets that are invaluable for training and validating AI applications. Furthermore, AI expertise at our university is not confined to a single faculty, but extends across numerous disciplines alongside mathematics and computer science. The next step is now to establish a platform for collaboration. The aim is to position TUBAF as a centre of excellence for AI in the resources and energy sectors. Initial successes – for example, in process optimisation in mining, in robotics, in autonomous systems, and in improving efficiency in recycling processes or in automated environmental monitoring – are already showing the direction we are heading in. 

They also highlighted the opportunities for the TU Bergakademie Freiberg as a member of the European alliance EURECA-PRO. Where is our journey within the alliance heading now?

Studying in Freiberg means studying in Europe. We are proud to be a member of the European university alliance EURECA-PRO. Together with eight partner universities from Austria, Germany, Greece, Poland, Belgium, France, Spain and Romania, TUBAF is working to establish joint degree programmes, European research and knowledge transfer projects, and an integrated campus by 2040. The central theme is UN Sustainable Development Goal 12: ‘Responsible Consumption and Production’. 

On behalf of TUBAF, I have significantly stepped up our involvement in the alliance. Only recently, the alliance approved an automatic module accreditation scheme designed to facilitate student mobility across Europe. The current funding phase runs until 2027, with a focus on increasing mobility for students and staff, as well as deepening cooperation with external stakeholders from business, politics and society.

Current challenges such as the supply of raw materials, the circular economy, the energy transition and digitalisation are shaping research and teaching. How will the university fulfil its key role in the future?

In research, teaching and knowledge transfer, we are working in key future-oriented fields that are vital for industrial transformation – and this will remain our focus. Our core areas – resource and circular economy, innovative materials, sustainable technologies, energy and the environment – address the pressing challenges of our time. What makes our university special is that we develop solutions across the entire value chain – from raw material extraction through process and engineering technology right through to recycling. 

The TU Bergakademie Freiberg is a university with a strong focus on research and patents. Is there a technology that has inspired you the most?

We have many impressive research topics – here in Freiberg, one highlight follows another. I have been fascinated by innovative plasma processes, which we use in various areas, for example for the climate-friendly smelting and recycling of metals or for the processing of composite plastics. Equally impressive is our work on new recycling processes that enable valuable raw materials to be recovered and material cycles to be closed.

And what is your overriding impression after a year of studying at the TU Bergakademie Freiberg?

Anyone who wants to study with an eye to the future must come to Freiberg. TUBAF is absolutely unique, an outstanding university – and that’s not just my impression; this is also confirmed by the fantastic student ratings, such as our first place as “the most popular university in Germany in 2026” or the Digital Campus Award.

During my visits to the departments and various areas of our university over the past year, I was able to see for myself: it is not only the outstanding academic content that sets TUBAF apart, but also the excellent study conditions. TUBAF stands for teaching that is both research-intensive and practice-oriented. Here, we offer personalised support rather than impersonal, large-scale operations, and our facilities are top-class. Students appreciate the short distances across our campus, affordable accommodation and the close-knit community here in Freiberg.

The university boasts a unique research infrastructure – ranging from technical facilities for metallurgy, geotechnical engineering and process engineering to pilot plants that enable the scaling up of results from basic research into industry-relevant processes. Students often work on equipment that is otherwise only found in industry. Our graduates therefore enjoy excellent career prospects.

A key focus of our work is to promote these strengths beyond Saxony and out into the world, whilst conveying the enthusiasm of those who study, conduct research and work here – and who remain our flagship!