The GlasCampus Torgau structural change project has reached a new milestone: On 12 December 2023, State Secretary Meyer (Saxon State Ministry for Regional Development) presented District Administrator Kai Emanuel with the funding commitment of around 33 million euros for the construction of a glass competence centre in Torgau - the GlasLAB. With the structural development funding, the district of North Saxony can expand the GlasCampus Torgau, which was created in 2019, into a state-of-the-art education and innovation centre for the Saxon and Central German glass industry and the glazier trade. As one of the main initiators, TU Bergakademie Freiberg is supporting GlasLAB in strengthening Torgau as a centre for education and training and compensating for the lack of a university location in northern Saxony. Companies have the opportunity here to train and qualify their own staff or to test innovative ideas for their operations.

Pilot facilities enable application-oriented research

The GlasLAB also opens up new opportunities for scientists at TU Bergakademie Freiberg: "The investments in the GlasLAB's research infrastructure and pilot facilities are enormous. They clearly exceed the normal scope of large-scale equipment, such as that funded by the German Research Foundation. This gives TUBAF a unique opportunity in Germany to carry out research under application-oriented conditions and on relevant quantity scales, and thus to become the best placed in national and international research programmes," said Prof. Tobias Fieback, Vice-Rector for Research, International Affairs and Transfer at TU Bergakademie Freiberg at the "Revierstammtisch" on the occasion of the handover of the funding.

Skilled labour for a strong glass industry in Central Germany

The GlasCampus Torgau is a further education facility for specialists and managers, which was implemented together with the academic expertise of the Institute of Glass and Glass Technology at the TU Bergakademie Freiberg. The focus is on further training for employees in the glass, ceramics and building materials industry. This branch of industry has a strong presence in Central Germany and is decisive for the further economic development of the region. As a joint project between the TU Bergakademie Freiberg, the vocational training centre, the administration of the district of North Saxony, companies and politicians, the GlasCampus guarantees high-quality, scientifically proven further training courses. In the glass competence centre, the GlasLAB, craft and industrial training, further education and university basic research and teaching will be combined in the future.