For ten years, Professor Klaus-Dieter Barbknecht has led TU Bergakademie Freiberg. 20 July 2025 will be his last day as Rector of the university, from which he bid farewell in small circles and in an informal exchange with university members instead of a formal ceremony.
Professor Klaus-Dieter Barbknecht took office in 2015 and was re-elected as Rector of TUBAF in 2020. Throughout crises, Rector Barbknecht worked together with the university staff in a spirit of continuous trust - he himself describes his time at TUBAF as "the best years of my professional life". Regionally anchored and internationally networked, TUBAF jointly tackled research topics of high technological and social relevance during his tenure and generated new knowledge at particularly exciting interfaces.
Joint success that resonates
During these years, the TU Bergakademie Freiberg campus changed significantly for all to see: the Schlossplatzquartier was completed, modern buildings for research, teaching and the university library were built on the science corridor and in the northern part of the campus.
In terms of teaching staff/professors, Rector Barbknecht's time in office has been characterised by a generational change. Within ten years, almost 70% of today's almost 100 professors were newly appointed.
Other milestones include the progressive internationalisation of the university, its increasing third-party funding and pronounced transfer activities, which can be seen in the 80 spin-offs in the last ten years
In a video, Rector Barbknecht thanks the university members and hopes that his successor, Professor Jutta Emes, will experience the same support, loyalty and cooperation that he has received over the past ten years.
