74 participants from 20 universities from 13 countries completed a full program over 5 days at Fachhochschule Dortmund. Looking back, it is clear that the International Summer Convention (ISC) 2024 acted as a catalyst for international cooperation.
Fachhochschule Dortmund wants to increase the number of foreign students and thus promote the international exchange of knowledge. This requires not only attractive course content, but also a sustainable organizational network with the partner universities. The main objectives of ISC 2024 led in this direction: getting to know each other, finding common interests, discovering compatible research projects and paving the way for student exchanges.
"We were able to offer a very interesting program," says Prof. Dr. Stephan Weyers. As Vice-Rector for Teaching and Studies, Prof. Weyers helped organize the convention. The program included workshops on intercultural training and an insightful comparison of international office structures and processes.
Networking with Researchtalks
The main focus was on the Researchtalks, in which the researchers presented their projects. "This resulted in many points of contact for other participants," says Prof. Weyers. "These talks were particularly effective due to the large number of participants." Fachhochschule Dortmund is involved in all projects (see list below).
"The International Summer Convention was a very good opportunity to bring our partners from many countries not only into contact with Dortmund, but also with each other," agrees Prof. Dr. Carsten Wolff. The computer scientist from the Institute for the Digital Transformation of Application and Living Domains (IDiAL) at Fachhochschule Dortmund, who is experienced in international projects, supplemented the ISC programme with a workshop on "How to run international projects".
Prof. Wolff: "The discussions in this workshop were therefore particularly interesting. New project ideas emerged, but above all contributions to a best practice handbook for the management of such projects."
New cooperation launched
Another cooperation was launched during the convention: UAS Vice-Chancellor Prof. Dr. Stephan Weyers and a delegation from the "National Institute of Engineering" (NIE) from Mysore, India, signed the contract for the initial five-year exchange of students, lecturers, teaching materials and on joint research projects and publications.
The cooperation is not limited to mechanical engineering. The agreement represents a comprehensive expansion of the existing cooperation in the "Cloud Based Energy Network" research project, in which the Faculties of Electrical Engineering and Mechanical Engineering are involved alongside the NIE. At the CSITSS conference in November, NIE and Fachhochschule Dortmund placed two publications that have already been peer reviewed. As part of the InduTwin@scale project, NIE students from other disciplines will also come to the UAS for an exchange semester.
More interest than expected
The number of participants exceeded the organizers' expectations. "We were expecting maybe 30 guests, but then the number of registrations skyrocketed," says project coordinator Catrin Randersen, looking back.
She believes that the extra effort involved in an on-site conference as opposed to virtual meetings is more than justified: "With all the video calls, it's easy to forget how important it is to get to know each other physically. Ideas quickly get lost in conversations via the screen. It's so much more fruitful to sit around a table with researchers from other parts of the world. When you work together, drink coffee together, hug each other" - such as during the visit to the Dortmunder U, including the impressive view over the city from the roof terrace - "that's when acquaintances and friendships form." She is convinced that networks created in this way are simply much more sustainable.
The next ISC will be hosted by Fachhochschule Dortmund from August 25 to 29, 2025.