The official opening of the DigiTech doctoral centre took place on 11.03.2024. Many supporters, participants and interested parties from the three universities Deggendorf Institute of Technology (THD), Augsburg Institute of Technology (THA) and Landshut University of Applied Sciences (HSL) made their way to Deggendorf for this special occasion. After the doctoral centre was awarded the independent right to award doctorates in October 2023, the first doctoral students in the field of digital technologies and their application can now start.
Good preparation pays off
DigiTech is one of the two doctoral centres that passed the application process without any further requirements. The event provided an overview of the application phase over the last two years: a ten-person team, eleven faculties, 31 professors with a strong research background, 51 virtual meetings and ultimately a 199-page application.
Prof. Dr Holger Timinger, Vice President for Research and Transfer at Landshut University of Applied Sciences, and Thomas Schermann, Research Officer at the same institution, contributed significantly to the success of the application with their expertise and support. The successful awarding of the independent right to award doctorates is based above all on good preparation and the resulting high quality standards for future doctorates.
Interdisciplinarity from Landshut in demand
The research areas at Landshut University of Applied Sciences involved in the doctoral centre illustrate the interdisciplinary approach that DigiTech pursues. Four of the six faculties at Landshut University of Applied Sciences are represented by professors with a strong research background. The research areas of Data and Process Science, Energy, Production and Logistics Systems as well as Electronics and System Integration enable doctorates on the megatrends of digitalisation - from processes to products and services.
Anna Schidek (Data and Process Science) and Lukas Rißmann (Production and Logistics Systems) from Landshut have already started their careers at the doctoral centre. In this way, it is also possible to retain young scientific talent from the centre's own ranks. This form of social sustainability in the scientific apparatus will help to maintain the high quality of research in Landshut.
University leaders show their appreciation
The presidents of the three participating Bavarian universities - Prof. Dr rer. nat. Peter Sperber (THD), Prof. Dr Dr h.c. Gordon Thomas Rohrmair (THA) and Prof. Dr.-Ing. Fritz Pörnbacher (HSL) - emphasised the importance of the opening in their respective welcoming speeches. Fritz Pörnbacher: "People are at the centre of everything we do. Through research and teaching, we enable them to provide constructive answers to the challenges of the future and to take responsibility for society. Thanks to the DigiTech doctoral centre, we can now do this to an even greater extent." Prof. Dr Marcus Jautze, Vice President for Digitalisation, Foundation and Continuing Education, and Prof. Dr Silvia Dollinger, Vice President for Studies and Teaching, also took part in the opening ceremony, underlining the importance of research at Landshut University of Applied Sciences.
Through the DigiTech doctoral centre, Landshut researchers will use their findings to help solve pressing social, economic and ecological problems using digital technologies: digital solutions for cross-area sustainability made in Landshut.
Photos: Deggendorf Institute of Technology
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