uni'alumni 2012_ENG

Stimulus for Security Research The Center for Security and ­Society of the University of Freiburg has signed a cooperation agreement with the Fraunhofer Institute for High- Speed Dynamics and the company IBM. The center will participate in a ­research cluster at the Fraunhofer ­Institute that develops security tech- nologies and studies the legal and ­social consequences of their imple- mentation. Together with IBM the cen- ter will conduct research into concepts for data security in order to answer ­legal questions concerning security technologies. The first project involves scenarios for a crime prevention plat- form in Germany. Rector Hans-Jochen Schiewer (right) and Martin Jetter, chief executive of IBM ­Germany, have signed a cooperation agreement. Photo: Pflüger » www.sicherheitundgesellschaft. uni-freiburg.de New Projects for Instructional ­Development The Federal Ministry of Educa- tion and Research has approved pro- posals for instructional projects at the University of Freiburg in two competi- tions. The university secured 6.13 mil- lion euros in funding in the Quality Pact for Teaching – among other things to launch a mentoring program for students, develop new instruction- al concepts, and found the University College Freiburg, whose purpose will be to strengthen problem-oriented, ­interdisciplinary instruction. The 2.7 million euros the university secured in the competition “Advancement through Education: Open Higher Education ­Institutions,” on the other hand, will be used to offer more continuing educa- tion programs. Vice Rector Heiner Schanz is responsible for the new teaching concepts. Photo: Schilling A Quick Wire to the University The University of Freiburg has set up a knowledge management ­service in order to improve networ­ king with leaders from businesses and societal organizations. It is the first central service center for research-­ related ­requests from mostly small and medium-sized companies. The contacts are retired professors repre- senting the entire spectrum of disci- plines at the university. The partners of the new service center are the Cham- ber of Commerce of the Southern Upper Rhine and the Business Association of Industrial Enterprises in Baden. » www.uni-freiburg.de/forschung/ wissenstransfer/kms Strong Partner in the USA The university’s network of alli- ances with international top universi- ties is growing: The University of Freiburg is launching an exchange program in which a professor from Harvard University, USA, will come to Freiburg with 20 students for half a year and a Freiburg professor will teach for a semester at Harvard in ­return. The program is set to begin in January 2012 with the project ­“Europe’s Answers to the World’s Problems.” In addition, the University of Freiburg has signed a cooperation agreement with the University of Cali- fornia, Berkeley, USA. The first joint research emphasis between the two institutions, “Quantum Efficiency,” will deal with the question of how to con- vert light into energy and vice versa as efficiently as possible. Finally, an agreement with the Penn State Uni- versity, USA, includes plans for the exchange of students, doctoral candi- dates, teaching faculty, and adminis- tration as well as conferences in ­several disciplines. 29uni'alumni 2012 University News