Spotlight – The Rector’s Column

Dear Alums,

Today, I am pleased to present you with the new edition of "keep in touch" for the winter semester 2022/23.

We were able to kick off the last month of the past summer semester with a variety of great celebrations. First, the silver (25 years) and golden (50 years) doctoral jubilarians were honored in Aula 1 of the Main Building. On the following day, they then joined us as we honored our newest alums at the Graduation Celebration – finally in a packed stadium again. Our graduates celebrated the conclusion of their studies with the best weather. As alums of RWTH Aachen University, they were challenged by keynote speaker Dr. Mai Thi Nguyen-Kim to conscientiously help shape the future for all of us. Dr. Nguyen-Kim was also presented with the Aachen Engineering Award that very same evening. More details on these celebrations can be found in this issue.

As a University of Excellence, RWTH Aachen University is naturally particularly interested in making sure that conscientious participation in shaping our society is a matter of course for our graduates – the leaders of the future. Our university teaching and learning is an important building block for the transformation towards a sustainable society. That is why RWTH is currently introducing a micro Bachelor's degree in sustainability. In this interdisciplinary degree program, students learn the fundamentals of sustainability guided by the United Nations' 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In this issue, you will also find information on our general plans for sustainability at RWTH.

Right now, we are busy finding ways to address the energy cost crisis. By convening a task force, we have brought together many knowledgeable employees from the Central University Administration and the institutes at the University. One of the jobs of the task force is to implement the energy-saving measures adopted by the federal government at RWTH and to supplement them with logical measures that are unique to the University. The goal is to counter this crisis in the short term, but of course also to make RWTH more efficient in the long term regarding the responsible use of our resources. Since the measures can only be successfully implemented with the constant help of all our members, we have planned a university-wide campaign with tips and advice on how to save energy.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all donors once again for their support of the fundraising campaign that we at RWTH Aachen University, together with Uniklinik RWTH Aachen, launched in response to Russia's war of aggression on Ukraine. The donations (as of November 11, 2022: 933,239.64 euros) are being used to provide hospitals in Ukraine with urgently needed medicines, bandages, and other medical supplies. We are still receiving donations on a weekly basis.

The Matching Challenge for the Deutschlandstipendium also proved to be successful, with more than 30,000 euros raised from the alumni network. The Federal Ministry of Education and Research then doubled this amount, which has resulted in an additional 27 scholarships. I would like to thank all our donors for their generosity.

As for now, I would like to wish you all a calm and wonderful end to the year. I hope you enjoy reading about our latest alum activities!

Sincerely,