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March 16, 2005

COM_CONTENT_CATEGORY Personal details

Arne Weber, a graduate engineer from Lahnau, was successful in the competition for the "BKK Innovation Prize for Health." The jury awarded the graduate of the Giessen -Friedberg University of Applied Sciences the third prize, which comes with a €500 award. The Hessian State Association of Company Health Insurance Funds (BKK) had chosen "Health as an Economic Factor" as the theme for the fourth round of its innovation prize. Students from universities and universities of applied sciences were invited to submit new ideas and models for improving the quality of care in the healthcare system.

Arne Weber received an award for his diploma thesis, with which he completed his studies in Hospital Technology Management at the University of Applied Sciences in Giessen in the fall of 2004. In his thesis, the 24-year-old developed a special training concept for the new DRG (Diagnosis Related Groups) case-based payment system for inpatient hospital treatments. It is aimed not only at physicians, but also at hospital administration, technical staff, and all other medical professionals involved. The thesis conveys basic knowledge about the DRG system, focusing primarily on its fundamentals and structure, and discusses its history and implementation phase. He emphasizes the timeline and financial implications of the phased transition. At several points, he makes it clear that the transition phase will already create both winners and losers among the health insurance companies.

Arne Weber's diploma thesis was an impressive entry in the competition. In their laudatory speech, the jury emphasized that "his training concept addresses and includes all target groups within the hospital." He thus makes an important contribution to providing sustainable information about the importance of accurate billing using diagnosis-related groups (DRGs).
The graduate engineer received the award during a ceremony at the Römer in Frankfurt. The competition was under the patronage of Dr. Alois Rhiel, the Hessian Minister for Economic Affairs, Transport and Regional Development.

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March 16, 2005

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Dr. Wolfgang Martin, professor at the Department of Social and Cultural Sciences at the Giessen -Friedberg University of Applied Sciences, has been awarded the Hessian Order of Merit. The 58-year-old lawyer received the award from the Hessian Minister of Education, Karin Wolff, during a ceremony in Darmstadt.

Read more… : Order of Merit awarded to Prof. Martin

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March 16, 2005

COM_CONTENT_CATEGORY From teaching and research

The number of traffic fatalities in Germany is lower than ever before since accident statistics were introduced in 1953. Nevertheless, the Federal Statistical Office still had to report almost 6,000 deaths and 440,000 injuries in road traffic accidents for 2004.

Road design can make a significant contribution to increasing road safety. A seminar at the Giessen -Friedberg University of Applied Sciences addressed safety aspects in the planning, construction, and operation of transport facilities. Nearly one hundred experts from planning offices, universities, road construction authorities, municipal planning departments, and transport authorities attended the two-day training event Further .

Further in accident research have significantly improved our understanding of how to design safe roads. The seminar explained the principles and procedures of selected new technical regulations from a safety perspective.
The speakers, all of whom teach at the Hessian universities of applied sciences in Darmstadt, Wiesbaden, Frankfurt, and Giessen , addressed topics including school route safety, traffic safety at construction sites, and issues related to the safety of pedestrians and cyclists. Other topics included the grip of road surfaces and accessibility in public transport.
The organizer of the Further educational event, which was organized by Prof. Dr. Andreas Bark from the FH Giessen -Friedberg, was the Department of Road Engineering and Surveying at the Department of Civil Engineering.

Read more… : Seminar on road safety

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March 16, 2005

COM_CONTENT_CATEGORY From teaching and research

Industrial prefabrication of building components significantly reduces construction costs. In the Netherlands, 70 percent of components in modular construction systems are already prefabricated. In Germany, this figure is only about a third, but the trend is clearly rising.

A critical aspect of prefabricated construction is the concrete columns that support the entire building. In conventional construction methods, these are cast entirely on-site. When prefabricated columns are stacked, they must be connected in such a way that they possess sufficient load-bearing capacity.

In their diploma thesis at the Department Civil Engineering of the Giessen -Friedberg University of Applied Sciences, Almudena Miranda Chaparro and Magdalena Dietz empirically investigated the load-bearing behavior of precast columns.
In an initial series of experiments, the two aspiring civil engineers at the Giessen Laboratory for Structural Engineering investigated the effects of varying joint thicknesses and mortar strengths on the load-bearing behavior of concrete structures. They cast a total of 42 concrete cubes for this purpose. Two of these test specimens were then joined using different grouts. The aim of the experiments was to determine the influence of mortar strength and joint thickness on the deformation behavior of the specimens. The components were therefore subjected to varying pressures using a press. The measurements revealed a loss of load-bearing capacity with increasing joint thickness when using mortars of lower strength. With a mortar strength exceeding that of the concrete, the joint thickness had no influence on the fracture behavior. No increase in load-bearing capacity was observed with further increases in mortar strength.
For Prof. Dr. Jens Minnert, who supervised the project together with Prof. Dr. Gerd Günther, the work of Chaparro and Dietz fills a research gap. For the first time, the series of tests provides reference measurements for mortar selection depending on the optimal joint thickness. This allows for reliable work in construction practice. In many cases, this significantly simplifies the acceptance testing process by inspection engineers.
In a second series of experiments, the two graduate students investigated connections between steel-reinforced precast columns, which are created using bolts via column shoes and anchor bolts. They experimented with steel plates installed horizontally in the columns, which distribute pressure more effectively and increase the load-bearing capacity. The aim here was to reduce the number of column shoes required and thus make construction more cost-effective. According to Minnert, this series of tests revealed a promising approach to optimizing precast column connections.

Read more… : Diploma thesis on concrete columns closes research gap

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February 7, 2005

COM_CONTENT_CATEGORY From teaching and research

The Giessen -Friedberg University of Applied Sciences has taken an important step in converting its curriculum to the international study system. In January, the university senate approved the introduction of 27 new Bachelor's and Master's programs, which will replace existing diploma Degree Courses in 2005 and 2006.

University President Prof. Dr. Dietrich Wendler welcomed the Senate's decision as a significant step towards the future development of the university. He described the swift planning and implementation of the new study programs as an indispensable contribution to strengthening the university's national and international competitive position. The complete restructuring of the study programs while the university remains fully operational is an enormous undertaking. Prof. Wendler thanked all those involved for their commitment and particularly highlighted the university's development committee, whose task it is to evaluate the concepts of the new study programs.  

As part of the "Bologna Process," higher education systems within the EU are to be standardized by the winter semester of 2009/2010 at the latest. This includes the modularization of study programs, the introduction of the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS), which regulates the criteria for calculating academic achievements across Europe, and the introduction of the internationally equivalent academic degrees Bachelor (BA) and Master (MA).

At the University of Applied Sciences Giessen -Friedberg, five department competence groups, proposed by the Senate, are coordinating this large-scale restructuring. These groups, whose areas of expertise include life and medical sciences, building services engineering, computer science, engineering, and business administration, are working on converting approximately 40 diploma Degree Courses to the new system. Their proposals for establishing BA and MA programs have been reviewed and evaluated in detail by the university's development committee. The committee's initial list of recommendations was presented to the Senate for a decision on Wednesday, January 26. Following the Senate's positive vote on 27 proposals, the majority of these Degree Courses will commence teaching in Giessen and Friedberg in the winter semester of 2006/07. Some programs in the field of computer science (Computer Science and Business Information Systems , both as BA and MA programs) are scheduled to begin as early as autumn 2005. The new Degree Courses still require accreditation by an independent national agency.

The restructuring process for the entire range of study programs continues at the Giessen -Friedberg University of Applied Sciences. Even the traditional engineering disciplines, which, with the exception of civil engineering, were not represented in this first round of the process, will align their Degree Courses with the international system and introduce BA/MA programs. 

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January 18, 2005

COM_CONTENT_CATEGORY From teaching and research

The Friedberg University of Applied Sciences is operating at over 300 percent capacity. 3,431 students have to share just over 1,100 available study places. A new building is planned for Wilhelm-Leuschner-Straße, but it will be several years before it is completed. "We have to use all available resources so that we can continue to offer regular teaching," says Prof. Dr. Dietrich Wendler, President of the Giessen -Friedberg University of Applied Sciences.

Read more… : New lecture hall for the university of applied sciences

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January 4, 2005

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Prof. Dr. Frank Ehrenheim has taken up his post at the Giessen -Friedberg University of Applied Sciences. He teaches Facility Management in the Department Business Administration and Engineering and Production Engineering at the university in Friedberg.

Read more… : Expert in building management and automation

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January 4, 2005

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The Association for Electrical, Electronic & Information Technologies (VDE) awarded the Friedrich Dessauer Foundation Prize to graduates of the University of Applied Sciences in Friedberg. The prizes went to Marc Biel, Raschid Johannes Abdul-Nour, and Kai Larsen. They received the awards, totaling €1200, during the graduation ceremony Departments s Information Technology - Electrical Engineering - Mechatronics (IEM)

Read more… : Young engineers awarded diploma prizes

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January 4, 2005

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Astrid Altensen from the Giessen -Friedberg University of Applied Sciences won first place in the 2004 Scip Student Award with her diploma thesis on "The Significance and Prevalence of Competitive Intelligence in Germany and the German-Speaking World." The prize is awarded annually by the German section of the Society of Competitive Intelligence Professionals (Scip). Scip is the international professional association for market and competitive intelligence professionals.

Read more… : GiessenUniversity of Applied Sciences graduate wins first prize