On July 21, 1959, 26 young men completed their studies at the Giessen State Engineering School. They could now call themselves electrical engineers. Exactly 50 years later, 17 of them celebrated the anniversary of their graduation from the Giessen University of Applied Sciences, the successor to the former Polytechnic.

The meeting, which was also attended by their wives, was organized by Gerhard Rees, who now lives in Marburg. Prof. Dr. Helmut Gebler welcomed the celebrants on behalf of the Department Electrical Engineering and Information Technology. The professor also spoke about the latest developments at the university and guided the visitors through the Department and its laboratories. Giessen City Councilor Prof. Heinrich Brinkmann delivered a welcoming address on behalf of the mayor.

Norbert Engelhardt recalls that the students back then came primarily from the Giessen , Marburg, and Wetzlar areas. But prospective students also came from Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia, and even Schleswig-Holstein. The six-semester programme in the 1950s was very Giessen . The former semester representative even reports on top marks in interim reports. Students studied in barracks on Wiesenstraße and behind the Zeughaus barracks. Only those in higher semesters enjoyed the privilege of studying in the New Palace. At least they no longer had to do the cleaning and repair work that students did in the immediate post-war period.

FH President Prof. Dr. Günther Grabatin was pleased that the anniversaries had chosen the university of applied sciences as the location for their celebration. This shows a connection to the university, but also a curiosity to find out what has become of their old engineering school, said Grabatin in a welcoming speech. “Today, more than 10,000 young people study here in much more comfortable conditions and with technical equipment that they could never have imagined back then. But remember – this is also just a snapshot. We are in a phase of change, and when you return in ten years to celebrate the next milestone anniversary, you will not recognize the university,” promised the president.