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Released: March 16, 2005

Dipl.-Ing. Arne Weber (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 3rd prize of 500 euros. The Hessian State Association of Company Health Insurance Funds (BKK) submitted the fourth call for its innovation prize under the motto "Health as an economic factor". Students from universities and technical colleges were asked to bring in new ideas and models for improving the quality of care in the healthcare system.

Arne Weber was honored for his diploma thesis, with which he completed his studies in hospital technology management at the University of Applied Sciences in Gießen in autumn 2004. In it, the 24-year-old developed a special training concept for the new DRG case-based system (DRG = Diagnosis Related Groups) for inpatient treatment in hospitals. It is not only aimed at doctors, but also at clinic administration, technology and all medical professions involved. The diploma student imparts basic knowledge about the DRG system, concentrates primarily on its basics and structure, reports on the history and the introductory phase. He focuses on the schedule and the financial impact of the gradual changeover. In doing so, he makes it clear in several places that the changeover phase will already bring with it losers and winners for the health insurance companies.

With his diploma thesis, Arne Weber submitted an impressive competition entry. In its laudatory speech, the jury emphasized that "his training concept appeals to all target groups within the hospital and includes them." In doing so, he made an important contribution to sustainable information about the importance of precise billing with case flat rates.
The graduate engineer was able to accept the award during a ceremony in Frankfurt's Römer. The patron of the competition was Dr. Alois Rhiel, the Hessian Minister for Economics, Transport and Regional Development.

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Released: March 16, 2005

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

Read more: Order of Merit for Prof. Martin

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Released: March 16, 2005

The number of traffic victims in Germany is lower than it has ever been since accident statistics were introduced in 1953. Despite this, the Federal Statistical Office still had to report almost 6,000 deaths and 440,000 injuries in 2004 in road traffic accidents.

Street design can make a significant contribution to increasing road safety. A seminar at the Gießen -Friedberg University of Applied Sciences dealt with safety aspects in the planning, construction and operation of traffic systems. Almost one hundred experts from planning offices, universities, road construction administrations, municipal planning offices and transport authorities attended the two-day Further education event.

Further steps in accident research have significantly improved the knowledge of how to make roads safer for traffic. In the seminar, the basics and procedures of selected new technical regulations were explained under security aspects.
The speakers, all of whom teach at the Hessian universities of applied sciences in Darmstadt, Wiesbaden, Frankfurt and Gießen , dealt, among other things, with safety on the way to school, road safety at construction sites and questions of safety for pedestrians and cyclists. Other topics were the grip of road surfaces and accessibility in local public transport.
Organizer of the Further educational event, Prof. Dr. Andreas Bark from the Gießen -Friedberg University of Applied Sciences organized the road engineering and surveying department in the civil engineering department.

Read more: Seminar on road safety

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Released: March 16, 2005

The industrial pre-production of components allows construction costs to be significantly reduced. In Holland, the components used in system construction are already 70 percent prefabricated. In Germany, this rate is only a third, but the trend is clearly rising.

A critical point in the prefab are the concrete columns that support the whole building. With conventional construction, they are completely cast on the construction site. If prefabricated supports are placed on top of each other, they must be connected to one another in such a way that they have sufficient load-bearing capacity.

Almudena Miranda Chaparro and Magdalena Dietz empirically examined the load-bearing behavior of precast columns in their diploma thesis at the Civil Engineering department of the Gießen -Friedberg University of Applied Sciences.
In a first series of tests, the two prospective civil engineers looked at the influences of different thicknesses of connecting layers (joint thicknesses) and mortar strengths on the load-bearing behavior in the Gießen laboratory for solid construction. To do this, they poured a total of 42 concrete cubes. Two of these test specimens were connected with different grouting mortars. The aim of the tests was to find out what influence the strength of the mortar and the joint thickness have on the deformation behavior of the test specimens. The components were therefore exposed to different pressures using a press. The measurements showed a loss of load-bearing capacity with increasing joint thickness for mortars with low strength. If the mortar strength is higher than that of the concrete, the joint thickness has no influence on the fracture behavior. An increase in load capacity with a further increase in mortar strength cannot be determined.
For Prof. Dr. Jens Minnert, who is leading the project together with Prof. Dr. Gerd Günther supervised, the work of Chaparro and Dietz closes a research gap. For the first time, the series of tests would provide reference measurements for mortar selection depending on the optimal joint thickness. This means that work can be carried out reliably in construction practice. This makes construction acceptance by test engineers much easier in many cases.
In a second series of tests, the two graduating students examined connections between steel-reinforced precast columns, which are produced using screws using column shoes and anchor bolts. They experimented with steel plates installed horizontally in the supports, which distribute pressure better and increase the load capacity. The aim here was to reduce the number of required column shoes and thus to build more cost-effectively. According to Minnert, this series of tests showed a promising way to optimize precast column connections.

Read more: Diploma thesis on concrete columns closes research gap

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Published: February 07, 2005

The Gießen -Friedberg University of Applied Sciences has taken an important step in converting its range of courses to the international study system. In January, the senate of the university approved the introduction of 27 new bachelor's and master's programmes that will replace existing diploma Degree Courses in 2005 and 2006.

FH President Prof. Dr. Dietrich Wendler welcomed the Senate's decision as an important step for future university development. He described the rapid planning and implementation of the new study programmes as an indispensable contribution to strengthening the national and international competitive position. The complete restructuring of the range of courses offered during ongoing university operations is an enormous effort. Prof. Wendler thanked everyone involved for their commitment and particularly highlighted the University of Applied Sciences' development committee, whose task it is to evaluate the concepts of the new study programmes.   

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

At the University of Applied Sciences Gießen -Friedberg, five cross-departmental competence groups are dealing with the coordination of this large-scale restructuring. These committees, which specialize in bio- and medical sciences, buildings, IT, engineering and economics, are working on converting a range of around 40 diploma Degree Courses to the new system. The development committee of the university has examined and evaluated your suggestions for setting up BA and MA programmes in detail. Its first list of recommendations was before the Senate for a decision on Wednesday, January 26th. After the Senate voted positively for 27 concepts, the majority of these Degree Courses will begin teaching in Gießen and Friedberg in the 2006/07 winter semester. Some programmes in the field of computer science (computer science and business informatics, each as a BA and MA) are scheduled to start in autumn 2005. The new Degree Courses must first be accredited by an independent national agency.

The process of restructuring the entire range of courses is being continued at the Gießen -Friedberg University of Applied Sciences. The classic engineering disciplines, which, with the exception of civil engineering, are not represented in this first round of the process, will align their Degree Courses with the international system and introduce BA/MA programmes.  

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Released: January 18, 2005

The University of Applied Sciences in Friedberg is more than 300 percent full. 3,431 students have to share a little more than 1,100 space-based study places. A new building is planned on Wilhelm-Leuschner-Straße, but it will still be a few years before it is completed. “We have to use all reserves 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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Released: January 04, 2005

Prof. Dr. Frank Ehrenheim has started work at the Gießen -Friedberg University of Applied Sciences. He teaches facility management at the Department Business Administration and Engineering and Production Engineering at the University of Applied Sciences in Friedberg.

Read more: Expert for management and automation of buildings

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