Newsarchiv: Uni International
Experiencing Europe – Erasmus Office hoping to counteract downwards trend
22.01.2010: The Erasmus Office at the MLU has been located at Universitätsring 14 for six months and is the information centre for Halle’s students who would like to get a taste of Europe. In summer semester 2009 the Erasmus office also received reinforcement in the form of a new coordinator. Grit Eisenkopf brings with her her own experience with projects abroad. She first came into contact with the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) as an advisor to the Prorector for Research and Young Scientists.
Bacteria turn toxins into gold – research findings causing a stir
22.01.2010: What do bacteria and metal have in common? In fact they may share a complex relationship. Recent exciting research findings by microbiologists at the MLU show evidence of this. News that, for example, copper door handles in hospitals help reduce the spread of bacteria or that bacteria allow gold to “grow” is making headlines in the media (see scientia halensis 3/09) and was published in the journal “Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences”.
The Martin Luther University presents its yearbook
21.01.2010: The Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) presents its fourth annual comprehensive, high-quality yearbook with journalistically prepared information about significant events and developments at the university. The articles reflect in writing (German and English) and photos the major advances the university made in 2009. These include the shaping of its profile in the areas of teaching and research, the provision of external funding and its role as a regional and international partner. “Our yearbook has allowed us these past three years to consistently record all of the facets and successes of the university,” says MLU Rector Wulf Diepenbrock. “This fourth issue is even more appealing than its predecessors. The articles are as informative as they are entertaining.”
Fight against pathogen: plant geneticists make decisive breakthrough
02.11.2009: The Xanthomonas bacteria is the name of the pathogen that has led to the loss of many crops in Asia, America and many other hot and humid areas. It attacks important cultivated plants such as rice, peppers, tomatoes and citrus fruits by manipulating the genes of these plants. Biologists at the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) have now figured out how the pathogen does this. In this week`s Science Express, the advance online version of the renowned Science magazine, they reveal the secret behind this special code that Xanthomonas uses to manipulate genes. Knowing this code is imperative when it comes to breeding resistant plants.
Fertile Partnership
14.10.2009: "Creating a student-focussing university" - This is the motto of the Senshû University in Tokyo, a university seeped in tradition that is celebrating its 130th anniversary this year. For over 13 years it has had close ties with the MLU as a partner university. The signing of the partnership agreement in 1996 marked the start of an intensely close working relationship. The partnership was initiated by Halle`s Japanologist Prof. Gesine Foljanty-Jost and Jurist Prof. Yoshihiro Hidaka, today president of the Senshû University.
Magdeburg Cathedral reveals its secrets
14.10.2009: The 800th anniversary of the Magdeburg Cathedral is attracting particular public attention to this unique sacred building in the city on the Elbe River. It survived multiple destructions of Magdeburg and still shapes the silhouette of the city. In October, the international colloquium “The Magdeburg Cathedral in a European Context” attracted renowned scientists from around the world to Magdeburg. Furthermore, important scientific publications emerged as part of the colloquium, some of which will soon come into print. They bear witness to spectacular excavation findings. The Institute for European Art History and Archaeology played a major role in this.
Spider-Man silk from Halle
14.10.2009: Webs have amazing properties. They are extremely strong and yet still elastic. But even something good can be improved on. Dr. Mato Knez and his team at the Max Planck Institute for Microstructure Physics have added small amounts of metal to the spider`s silk. This means that triple the amount of weight can hang on this treated silk. Other fibres may also be able to be made stronger using this method. MLU scientists cut the silk into 100 nanometre thick slices for their investigation.
Top Researchers from Weinberg
01.07.2009: “HALOmem” and “SiLi-nano” mean that there have now been two “Competence Centres for Innovation” (ZIK) in Halle for over a year. These are excellent research projects in eastern Germany which were granted 6.25 million euros each by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMFB). So far they are the only two in Saxony-Anhalt and are a major success for the research location of Halle and the Martin Luther University where both of the centres are located. scientia halensis finds out what has been happening since the grants were approved and who is behind the projects.
“Halle is like a smaller version of Budapest”
01.07.2009: The Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg collaborates with 14 German partner schools abroad as part of its international focus (BIDS project). One of these is the Ungarisches Bildungszentrum Baja (UBB) [Hungarian Centre of Learning]. In April, 17 prospective high school graduates visited from there in order to find out what Halle has to offer in terms of study conditions and degree programmes. In addition to selected lectures, they were able to enjoy a light-hearted programme. The atmosphere was fantastic despite the pouring rain.
New Protein Folding Research Cluster for Alzheimer’s
02.04.2009: A new research cluster has started up as part of the state’s Network of Excellence “Structures and Mechanisms of Biological Processing of Information” at the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU). The scientists are working on “protein folding with Alzheimer’s disease”. Dr. Marcus Fändrich from Halle’s Max Planck Research Unit for Enzymology of Protein Folding is the speaker of the research cluster. In addition to the MLU, the Max Planck Research Unit and the Leibniz Institute for Neurobiology in Magdeburg are also participating.
April, 2th 2009
Halle’s Law Students are European Champions in World Trade Law
02.04.2009: Four students from the Law School at the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) achieved a top-performance at the “ELSA Moot Court Competition on WTO Law“ in Barcelona coming in first place with their verbal and written pleadings. They will now take part in the World Championship in Taiwan in May.
March, 17th 2009
A University Museum of Natural History Planned in Halle
02.04.2009: A university museum of natural history will be established in Halle (Saale) in the coming years. The academic senate of the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) noted the concept for the project on 11 February 2009. There are two aims of the project according to MLU’s Vice Chancellor Prof. Dr. Wulf Diepenbrock, “The internationally significant natural science collection will concentrate on academics and research and be innovatively exhibited to the public.” The museum will be located at Friedemann Bach Square and ideally become reality by 2013.
February, 11th 2009
Martin Luther University gains sister-schools abroad
02.04.2009: The Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) is increasing its activities to attract more foreign students and now works with 14 German sister-schools abroad. More partnerships are planned. The German Academic Exchange Service is funding the project this year with nearly 50,000 Euros. A cooperation agreement was signed with “St. Killian’s German School Dublin” on Wednesday 4 February. School director Uwe Stockmeier travelled to Halle for this.
February, 4th 2009
Rector’s Office Prepares University Partnership in Jordan
02.04.2009: A higher education partnership between the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) and the Tafila Technical University (Jordan) is being initiated. MLU’s Vice Chancellor Prof. Dr. Wulf Diepenbrock is travelling to Tafila, along with two vice-rectors to lead exploratory talks.
January, 23th 2009
Success for Halle’s life scientists: two special research fields receive additional funding
Double success for life sciences at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU). The collaborative research centre (SFB) 648 “Molecular mechanisms of information processing in plants” will receive millions in funding from the German Research Foundation for a further four years. Scientists from six institutes at the university in Halle and two Leibniz institutes are carrying out research in SFB 648. SFB 610 “Variation in Protein Conformation: Cellbiological and Pathological Relevance“ will also receive further funding. In this centre, located at the University of Leipzig, researchers from three MLU institutes work together.
December, 3th 2008
Asian expertise for businesses in Saxony-Anhalt
Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, its Associated Institute for Innovation und Entrepreneurship (IIE) and the Fraunhofer Institute for Factory Operation and Automation IFF Magdeburg want to make it easier for companies in Saxony-Anhalt to enter the Asian market. The Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Affairs is funding the projects with approximately 400,000 Euros.
November, 21th 2008
The Federal Chancellor Scholarship recipient from St. Petersburg at the university in Halle
Dmitry Kamenev, Federal Chancellor Scholarship recipient has recently joined the Economy Department at the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU). He will be working on his dissertation on the cooperation between German and Russian companies in the framework of the current world trade order at the Chair of International Economics until August 2009. This isn’t Kamenev’s first visit to Halle and the MLU. As a DAAD scholarship recipient, he was a guest Prof. Dr. Martin Klein at the Chair of International Economics during the 2006/07 winter semester.
November, 11th 2008
Dow awards scholarships to students in Halle
Promoting young research is an important part of the cooperation between Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) and Dow Olefinverbund GmbH. A cooperation agreement between both partners offers up and coming scientists the opportunity to receive a scholarship among other things. For the fourth time, outstanding students at the university will receive from the company a performance scholarship of 500 Euros per month for the winter semester. Martin Luther University is one of Dow’s 14 partner universities in Europe.
October, 22th 2008
Halle’s university sets up career center
The Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) has set up a career center for the 2008/09 winter semester. This gives Halle’s students a central advice center for career planning. The career center assists them with finding their career path and entering the job market after graduation. October, 1th 2008
Martin Luther University greets over 3,000 new students
Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg continues to attract students. At the beginning of October, 3,000 new students registered at MLU. This is an increase of 17 percent over the previous year. Around 17,900 young people are now studying during winter semester 2008/09 at the largest university in Saxony-Anhalt. The rector’s office is pleased with these good numbers. Speaking at the annual press conference after half of his four year term in office, Vice Chancellor Prof. Wulf Diepenbrock said that this is just one of the reasons behind the positive overall development at the MLU.
October, 1th 2008
The Martin Luther University and the University of Leipzig once again rated top universities in Eastern Germany according to the Shanghai rankings
The Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) and the University of Leipzig were the highest-ranked Eastern Germany universities in the current list of the world’s top 1000 institutes of higher learning, published by the Shanghai Jiao Tong University and also known as the Shanghai rankings. As in 2007, both universities came in at 201st and 302nd place and therefore are among the top 25 universities in Germany. “Of course we are proud that our remarkable success from the previous year could be repeated this year,” explains MLU’s rector Prof. Dr. Wulf Diepenbrock.
August, 15th 2008
New Pharmaceutical Biotechnology Master’s programme
Germany’s first university Master’s programme in Pharmaceutical Biotechnology will begin this coming winter semester at the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU). The programme, which is in English, is aimed at graduates from Germany and abroad with Bachelor’s degrees in Life Sciences and Chemistry and graduates of Pharmacy who have passed their first state exam. The programme teaches methods and techniques for developing, testing, manufacturing and approving pharmaceutical products.
July, 28th 2008
Handover of buildings to the Martin Luther University: cluster of natural sciences moving forward
On 21 July 2008 the State of Saxony-Anhalt handed over two research buildings on the site of the former Heide-Süd caserns in Halle to the departments of Experimental Physics and Nutrition Science of the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU). The buildings were renovated and refurbished for the MLU. The University is one step closer to its goal of having a cluster of natural sciences at the Weinberg Campus. A total of 70 million Euros in state, national and EU funding is to be invested at the Heide-Süd site.
July, 21th 2008
klartext is German champion in debating
klartext e. V., the debating club at the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg has won the German debating championships. Torsten Rössing and Marcus Ewald successfully beat the competition in the final debate on 15 June 2008 at the end of a four day tournament in Berlin. Sixty-four teams and 128 debaters from all across Germany took part in the largest oration competition in the country. The debating club at the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg is, only three years after it was founded, one of the most successful debating clubs in Germany.
June, 16th 2008
Cooperation between the Uni and the “Burg”
06.08.2006: Up until the fall of the Berlin wall the relationship between the Burg Giebichenstein, University for Art and Design, and the University of Halle mainly consisted of personal contacts among professors. Then there were various attempts at cooperation among the students and teaching staffs at both universities.
Alma mater halensis and the Francke Foundation
05.06.2006: In retrospective the planners and founders of the Friedrichs-University deserve a great deal of respect. They courageously, for that time, conceived real university reforms. Starting in 1692 August Hermann Francke realized here in the politically tolerant atmosphere of the Brandenburg-Prussian State his Pietistic ideas of reform. The institutions, which he set up in an area of Halle called Glaucha, became well-known all over Europe within a short period of time.