On 25 and 26 October 2017, the 1st Upper Lusatian Energy Symposium took place at the Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences with this year's focus on "Maintenance management of energy technology components", which was organized by the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and the Institute of Process Engineering, Process Automation and Measurement Technology.

Prof. Tobias Zschunke, Vice-Rector for Research, welcomed the participants and emphasized in particular the transformation of energy technology in the context of Upper Lusatia and the Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences (as a former energy university) with its research focus on energy and the environment as a partner. The Mayor of Zittau, Thomas Zenker, welcomed the national and international guests - the latter came from the Netherlands, Switzerland and Austria - to the city of Zittau and then emphasized the important and necessary cooperation between the Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences and the city of Zittau.

The Head of Technical Power Plant Management at LEAG, Thomas Hörtinger, introduced the symposium with the plenary lecture "LEAG today and tomorrow", thereby creating a balancing act between technology - business - politics and the connection with the subsequent  regional transfer.

The technical part of the symposium consisted of four workshops with a total of 12 presentations and subsequent discussions. In addition, 14 poster contributions could be discussed directly at the poster during the breaks.

In addition to the topics of risk management, condition assessment and technical diagnostics, a focus was also placed on the topics of Industry 4.0 and IT security.

The final session on "Market-oriented maintenance" was opened by Ton Duijn, Head Asset Performance & Optimization at Vattenfall, with a presentation on the implementation of a certified asset management system in practical application and then put up for discussion with the participants. The event was moderated by Jörg Heidig.

The evening event at the Schlosshotel Althörnitz provided a pleasant atmosphere in which to share the day's inspirations. 

The highlight of the evening was the presentation of the Hans-Joachim Hildebrand Prize 2017 by Rector Prof. Friedrich Albrecht. This year, it was awarded to Dr.-Ing. Matthias Kunick, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, for his outstanding scientific achievements in his dissertation. 

Prof. Wolfgang Kästner from the Institute of Process Engineering, Process Automation and Measurement Technology and Prof. Stefan Kornhuber, Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, hosted the program. We would like to thank the sponsors IPS, ABB, Camlin Power, LEAG, Starke Mineralöl Werke and all contributors. Special thanks go to Dr. Stefan Kittan as organizer and to our colleagues who made the successful implementation of the event possible.

During the two-day Upper Lusatian Energy Symposium, current issues in the four key areas were discussed. The participants from the various disciplines were able to discuss the impulses, develop ideas and solution concepts and establish contacts. The guests agreed that Zittau was a very representative venue and that the Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences was a worthy host for such a scientific event. 

The Upper Lusatian Energy Symposium will be continued in 2019 and will once again be dedicated to a current key topic. The aim is to create a platform for dialog between science and industry on current issues.