Prof. Dr.-Ing. Wolfgang Kästner receives teaching award from Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences
The Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences (HSZG) and the Förderverein der Hochschule Zittau/Görlitz e. V. are pleased to announce the awarding of the 2024 Teaching Prize to Prof. Dr.-Ing. This is in recognition of his extraordinary commitment and outstanding achievements in teaching.
The teaching prize is awarded every three years by the Friends of the Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences and is endowed with 2,000 euros. For the first time, only students at the university were allowed to nominate candidates for the teaching prize.
The group of students who nominated Kästner gave the following reasons for their choice.
He motivates the students through a sophisticated teaching concept with teaching materials that are always coordinated with each other. Thanks to the excellent coordination of the teaching materials, the subject matter taught is always comprehensible. Furthermore, he is always ready to listen to questions and answers them with care, respect and calmness.
”A total of 13 proposals were submitted by students. A selection committee headed by the Vice-Rector for Education and International Affairs, Prof. Dr. Sophia Keil, and with student participation, then decided who would receive the 2024 Teaching Award based on defined selection criteria.
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Wolfgang Kästner, Professor at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, impressed the selection committee with his teaching concept. His courses, including Control Engineering, Safe and Fault-Tolerant Systems, Fundamentals of Soft Computing - Artificial Neural Networks and Model-Based Measurement and Control Methods, are characterized by an excellent combination of teaching and research. The concept of a holistic engineering approach and the continuous further development of existing courses and teaching materials were particularly emphasized.
In addition to his excellent teaching, Kästner is committed to the internationalization of the Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences, makes English-language contributions to international Master's courses and supports the Chinese-German University of Applied Sciences (CDHAW) at the renowned Tongji University in Shanghai, China, as a guest lecturer. His research activities at the Institute of Process Engineering, Process Automation and Metrology (IPM) focus on nuclear safety research, condition diagnostics, soft computing and modeling/simulation.
Born in Thuringia, he came to Upper Lusatia in 1983 to study at the then Zittau University of Applied Sciences. In 1996, he completed his doctorate in the field of power plant technology. In 2008, he was appointed professor at the Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences.
The teaching award was presented on May 15 as part of the Teaching Day, where representatives of the university's sponsorship association and the selection committee jointly presented the award.
In his laudatory speech, Rector Prof. Dr.-Ing. Alexander Kratzsch found particularly appreciative words for the teaching award winner.
The ability to combine teaching and research in a harmonious way is a central aspect of this award. This integration of theory and practice enables students not only to understand theoretical concepts, but also to recognize their applicability in real-life situations. A wise person once told me that young people don't come to us to read to them from thirty-year-old books. We need up-to-date research findings that we can transfer into teaching. Our award winner today has achieved this in an impressive way.
”The regular awarding of the teaching prize supports the Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences in its efforts to continuously improve the quality of teaching and to offer students an outstanding education.
