At the end of last year, the Saxony5 annual meeting took place at the HSZG in Görlitz - a day full of exciting insights and lively exchanges.
For the internal project exchange, the Saxony5 project participants were welcomed in the auditorium of the "Bluebox" on the campus in Görlitz on November 5, 2024 in beautiful autumn weather and with a direct view of the Neisse. After a relaxed start to the day, Prof. Kollmorgen officially opened the event. The new project manager, Sophie Tietze, then gave an overview of the current status of the project. This was followed by three parallel sessions for peer-to-peer consultation, which gave participants the opportunity to engage in dialog, discuss specific challenges in everyday project work and learn from each other. In one of the rooms, Maria Fabisch from the HSZG presented questions and solutions for discussion on how the AAL Lab can be made even better known to the regional target groups.
The collegial consultations were framed by the use of a new, interactive evaluation tool, which was conceived and designed by Prof. Diana Simon's team from the "Multimedia Communication" transfer mode at the HTW Dresden. The tool was designed to gather feedback on the method of peer counseling. The evaluation tool also proved in this application that it can make a change of perspective of event participants measurable and visible.
At lunchtime, there was room for a lively exchange between the sub-projects and everyone had enough time to make new contacts. After the joint lunch break, the workshop "Good photos for social media" took place under the expert guidance of Thomas Helbig, which turned out to be one of the highlights of the day. Here, the participants learned how to create appealing photos for social media that stand out from the crowd using a cell phone and simple tools - a topic that many participants found particularly valuable and enthusiastically embraced. In small teams, the November sun was used to implement the many tips directly and then discuss the results in the large group
After the workshop, all participants went on a short hike to the Postplatz to the German Center for Astrophysics (DZA), which is still under construction. Prof. Besold and his team gave us a warm welcome with a DZA Lego set. Prof. Besold then introduced the DZA's Center for Innovation and Transfer (ZIT). In turn, overall project manager Prof. Gunter Göbel from the HTW Dresden provided insights into the Saxony5 transfer network. The baton was then passed in turn to all the universities, which briefly and concisely presented research topics with potential for cooperation.
Finally, founding director Prof. Hasinger spoke about the big idea behind the DZA - a great opportunity to get to know the visionary projects and intended technological innovations of the new large-scale research center in Lusatia. During a subsequent exchange at management level, Vice-Rectors and representatives of the DZA were able to discuss future research topics further, while the other attendees took the opportunity to network.
We would like to thank everyone involved for making the journey to the easternmost tip of Germany and turning this day into an inspiring and productive experience and look forward to future developments in the project!
