Great to have you here!

On September 29, 2022, 800 guests celebrated the start of a new phase of life for our approximately 550 first-year students with the matriculation ceremony. In addition to the newly enrolled students and their families, numerous guests of honor from other institutions accepted the Rector's invitation.

The HSZG moderation duo Carolin Renner (Management of Social Change student) and Cornelius Baier (Culture and Management graduate) hosted the ceremony in their usual entertaining manner. Musical accompaniment was provided by Computer Science student Jonathan Zopf on the grand piano, Cti Hang on the hang drum and singer Adriana Bessogonov. 

After the senate had moved in, the Lord Mayor of Görlitz, Octavian Ursu, and the Lord Mayor of Zittau, Thomas Zenker, jointly addressed greetings to the new students. Both emphasized convincingly what great places Görlitz and Zittau are for studying - both from a professional and a social point of view. Dr. Claudia Maicher, Chairwoman of the Committee for Science, Higher Education, Media, Culture and Tourism of the Saxon State Parliament, then welcomed the new students. She pointed out that the HSZG, as a beacon of the region, is exactly the right place for questions, self-discovery and self-reflection and offers the best conditions for discussing and answering the most pressing questions of our time.

In his subsequent matriculation speech, Rector Prof. Alexander Kratzsch thanked the city of Zittau for allowing the large marquee of the 23rd Saxon State Harvest Festival to be inaugurated with the matriculation ceremony. Zittau hosted the festival on the first weekend in October, which takes place in a different town in Saxony every year. The large marquee on the market square was built especially for this event and was set up a day earlier just for us. This also revealed the special nature of this year's location.

And there is another special feature of this year's start of studies:"There is a need for change in many areas - this is now a social consensus," explains the Rector and continues:

The subsequent symbolic act of matriculation was performed by the Vice-Rector for Education and International Affairs Prof. Sophia Keil, first-year student Lilliana Passeck (on behalf of all first-year students...a big thank you for your courage), the faculty study scouts and a representative of the preparatory college. The student council of the HSZG (StuRa) generously donated a can of Prosecco for each first-year student, so that everyone could toast their studies together afterwards.

A graduation ceremony is always a good opportunity to recognize special achievements. As part of the ceremony, this year's Deutschlandstipendium scholarships as well as the Förderverein Prize for special achievements by foreign students and the DAAD Prize 2022  were awarded. The awards were presented by Mario Linack, Chairman of the Friends of Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences. The association donates both German scholarships and awards for special student achievements every year, thus directly supporting HSZG students. Dr. Stefan Kühne, Director of Studies and International Affairs , received great applause and approval for his speech on the occasion of the award ceremony, in which he impressively addressed the importance of democracy for our society:

Ingo Putz, acting director of the Gerhart-Hauptmann-Theater Görlitz-Zittau, addressed the audience in closing remarks. He passionately promoted the importance of culture for a free society, for involvement in the student ensemble and, of course, for numerous visits to the theater.

The ceremony was followed by the obligatory freshers' photo shoot - this time on the steps of St. John's Church in Zittau. And then it was time to eat, drink and party. The DJ team Juja and Martinus and the spectacular live show by Czech electro-pop band Manu Destra created the perfect party atmosphere.

Because it was so great, we have "captured" the day with a video (creoflux film production) and a picture gallery. Have fun reminiscing! :-)