Conference on the future graduate training of young scholars

During its anniversary conference from 30 November to 1 December, the Bielefeld Graduate School in History and Sociology (BGHS) will look back on ten years’ successful training of young researchers as well as the future of promoting young academics. The panel discussion, which will include Professor Dr Peter Strohschneider (President of the German Research Foundation DFG) and Professor Dr Richard Münch (University of Bamberg), will focus on the topic of the conference: “Graduate Training of Young Scholars in Germany – Responsibility for the Future”.[Weiterlesen]

Conference on the future graduate training of young scholars

During its anniversary conference from 30 November to 1 December, the Bielefeld Graduate School in History and Sociology (BGHS) will look back on ten years’ successful training of young researchers as well as the future of promoting young academics. The panel discussion, which will include Professor Dr Peter Strohschneider (President of the German Research Foundation DFG) and Professor Dr Richard Münch (University of Bamberg), will focus on the topic of the conference: “Graduate Training of Young Scholars in Germany – Responsibility for the Future”.[Weiterlesen]

Study at Bielefeld University published in ‘Nature Communications’

Their fur was used as a raw material for coats; their fat was used for oil lamps and cosmetics: right up to the end of the nineteenth century, millions of seals were being hunted and killed every year worldwide.  The consequences of this episode of commercial hunting for today’s seal populations is the subject of a study published today (16.11.2018) in ‘Nature Communications’. Population geneticists at Bielefeld University and the British Antarctic Survey have found that eleven seal species only narrowly escaped extinction. The scientists managed to include nearly all of the species alive today in their research. The study nevertheless reveals that most species survived the heyday of seal hunting in sufficient numbers to retain most of their genetic diversity.

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The Cluster of Excellence CITEC and eight partners from four continents are working together as part of the international technology network “InterACT”

Bielefeld University and its Cluster of Excellence Cognitive Interaction Technology (CITEC) have joined the InterACT network. The partners in this network are dedicated to researching and developing technologies that will enhance global communication and cooperation. A total of nine universities and institutes from Asia, Australia, Europe, and North America belong to this network. In addition to Bielefeld University, new members of the network also include Stanford University (USA) and the Queensland University of Technology (Australia). The network is being coordinated by the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT).
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Official opening of Building Z

At the 7th of November, Bielefeld University opened its new Building Z. Since the beginning of this year, 120 offices with an effective surface area of 2,500 square metres have been built on the street Konsequenz. ‘Bielefeld University is growing, and this means we need new space. I’m very pleased that with Building Z, we have managed to acquire such urgently needed space so quickly and so successfully,’ says Dr Stephan Becker, the Chancellor of Bielefeld University. He celebrated the opening of the building along with numerous guests from both inside and outside the university. These included Dr Sandra Scheermesser from the Ministry of Culture and Science of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, Karin Schrader the Mayor of Bielefeld, and Martin Sauer the Deputy District Major from Schildesche.[Weiterlesen]

Joint development of information services planned for life sciences

For some time now ZB MED - Information Centre for Life Sciences and de.NBI - German Network for Bioinformatics Infrastructure have been planning a strategic and content-related cooperation in various areas of the life sciences. The office of the de.NBI network is located at the Center for Biotechnology at Bielefeld University. ZB MED and Bielefeld University have now signed a cooperation agreement cementing their future collaboration. The objective is to work together to provide complementary information services for the life sciences. To this end, the joint appointment of a W3 professorship is envisaged, among other things.[Weiterlesen]

Conference of the Collaborative Research Centre (SFB) 1288 ‘Practices of Comparing’

When cultures meet, situations of contact are often overwhelming. How do people order the unknown cultural phenomena they encounter? Researchers at Bielefeld University assume that comparisons with the familiar play an important role in this process. They are verifying this assumption by looking at the history of European Expansion and colonization, and they will be discussing this question with international researchers at the conference ‘Contact – Conquest – Colonization: Practices of Comparing between Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Americas, from Antiquity to the Present.’ The conference will be held from the 11th to the 13th of October at Bielefeld University and is being organized by the Collaborative Research Centre (SFB) 1288 ‘Practices of Comparing’.    [Weiterlesen]

Vice-Rector Angelika Epple: “One of our most important international strategic partners”

Bielefeld University has a new strategic partner in Mexico: the Universidad de Guadalajara. The partnership was sealed in Mexico at the beginning of September by Rektor Professor Dr.-Ing. Gerhard Sagerer and the Vice-Rector for International Affairs and Diversity, Professor Dr Angelika Epple, with the Rector General of the Universidad de Guadalajara, Dr Miguel Ángel Navarro Navarro, and the Rector of the CUCSH (University Centre of Social Sciences and Humanities), Dr Héctor Raúl Solís Gadea. “This institutionalises our cooperation beyond the long-standing contact of individual faculties. Guadalajara is one of our most important international strategic partners,” says Angelika Epple.[Weiterlesen]

Friendly robot being developed in new project

How can robots enrich people’s private lives? A research team is investigating this question in the context of the VIVA project, in which the researchers aim to develop a strongly expressive social robot that is perceived as trustworthy and friendly. Researchers from Bielefeld University’s Cluster of Excellence Cognitive Interaction Technology (CITEC), the University of Augsburg, and the University of Applied Sciences Bielefeld are working together on this project with three companies from the IT sector. From 19–21 September, a kick-off conference will be held in the CITEC Building, where project members will come together to discuss the research work ahead.[Weiterlesen]

Next step in the cooperation with the Canadian province of Alberta  

Bielefeld University’s Faculty of Educational Science and Faculty of Health Sciences are taking the lead: Their representatives are travelling to the province of Alberta from the 14th to the 19th of September for the first two binational workshops with Canadian partners. They will also be discussing future cooperation plans and the exchange of students and interns between educational institutions in both regions – and cooperation with further faculties and academic institutes.[Weiterlesen]