From the President’s Office: Prof. Dr Margit Geißler

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The past year posed great challenges for researchers at the university. Despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, work in the laboratories could be resumed thanks to a good hygiene concept. But then, in July 2021, the flood inundated the research labs at the Rheinbach campus. They could not and still cannot be used. All those responsible at the university – from the President’s Office to the Dean‘s Office and the administration to the Graduate Institute and all the doctoral student supervisors – worked under great pressure to search for and find solutions so that research could once again take place at the H-BRS Rheinbach campus. We have been supported in this endeavour in many ways by our cooperation partners, by universities and other institutes of higher education, by companies and local authorities. Our heartfelt thanks go out to all our supporters!

The inspection by the German Science and Humanities Council (WR) was an important milestone on the way to the Graduate School for Applied Research North Rhine-Westphalia (PK NRW) gaining the right to award doctorates independently. University President Hartmut Ihne, Professor Rainer Herpers the head of the Graduate Institute, and many other research colleagues were actively involved in the assessment. Participation in Research Day 2021, which was held for the first time on a virtual platform, was equally active and very well received.

Yet another milestone is the launch of the project “Introduction of a Research Information System” (FIS), which is funded by the Digital University NRW. H-BRS’ data will be prepared for the core data set research by linking all information in the subject area research. And the FIS will deliver data for the future strategic development of our university.

Finally, we sent a clear signal for free access to scientific information by adopting an open access policy for the university and signing the “Berlin Declaration on Open Access to Knowledge in the Sciences and Humanities”.

Prof. Dr Margit Geißler

Vice President for Research and Young Academics