30 years IHI Zittau: 3rd episode

Part of the University of Excellence, part of new networks

Senckenberg ultimately tipped the scales: The natural research society in the Leibniz Association wanted to set up two English-language master's degree courses on biodiversity with the researchers at its Görlitz branch, aimed at a global target group, and was looking for a local university partner. Since at the same time (we are talking about the years 2011, 2012) the TU Dresden was on its way to the first league of German universities of excellence, the idea arose in the Ministry of Education to make the IHI Zittau a connecting point for the East Saxon networks of the TU Dresden. Thus, with the new Saxon Higher Education Freedom Act, IHI Zitttau became a Central Scientific Institution of TU Dresden as of January 1, 2013 and co-opted new colleagues with Senckenberg and the Leibniz Institute for Ecological and Regional Development (IÖR). In the new study programs "Biodiversity and Collection Management" (meanwhile further developed to "Organismic and Molecular Biodiversity") as well as "Ecosystem Services" people from almost 40 nations on four continents are now studying (still missing Australia/Oceania...).
However, IHI Zittau's economics department also repositioned itself: In place of the now hopeless "poaching" of students from Polish and Czech partner universities, exchange agreements on an equal footing have now been established: students can now acquire two European master's degrees through exchange semesters or mutual recognition of modules acquired at the partner. This exchange is particularly intensive with the TU Liberec: Under the heading "Central European Campus Neisse/Nisa", numerous Czech and German students study "fluently", so to speak, on a joint cross-border "campus".
Regionally, IHI Zittau has been involved in the establishment of the network "Hi!Lusatia", which connects universities, research institutions and research-based companies in the region, and is represented on the board (more here). This makes us a central player in the transformation region of Lusatia, where numerous new research institutions are currently establishing themselves. A network degree program responding to this is also already in preparation...
Under the profile line "Biodiversity and Responsible Management", IHI Zittau is today heading for an internationally and regionally networked future. One could almost speak of a happy ending - but why "ending"...