DAAD: M2BRIDGE

M2BRIDGE. Towards a Sustainable Cooperation in Teaching and Research in Lightweight Engineering and Multi-Material Design

Dealing with global challenges such as climate protection and resource efficiency requires good networking and cooperation among EU members, especially with regard to the jointly established goal of a "Sustainable Europe by 2030". A sustainable management of our planet's resources is only possible if we reduce our consumption to what is necessary. This does not necessarily call for rigorous asceticism, but in any case for conscious use of the only limited available, valuable materials. Lightweight and multi-material design are key technologies offering important and innovative solutions in this context. Resilient international networks are particularly important for efficient cooperation between the EU member states, and young scientists in particular must be involved in order to ensure one long-term professional cooperation in Europe.

Within the framework of the call for proposals " German-Greek Academic Partnerships
2023-2025" (HSP GR 23) of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), the cooperation and education project M2BRIDGE - "Towards a Sustainable Cooperation in Teaching and Research in Lightweight Engineering and Multi-Material Design between the TU Dresden and the University of Patras" was launched on January 1^st, 2023. The project aims to build up and fill with life the strategic scope for a sustainable and long-term cooperation partnership between the Technische Universität Dresden (TU Dresden) and the University of Patras (UoP) - in general and in the field of engineering sciences in particular - and thereby to bundle the individual research activities of both institutions. Based on the cooperation history of the Institute of Lightweight Engineering and Polymer Technology (ILK) at the TU Dresden and of the Department of Mechanical Engineering & Aeronautics (MEAD) at the UoP, the M2BRIDGE is intended to initiate new research projects, expand joint teaching and implement various measures to strengthen institutional cooperation 2023 - 2025. The institutional cooperation framework shall present Dresden as an attractive location for the education and career development of young Greek scientists in particular, in order to attract them to study or spend a study/research period at the TU Dresden.

The scientific basis for the project implementation is on the one hand the excellent material sciences and lightweight engineering at the TU Dresden and on the other hand the long-standing and international experience of UoP in the field of aeronautics. M2BRIDGE makes use of the synergies. By combining the complementary competences of the ILK and the MEAD in the field of functionally integrative lightweight design, current research questions will be further developed in new joint projects (ideally: PhD projects) and the foundation for expansion to neighboring disciplines shoud be given.

Specifically, the education project will be implemented with the following measures:

• Strategy workshops for the development of focus topics, involving the most important multipliers from administration and research at the universities as well as non-university actors; workshops for the preparation of joint project proposals
• Study, teaching and research visits by German and Greek students, phD students, graduates, young academics and university lecturers
• Dresden Summer School 2024, Patras Summer School 2025
• Development and implementation of joint teaching formats with strong integrated digital component

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