In recent years, TU Dresden has increasingly devoted itself to researching historical women who have left their mark on our university through their work and who have broken new ground as pioneers in science. It's time to shine a much brighter spotlight on these women. Diversity Management at TU Dresden has produced a calendar for the year 2024 entitled “Bright minds have no gender –  historical women who completed their doctorates at TU Dresden” which, alongside a social media campaign, pursues precisely this goal: Making women in science more visible!

The calendar contains information on a different historical personality each month. Detailed biographies of the historical women are also published on the TU Dresden website at the beginning of each month. In an accompanying social media campaign, women who are currently completing their doctoral studies in the same discipline present these influential women who have links to TU Dresden. “With this project, we want women in science to be seen more, their stories to be heard louder, and their achievements to be recognized more,” says Vivian Weidner, who works in Diversity Management at TU Dresden and is coordinating the project.

© Karl J. Donath

The project launched in January with Marie Frommer. She studied Architecture and completed her doctorate at what was then called the Technische Hochschule Dresden in 1919, making her the first woman in Germany to receive a PhD in architecture. Every month you will find a detailed biography of a historical woman who studied or worked in science at TU Dresden, which accompanies each page of the calendar. Marie Frommer’s story was presented by Maren Weissig, who has been working on her doctorate in architectural history at TU Dresden since 2020. She is a member of the Doctoral Council, where she is committed to ensuring that individual career paths are recognized and supported.

Watch the video here: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/2WyIgngc4WI

© Karl J. Donath

At the beginning of February, Eva Lopez Rojo introduced Eleonore Trefftz, who also completed her doctorate at TU Dresden. Eleonore Trefftz completed her doctorate in physics in 1945/46 and was one of the first women to be appointed as a scientific member at the Max Planck Society. Just like Eleonore, Eva is completing her doctorate in Theoretical Physics. Her research led her to Dresden via a Master's degree in Denmark and a Bachelor's degree in Spain.

Watch the video here: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/GMSWKQVdGRI

In the coming months, you can expect to see videos of ten more women completing their doctorates at TU Dresden, in disciplines ranging from forestry to economics. The women depicted in the calendar were created by illustrator Viola Lippmann using historical photographs. The calendar can be obtained free of charge from TU Dresden's Diversity Management.

Young women who are interested in studying engineering can complete a trial course of study at TU Dresden in summer 2024. Registration is open now.

For more information, first-hand reports and registration for the tryING trial course go to: https://tu-dresden.de/ing/trying

Contact:

Unit 9.3 Diversity Management
Günther Landgraf Building
Email: