Springschool FH-Stralsund

Just two years after the foundation of the FH Stralsund, University of Applied Sciences the School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science had realised an international short programme called spring school with assistance by the DAAD. The very fruitful co-operation with many foreign partners in the ERASMUS programme encouraged us to present our ideas to the peers of ERASMUS and now for more than ten years our spring school has been working as an intensive programme with 40 participants from eight universities from seven countries each year. With various aspects of renewable energies and hydrogen technology we could reach five 3-year-period ERASMUS IPs till now.

How was this success to reach? Courageously continuity of a group of co-ordinators and lecturers was a guarantee for building up each year again an international academic community. The preferred way of realisation of the IP - lectures and voluminous practical exercises for mixed groups of students, involving lecturers and engineers from different countries - gave us ideas and possibilities for renewing and completions of themes, subjects and test arrangements. We found out that in this way our competences in renewables and fuel cells have got attention Europe-wide and also in Asia. This competence gave rise to a Master of Science programme Renewable Energy, taught in English language. In preparation and realisation of our IP we used all possibilities of our university for instance the international office, the Multi-component Lab of Renewable Energies (KAE) with its state-of-the-art industrial-like equipment with faculties from different schools, the energy park of our partner in Norway. Very special and extraordinary activities during the IP were the visit of the Hannover Fair and also the visit in the Max-Planck-Institut for H2-fusion research combined with a trip to the Peenemuende museum of rockets, to see the ambivalence of technological developments. Intercultural experience got in common international groups is a target of our IP, and we learn from year to year how to do it better. Academic recognition is given to the students by a certificate for successful attendence with 5 ECTS-points. It is a pleasure for the rector of the FH Stralsund to welcome the partners and to hold the final speech during the closing event. The preparation including the international contacts of the IP is in a near connection and interactive to a lot of other activities in the field of renewables. We want to mention only the Double Degree Programme with our long standing partner University of Agder and its energy park, the new contacts to Thailand, where Master students from Naresuan University leads lab groups of the IP, and also here a DDP for Master of Science in Renewable Energies as well as common research projects with an institute for renewables at UPV in Valencia. For our IP we have more interested parties than placement possibilities because no of our long standing partners want to leave the IP. That's why we will give a summer school in 2008 additionally. As the initiator of our spring school , Jochen Lehmann, was retired we presented a broschure of the IP were we documented all the excellent activities from lectures over lab exercises and excursions combined with pictures of all mixed groups and their comments of our IP of internationally very high standing. These documents, the schedules and the partners can be seen at the websites of the KAE and the international office. The efforts of FH Stralsund to give our students together with our international partners this scientific and intercultural experience are high and successful. So the additional financial funds from ERASMUS for the IP are used very effectively.