Things are heating up at Open Campus
Rector Prof. Dr. Stephan Trahasch welcomed the guests who had come despite the heat and spoke with Markus Ritzel, Director of the Public Sector Unit at Nagarro; Werner Mäurer, managing director of HIWIN GmbH in Offenburg, a former student, and current Chair of the University’s Board of Trustees; and Prof. Dr. Jonas Weigert, holder of the Nagarro Endowed Chair and Dean of Studies for the new bachelor's program in Digital Public Management and Consulting, about how the University and companies are jointly shaping the region’s future and developing new degree programs. Visitors were then able to learn more about these programs at various booths in the foyer of Building A.
On stage, Prof. Dr. Jürgen Seitz, holder of the Hubert Burda Media Endowed Chair in “Artificial Intelligence for Digital Media and Business Models,” made it clear in his presentation “AI—Dumb or Smart?” made it clear that the answer to this question depends heavily on the quality of the user’s questions or prompts. This was followed by a quiz prepared by move.mORe—the joint project of the universities of Karlsruhe and Hochschule Offenburg for sustainable mobility in the Upper Rhine region—featuring ten questions about the University and sustainable transportation topics. And in a Science Slam—spiced up by host Kai Wißmann with a nod to the winner of the previous edition—four professors from the University packaged science into three exciting stories. Prof. Dr. Thomas Seifert’s heart-wrenching story on fracture mechanics—featuring numerous crack tips and a call to love one another rather than wage war—went over so well with the audience that he narrowly won in the end, and some of the young attendees even took his red (paper) heart home as a souvenir.
The hands-on stations on campus and in the buildings were also very popular with young and old alike. There, visiting guests could compete against the robot Sweaty in a goal-shooting contest, build small motors, race against an AI-controlled car on a Carrera racetrack, build a spectrometer with the pepperMINT foundation, participate in an e-sports tournament, paint with a robot, develop creative supply chains, take on a microscope challenge, complete the Sustainability Club’s campus rally, or test their own accuracy at an intelligent, AI-powered target station. Move.mORe and its partners—including the City of Offenburg, Fuss e.V., and the ADFC—provided interactive information on sustainable mobility. Visitors could also marvel at the Black Forest Formula Team’s electric race car and the University of Offenburg’s electrified Ape. The solar-powered seawater desalination plant SolAqua, the empathetic assistance systems emoCare and RoBuddy, the 3D cube made up of 4,096 LEDs, a mobile 3D printer in action, and the Biomechanik shoe testing attracted a great deal of attention. At the Institute for Sustainable Energy Systems, visitors could also experience a thermal imaging camera, solar modules, battery systems, biochar, and an e-driving simulator. Lab tours and offerings from partners Badische Stahlwerke, BCT Technology, hansgrohe, Meiko, Nagarro, Printus, and Techniker Krankenkasse rounded out the program.
International encounters were facilitated by the booths of the International Office and the European university alliance ChallengeEU, of which Hochschule Offenburg is a member. And in the Alumni Lounge, numerous former students gathered to reconnect with old friends, make new ones, or join the Association of Friends and Supporters of Hochschule Offenburg.
For relaxation, there was a barefoot trail organized by the university chaplaincy, as well as a wide selection of food and drinks from the university cafeteria, the AStA student union, a popcorn machine, and various stands on campus. Musical entertainment was provided during the day by the university orchestra and, in the evening, by the rock band Daddy Dirty from Lahr and Sound, Pattern, Attitude—a project by students, musicians, and sound artists led by Prof. Markus Birkle at the intersection of electronic and acoustic music. To round off the event, a facade projection by the Media Department bathed Building A in an unusual glow.
Highlights from Open Campus 2026
