Getting to know a university on the other side of the Atlantic
As part of the UAS7 Virtual Academy Bremen University of Applied Sciences and the University at Albany held a joint seminar entitled “Air Pollution Control for Environmental Engineering” for majors in the summer semester of 2021. The seminar was offered as an elective module for students in their seventh semester in Bremen. During the seminar, students conducted case studies on the air quality of US and German cities before and during the Corona lockdown. The results from German cities were then compared with cities from the other continent. Thereby, the participants explored exciting aspects of the topic of air pollution control, applied various methodological tools and above all gained intercultural experience in international teams.
In order to make this opportunity possible for students who are still at the beginning of their studies, it was very important to the lecturer Ms. Noke from the University of Applied Sciences Bremen to organise a workshop together with the lecturer from the University at Albany. The workshop took place in a virtual format on 07.05.21. In addition to the teachers and participating students, the coordinator for COIL projects at SUNY Albany and the coordinator within the framework of the UAS7 Virtual Academy at the University of Applied Sciences Bremen also participated.
At 6pm (CET) the workshop team and the eager students entered the online meeting. First, Ms. Noke welcomed all participants and started to present the outline of the workshop. Ms. Richie introduced herself and the SUNY COIL centre, before Ms. Blum explained that the aim of the UAS7 Virtual Academy was to deepen transatlantic relations and to give students the opportunity to work in international teams.
After these presentations, the participating students went into bilateral breakout rooms to get to know each other better. They talked about why they chose the environmental engineering degree programme, what they want to focus on in the future and why they are interested in the other country. The students later described the exchange among themselves as very exciting and inspiring.
In the further course of the workshop, the teachers introduced the two universities and the respective degree programmes. In order to draw attention to the joint seminar, Mr. Schimke, a participant in the UAS7 Virtual Academy seminar “Air Pollution Control”, presented his case study about the air quality of two German cities and a comparison with two US American cities. This whetted the appetite of the participating students for more! The organisers are very satisfied with the workshop and the active participation of the students and hope to promote the cooperation between the two universities involved further.