Topic: Technikum Thüringen - history, present, vision for the future
Speaker: Prof. Jürgen Petzoldt, TU Ilmenau, Managing Director and Deputy Chairman of the Board of Universitätsgesellschaft Ilmenau – Freunde, Förderer, Alumni e. V.
Time: Friday, April 11, 2025, 3:00 p.m.
Place: TU Ilmenau, Georg-Schmidt-Technikum, Faradaybau, Faraday-Hörsaal, access Prof.-Schmidt-Straße
Admission: 5 Euro
The Thuringian Technical Center Ilmenau, the forerunner of today's TU Ilmenau, was founded in 1894. In his lecture as part of the TU Ilmenau Bürgercampus, Prof. Jürgen Petzoldt, Managing Director of the university's support association, the Universitätsgesellschaft Ilmenau - Freunde, Förderer, Alumni e. V., reflects on 130 years of technology and engineering studies in Ilmenau. Founded as a private educational institution for engineers, the Thuringian Technical College existed until 1955, before it was replaced by the College of Electrical Engineering with the right to award doctorates, which later became Technische Universität Ilmenau. With today's TU Ilmenau, there were thus three educational institutions in different social orders that were committed to technical and engineering education.
The lecture by Prof. Jürgen Petzoldt, former Vice-Rector for Education at TU Ilmenau, is being held as a special event of the Universitätsgesellschaft Ilmenau – Freunde, Förderer, Alumni e. V. to mark the 130th anniversary of engineering education in Ilmenau. In his lecture, Petzoldt will shed light on the changes that the TU Ilmenau has undergone over the decades in various social structures and under the influence of different political systems. From a critical examination of the current situation, Prof. Petzold derives possible consequences, solutions and visions for the future - such as that of a Technikum Thüringen, which has also been endorsed by the Thuringian state parliament.
