With a festive matriculation ceremony on October 11, the TU Ilmenau welcomed its new students in the Audimax. The event marked the culmination of an eventful orientation week and symbolized the entry of these young people into the academic community.
“We at TU Ilmenau see ourselves as an open-minded, international campus where respect and tolerance are essential pillars of living and working together,” said University President Prof. Kai-Uwe Sattler in his welcome address.
Here, students and staff from more than 100 nations come together. Take this opportunity to get to know new cultures and perspectives! Chances like this—to experience such diversity so quickly and intensely—will hardly come again in your life.
The diversity of the community and the opportunities in Ilmenau became particularly visible during the celebration through the commitment of many senior and former students. Some had traveled long distances to take part in the event and share their experiences with the new students.
“Ilmenau is a place to live, to grow, and to discover who you truly are”
One of them is Noel Toms, a graduate in Media Technology. Together with Saadman Abedin, he opened the celebration with a musical performance and, as a representative of the international community, shared his journey from India to Ilmenau:
My path here in Ilmenau began in the lecture hall, led me to exciting projects at the Fraunhofer Institute, and finally to Brandenburg Labs, where I now work as a research engineer shaping the future of spatial audio.
For him, Ilmenau is more than just a place to study: “It’s a place to live, to grow, and to discover who you truly are,” said the engineer and musician.
Music has always been my great passion. I thought I might have to set it aside for the sake of my demanding studies—but Ilmenau taught me otherwise. Here, I’ve performed on stage in student clubs, taken part in concerts in the Audimax, and worked as a composer for the student film group Ilmpressions.
That’s exactly what makes this place so special, he said:
Here, opportunities go far beyond what you expect. This campus is a global stage — and you are invited to step onto it!”
“Studying means finding your own path”
Other students also took to the stage in the Audimax — from the hip-hop dance group of the University Sports Center to industrial engineering student Ramon Heil-Sauerbrey, who performed a musical interlude on the piano, and mechanical engineering student and student consul Falk Matthes, who addressed the new students on behalf of the Student Council:
Studying means trying things out, finding new friends and interests. It means falling down and getting back up again. It means finding your own path. And you alone decide how you want to realize yourself.
Thanks to the commitment of the Student Council, the new tradition of a matriculation tree at TU Ilmenau could also be continued. As a contribution to a sustainable future, the new students planted an American red oak — the storm-resistant and resilient Tree of the Year 2025 — in front of the Humboldt Building. Among them was student Sascha Will:
This tree will still be here long after I’m gone, and it will always be a beautiful reminder of my time as a student. Something that grows and flourishes — just as our own lives should grow, flourish, and continue to evolve.
“Good teaching is not something to be taken for granted”
The ceremony also highlighted that the university community and the strong reputation of TU Ilmenau are sustained by the special dedication of its teaching staff. Two newly appointed professors in the fields of Finance and Signal Processing for Intelligent Sensor Systems — Junior Professor Gerrit Köchling and Professor Florian Römer — were officially welcomed by Prof. Sattler.
Particularly committed lecturers received teaching awards from Prof. Anja Geigenmüller, Vice President for Education and Teaching, in recognition of the exceptional quality of their courses, their innovative and inspiring teaching methods, the continuous development of their curricula, and their personal dedication to supporting students:
Good teaching is not something to be taken for granted. It requires commitment, creativity, perseverance, and time. Its success can rarely be measured by objective indicators. And yet, good teaching is the foundation of a university — it produces excellently educated graduates as well as the next generation of young researchers, who contribute their qualifications and talents to successful scientific work.
"Always look on the bright side of life"
The demanding studies at TU Ilmenau also sometimes require perseverance and creativity — a point emphasized by Prof. Katja Hose, a TU Ilmenau alumna and now Professor of Data Management at TU Wien. In her ceremonial address, she reflected on her own time as a student and on the spirit of optimism that accompanied the many new buildings on campus around 25 years ago. Even if some things may feel unfamiliar at the beginning of one’s studies, she encouraged the new students: “Don’t let it discourage you!”
“Always look on the bright side of life” — with this message, the DaChor, TU Ilmenau’s pop choir, also sent the new students off into this next chapter of their lives.
This year, almost nine percent more young people enrolled at TU Ilmenau compared to the previous year. The number of students starting a master’s program even increased by more than 25 percent year on year.
After the ceremony, many of their families and friends took the opportunity to explore the campus and visit the laboratories to get a first-hand impression of the diverse opportunities available at TU Ilmenau.
More information: Ceremonial Matriculation with Rising Enrollment Numbers
More Impressions of the Matriculation Ceremony 2025
