Hochschule Karlsruhe – Technik und Wirtschaft

2 November 2011

International cooperation

Baden-Württemberg Foundation supports establishment of German-Australian Study Center for Optofluidics and Nanophotonics at Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences, as well as extension of cooperation and research projects with Swedish Linné University

With its “BWS plus” program, the Baden-Württemberg Foundation supports Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences with Euro 50,000 in establishing a German-Australian study center and fosters the extension of cooperation with the Linné University regarding international student exchange and joint research activities with another Euro 90,000. “BWS plus” is a new program that belongs to the Baden-Württemberg STIPENDIUM, a scholarship program funded by the Baden-Württemberg Foundation for ten years now in order to foster international exchange. A total of 34 universities had applied to be accepted for the program that started in September 2011. Two projects at Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences are among the ten projects at universities in the federal state of Baden-Württemberg that are now being funded. This means the students involved in these projects receive scholarships and financial support for their travel expenses.

The establishment of a German-Australian Study Center for Optofluidics and Nanophotonics, enabling students’ mobility and joint project work, shall lead to a sustainable cooperation between HsKA and the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) in the field of these seminal high tech technologies. On the German side, the optofluidics and nanostructuring laboratories of the Institute for Optofluidics and Integrated Nanophotonic Systems form the core of the study center. On the Australian side, it is the Microelectronic and Materials Technology Centre (MMTC) at RMIT. The funds received from Baden-Württemberg STIPENDIUM shall be used to establish the center through joint student research projects within 5 semesters, so that after this period the center can continue its work, but financed through industry sponsorship. It can then be extended into a unique, cross-regional and internationally well networked competency center for optofluidics and nanotechnology.

The core idea of the project is an exchange between students of HsKA and RMIT in German-Australian teams of two. The team will do practical research work together for a semester at each of the two partner universities. “The mobility of Australian students is limited, especially when it comes to going abroad to a non-English speaking country,” says Prof. Dr.-Ing. Christian Karnutsch from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering & Information Technology and head of the project at HsKA, “but our concept prevents language barrier problems and strengthens the incentives for the Australian students”.

The second project aims at establishing a regular exchange of students between the Faculty for Computer Science & Business Information Systems of HsKA and the School of Computer Science, Physics and Mathematics of the Linné University (LNU) in Växjö, Sweden. The new aspect to this project is the focus on completion of a scientific thesis during the studies abroad. “We’d like to give PhD students and other qualified students of both universities the opportunity to perform their studies and research work on an international level and to establish an international network for their future career”, explains Prof. Dr. Andreas Heberle from the Faculty of Computer Science & Business Information Systems, head of the project at Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences.

The focal point of their research will be so-called service-oriented computing. Service-oriented computing deals with the realization of programs through services and includes many highly topical subjects, such as services on the cloud, design, implementation, integration, operations and management, change, quality and security of services. Within three years, 15 students (primarily of the master degree programs) will continue their studies or complete their final thesis in one semester at the respective partner university.