Congratulations: 25 years of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering

Professor Sitzmann, what was it like back then when you started at the university? Tell me about it ...

I completed my first semester at the THI as an assistant lecturer, because the recruitment formalities were somewhat protracted. The ministry's statement at the time was "it always takes a little longer with foreigners ...". You have to know that I was born in Hesse and did my doctorate in Lower Saxony.

When I started at the university, it was also the beginning of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering. At the beginning, we were a total of four lecturers who served the entire mechanical engineering course, so a lot of time was spent preparing lectures.
In addition, the construction measures made teaching much more difficult. Construction work was still going on at the current refectory building - the former clothing store of the German Armed Forces - and in some places you could watch and listen to the craftsmen at work during lectures ...
The first study groups were still manageable compared to today - there were 26 students in the first semester of mechanical engineering, but they were all highly motivated ...

What were your first big tasks/topics?

On the one hand, I had organisational tasks in setting up the degree programme. At the beginning there were no faculties, the business administration students started first in 1994 (still at the Hohe Schule), followed by the industrial engineers in 1996 and mechanical engineering in 1997 in the renovated refectory building on the Esplanade.
Because of my professional experience - I was allowed to design test benches for the automotive industry - I was able to get involved in the planning of the new THI building. This was not at all easy: the planning was already far advanced, but the teaching and research focal points had not yet been defined and lecturers and staff still had to be found.
The basis of the planning at that time was basically: let's take the planning of the last new building of a Bavarian university and make everything a little smaller ... You can imagine that this led to requests for changes in many places. Examples of this were found especially in the area of the laboratories, such as: Crane systems, swinging foundations, sound insulation, cooling and a lot more.

What was the biggest highlight for you during your time at the university?

There were many highlights for me during the construction and development of our university. The inauguration of the new building in 1999 was a special highlight for me and my colleagues.
I was particularly fascinated by the creative leeway we were able to use in building our university of technology. Even though the funds had to be raised first, for example through applications for large-scale equipment, and of course not all ideas could be implemented.
Our decision at the time to concentrate on important core areas when setting up the laboratory landscape, to form corresponding laboratory teams consisting of several colleagues each and to aim for industry-level equipment there, has proven successful.

What were the major changes at the university and also in the faculty?

The technical degree programmes started in 1996 with industrial engineering, in 1997 the mechanical engineering degree programme was added, and then it went on with new technical degree programmes almost every year. Our president, Gunter Schweiger, who was himself a lecturer in mechanical engineering, played a major role in the development of the programme between 1998 and 2012.
For many years, we formed a joint department - it was the largest at the university - with the degree programmes in industrial engineering, automotive engineering, aeronautical engineering and mechanical engineering, before we split into the two faculties of mechanical engineering and industrial engineering in 2019.
Today, the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering has seven undergraduate Bachelor's programmes and six Master's programmes.

How do you see the faculty and the university at the moment?

If we look at the development of student numbers, the current applicant situation and the rankings of our university, then we have done quite a few things right.
In addition, our commitment to research and continuing education are other important pillars of our faculty.

How do you see the future of mechanical engineering?

Mechanical engineering is and will remain an important field, a supporting pillar in the technical disciplines. Of course, new key topics will be integrated, just think of the topics of digital technology, such as virtual product development and artificial intelligence. Mechanical engineering can also provide important impulses for the increasingly important fields of climate-friendly, sustainable energy supply. We also see this development in the fields of study offered. Whereas in the 1990s, for example, there was only one set of study and examination regulations for mechanical engineering at all universities in Bavaria, today each university can set its own priorities in the form of very differentiated study programmes.

How has teaching and dealing with students changed?

As a lecturer who still taught in the former diploma degree programmes and accompanied the transition to today's Bachelor's degree programmes, one notices that today's students are (able to be) less involved alongside their actual studies. For example, we find it much more difficult to find students for jobs in the labs or as tutors.
Of course, in addition to the classic forms of teaching - not least because of Corona - more and more digital formats are finding their way into the courses. However, the experience of the last semesters has clearly shown that the practice-oriented laboratory practicals in presence cannot be replaced.

How have the students changed during this time?

The students are very focused on the degree. Unfortunately, one or the other and especially practical experience fall by the wayside. At the moment, of course, the experience from the "virtual semesters" is dominant. Here you can see, especially for first-year students, how difficult it is to work in teams.

What do you wish for the faculty?

I would like to see us reach a state in the development of our technical degree programmes that lasts over a longer period of time and that the goal of a sound, good education continues to come before quantity. There are many exciting topics for the future in which mechanical engineering is also needed in all its forms.