Regional network for science, research and education founds Hi!Lusatia association
Together with nine other partners from the fields of academic teaching, research, business and society, CASUS founded the association Hi!Lusatia on June 8, 2023. The name Hi!Lusatia is a combination of the English greeting “Hi!” and the Latin (and English) word for the focus region of the association: Lusatia. This historical region is located within the German states of Saxony and Brandenburg as well as in the Polish voivodeships of Lower Silesia and Lubusz. Hi!Lusatia also emphasizes that skilled professionals are welcome in Lusatia.
“I am firmly convinced that through Hi!Lusatia, the strengths of the participating partners can be used to the benefit of the region and its talents,” CASUS Director Prof. Thomas D. Kühne expressed his confidence on the occasion of the network’s founding. “Science and research can be the key for a positive development of Lusatia. Hi!Lusatia will reflect this development and support it through various activities – from recruiting professionals and offering educational opportunities to promoting research and transfer.”
The founding members include the educational institutions Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences and the International Institute (IHI) Zittau of Dresden University of Technology. In addition, the following research institutes are founding partners:
- the German Aerospace Center (DLR), Institute of Low-Carbon Industrial Processes,
- the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der angewandten Forschung e.V. (Institutes for Machine Tools and Forming Technology and for Optronics, System Technologies and Image Exploitation),
- the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf e.V. with the Görlitz-based institute CASUS – Center for Advanced Systems Understanding,
- the Leibniz Institute for Ecological Spatial Development e.V. (Interdisciplinary Center for Transformative Urban Regeneration) and
- the Senckenberg Society for Nature Research.
Last but not least, research-oriented employers such as Siemens Energy Global GmbH Co. KG and strategic partners from other sectors of the economy and society such as Europastadt GörlitzZgorzelec GmbH and DDV Neiße GmbH are also among the members of Hi!Lusatia e.V..
Other interested parties, including the German Center for Astrophysics (DZA) and Construction Future Lab (CFLab) gGmbH, have already expressed their intention to participate in the association.
Hi!Lusatia e.V. aims to promote the attractiveness and diversity of working, living, teaching and research in the border triangle region of Germany/Poland/Czech Republic through joint initiatives and to actively participate in the future-oriented, sustainable transformation of the region. The promotion of science, research and education is the main focus.
Prof. Alexander Kratzsch, Rector of the Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences, was elected Chairman of the Association’s Board. The deputy chairmen are Sven Werner, site manager of Siemens Energy Global GmbH & Co. KG, and Prof. Thorsten Claus, Institute Director of IHI Zittau. The association will have its headquarters at Obermarkt 17 in Görlitz.