Joshua is bent over his circuit board in concentration in the basic electrical engineering laboratory at Aalen University of Applied Sciences - sorry, in the sheet metal worker's workshop. Next to him are resistors, capacitors and light-emitting diodes. He carefully solders a transistor with a soldering iron to later bring a little tin man with flashing eyes to life. "It's great fun," says the ten-year-old with eyes that sparkle just as much as the tin man. Josef Hahn-Dambacher has his hands full trying to cope with the rush. "I even had to conjure up extra vacancies, (free) places," smiles the Laboratory Engineer on the Electronics degree programme. The other courses at the Open Campus of Aalen University of Applied Sciences were also truly magical on Saturday - following the motto "Follow the path of knowledge!" inspired by the classic book "The Wizard of Oz", Aalen University of Applied Sciences had invited visitors on a magical journey through its lecture theatres and laboratories.
"Academic freedom is a good thing"
Colorful asphalt drawings based on motifs from the "Wizard of Oz" led visitors along the yellow brick path over the rainbow from the WIN building to the Burren into a very special world. How does a turbo drive work under water? How do you get through the virtual world using muscle power? And can you encode the meaning of words in numbers? Aalen University of Applied Sciences had put together over 100 program items for the Open Campus, inviting visitors to join in and be amazed. University Rector Prof. Dr. Harald Riegel was visibly pleased that the Waldcampus and Campus Burren were so busy and that many people followed the motto "Follow the path of knowledge". "1. science and scholarshop (allg.) is the key to solving complex problems and makes a decisive contribution to social and technological development. In a world that is increasingly characterized by fake news, Academic freedom is a good thing. We also want to underline this with our motto," emphasized Riegel.
The oracle spokesperson at "StudiOz"
One of the "inquisitive minds" was Dilara Fatmaogullari, for example. The 18-year-old has just completed her Abitur, university entrance qualification at Aalen University of Applied Sciences and is now interested in the new Bachelor's program in business law, which Aalen University of Applied Sciences is introducing in the winter semester 2025/2026. "Originally, I wanted to study law. But that takes so long, and business law combines my two interests perfectly. I've already looked around at other institutions of higher education, but the fact that this degree program is now also available in Aalen is great! I can sort of fall from my bed into the lecture theatre," says the high school graduate with a laugh, before moving on with her father towards "StudiOz". There, Open Campus visitors had the opportunity to find out about the wide range of programmes offered, have their photo taken with Dorothy & Co or have their oracle cards read.
"Physician Assistant" as a good alternative to studying medicine
20-year-old Ines didn't need any oracle cards, as she already has a good idea of what she wants to study. The young woman wants to become a "Physician Assistant". This is a "good alternative to studying medicine". She came all the way from Kirchheim unter Teck to take a look at the Campus. "After all, it's not just about the degree program, but also about the institution of higher education," says the 20-year-old, adding: "I like it to be familiar and not just a number." Then she and her mother continue the tour. As we all know, four eyes always see more than two. Speaking of eyes: meanwhile, Vanessa Adelfio is standing in front of the hearing acoustics and optometry building, ready for "customers". Adelfio is in her second semester studying optometry and, together with her fellow students, checks their eyesight using an automatic measuring device. "Too bad, nothing has improved," laughs one visitor.
World-connecting stories and culinary delights
Visitors were also able to take a look at the WIN building, which was opened just under a year ago and is home to the Faculty of Business and Health and the International Center of Aalen University of Applied Sciences. Here you could discover your own future in the health industry or the world of business psychology and then go on "Dorothy's Journey" with the international students, listen to world-connecting stories and taste culinary delicacies from different countries. In the outdoor area on the Burren Campus, the Aalen duo "Duft Duett" with Daniel Leinmüller and Jakob Arold created a musical atmosphere and the E-Motion racing team from the institution of higher education presented their racing cars. In the Munchkins' play city, there was an exercise course for children under the instructions, tutorial of the Aalener Sportallianz. And anyone who was ravenous afterwards could satisfy their hunger at "Dorothy's Diner" with its food trucks.
Open Campus as an alumni get-together
"We want to quench our thirst for knowledge now," says Holger Knoblauch with a laugh, who had registered for a magical campus tour together with his fellow students from the 1985 Mechanical Engineering/Production degree program. Some of them had traveled all the way from the Black Forest, Füssen or even Austin/Texas (USA). They have not seen each other for 40 years - and of course neither has Aalen University of Applied Sciences. "It's crazy, this development. We hardly recognized anything," say the men and one lady in amazement. "It was great Studies. Life-changing," says Holger Knoblauch, who works in Furtwangen as Head of Technology at Ketterer Druckguss and is still in contact with his former mechanical engineering professor, who is now 87 years old. The alumni group listens intently to the explanations of Jordan Trinkle, who is currently doing his Masters (UK)/master's (US) in Advanced System Design and is developing an ultrasonic telerobot system. At the scene of an accident, ultrasound investigations/analyses can provide important information about possible internal injuries to the accident victim. However, as paramedics are usually not trained for this or do not consist of; have the necessary experience, the ultrasound telerobot is intended to enable an experienced doctor at the hospital to carry out the investigations/analyses remotely. "This is a really interesting project. I'm a big fan of Mechatronics in general, because the interdisciplinary approach is so exciting," says the student. Even after his degree, he can imagine a job where he can combine Mechatronics with medicine: "There's something meaningful about it."
How to combine robotics with landscape architecture
Leonard Petry is also a big fan of Mechatronics. Meanwhile, he is standing with Professor Dr. Stefan Hörmann and his Mechatronics demonstrator - a kind of dexterity game in which a ball is balanced on a surface. This is monitored by a camera and the system calculates how the surface needs to be tilted in order to keep the ball on its circular path. The twelve-year-old from the Augsburg region came with his father. "I got to know Professor Dr. Hörmann at the Hackdays at Wertingen secondary school. As I was having problems with the microcontroller in my robot, I really wanted to come to the Open Campus to perhaps find a solution here," says the pupil. Does he want to study something to do with Mechatronics or School of Engineering later on? "Actually, I want to become a landscape architect because I like being in nature. But maybe that can also be combined with robotics, for example to invent a robot for trimming hedges," says Leonard Petry, smiling mischievously.
