‘With the House for Innovation and Transfer, we are opening a new chapter in the success story of our university,’ said Prof Dr Ralph Schneider, President of OTH Regensburg, at the official opening ceremony. He was particularly proud of the forward-looking approach: ‘It is not only the most modern and sustainable building on our campus, but also a visible sign of the innovative strength and future-orientation of OTH Regensburg.’
The House for Innovation and Transfer on Universitätsstraße cost almost nine million euros - 6.8 million euros came from the High-Tech Agenda (HTA) of the Free State of Bavaria, 2.15 million euros came from OTH Regensburg's own funds. This resulted in the building with around 730 square metres of usable space spread over three floors. In future, around 50 OTH employees will share several offices, two meeting rooms, two laboratories and a kitchenette. Two floors are exclusively available to researchers, while the Centre for Continuing Education and Knowledge Management (ZWW) is also housed on the first floor.
Key handed over to OTH Regensburg
The newest building on the OTH site is now filling with life: OTH Regensburg celebrated this together with guests from politics, business and the university itself. Prof Schneider welcomed, among others, Jürgen Mistol MdL (state parliamentary group Bündnis 90/Die Grünen), the mayor of Parsberg Josef Bauer and in particular Ministerial Director Dr Rolf-Dieter Jungk, Head of Office at the Bavarian State Ministry of Science and the Arts. Jungk congratulated the new building: ‘With the House for Innovation and Transfer, OTH Regensburg is further developing its campus in a perfect fit and is sure to be a sustainable hit - and in record time thanks to the modular construction method.’ Jungk is certain that the building will be dynamic. ‘OTH Regensburg simply knows how to shape the future!’
Before the official handover of the keys to OTH Regensburg, Senior Construction Director Karl Stock, Head of the Regensburg State Building Authority, recalled the most important key points of the construction project. The building was constructed using a modular design and was completed in a very short space of time - the excavation for this took place in November 2023. ‘What doesn't last long will still be good,’ said Stock regarding the rapid completion of the building. In his speech, he particularly emphasised the aspect of sustainability, in which the House of Innovation and Technology stands out. Only harmless building materials were used for the house, which was built entirely of wood, and care was taken to minimise surface sealing. In addition, the house has geothermal heating, an extensively greened flat roof with a photovoltaic system and a ventilation system with heat recovery.
For Prof Dr Oliver Steffens, Vice President for Research and International Affairs at OTH Regensburg, one aspect of the new building is a particular highlight: ‘This day marks a significant step in the expansion of our attractive research landscape at OTH Regensburg. Because this also includes creating an inspiring environment for our researchers.’ In the new research building, the focus is on creating workplaces and workspaces that are specifically tailored to the needs of researchers - the OTH employees worked together in workshops and surveys to develop their own ‘Houserules’ in advance. ‘We are convinced that a well thought-out working environment plays a decisive role in promoting creative ideas and making innovative contributions to science,’ said Steffens.
Researchers share workstations
The new shared desk model in the House for Innovation and Transfer, which is supported by special furnishings in the offices, is unique at OTH Regensburg. ‘Together with the company Linke Office Design, the focus was placed on this working model and the improved working opportunities through special workplace equipment when planning the building,’ said Dr Marcus Graf, Managing Director of the Centre for Research and Transfer at OTH Regensburg, during a joint tour with the guests. The researchers share the workstations in the offices - there is 1.5 times the capacity utilisation. ‘Various forms of collaboration will be possible here in future - focussed work, group and individual work, meetings with presentation options.’
On the ground floor, the invited guests were then able to gain an impression of the diverse research activities at OTH Regensburg - outstanding research projects were presented across all faculties: for example, Prof. Christophe Barlieb presented staircase models from architecture that could be viewed virtually in space using iPads, while Prof. Dr Thomas Schaeffer from the Mechanical Engineering department explained the development of a galaxy gearbox by creating and testing a digital twin. From the Faculty of Natural and Cultural Sciences, Prof. Dr rer. nat. Martin Kammler from the trafoMOF project presented the sensor principle and Prof. Dr Matthias Ehrnsperger explained the detection of pests in the food industry using the PestSens project. Prof Dr Rudolf Hackenberg from the Faculty of Computer Science and Mathematics presented the topic of security using the Automotive Network Security Case (ANSKo).
Staff from the Research Centre for Energy Networks and Energy Storage (FENES) explained to visitors how the OTH Regensburg, together with the State Agency for Energy and Climate Protection (LENK), is imparting knowledge to schools as part of the H2@school project in the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology. Research associate Anton Achhammer, who is involved in the H2Global Meets Africa project at FENES, was also present at the stand. Achhammer is one of the researchers who will be moving into the House for Innovation and Transfer in the new year: ‘I'm really looking forward to working in our new office - it's exciting to work in such a modern environment with first-class equipment that not only optimally supports research, but also collaboration with colleagues and students.’
