On December 9, 2025, numerous guests from science and society came together at Anhalt University of Applied Sciences on Campus Bernburg to celebrate the outstanding achievements of the year. The "Research Day" took place for the sixth time and focused on the people who shape the university with their ideas, perseverance and passion. The event focused on three awards with which the university honored outstanding scientific achievements: the research prize endowed with 10,000 euros, the dissertation prize and the lifetime achievement award.
In his welcoming address,University President Prof. Jörg Bagdahn looked back on the strong development of the university in recent years: "It was once again impressive to see the diversity of research at Anhalt University of Applied Sciences in the various areas of focus. The success of research is also reflected in the fact that the volume of research funding acquired has more than quintupled in the last 10 years. As an investment in the future, the federal government and the state of Saxony-Anhalt will invest more than 66 million euros in two pure research centers, the InFonaL and the Central German Algae Center, in the coming years. Construction work on the research center for food production began in August 2025. Funding for the algae center was secured in October by cabinet resolution via the special fund for infrastructure and climate neutrality. As with many of our research projects, the research activities in the new research centers will also take place in close cooperation with regional, national and international companies. This joint commitment is a key driver of innovation and sustainable development."
Prof. Dr. Markus Holz, Vice-President for Research, Transfer and Sustainability, highlighted the significant progress made by the university in terms of third-party funding and approvals for the coming years. "The enormous increase impressively shows how important universities of applied sciences are as reliable partners for Economics and society. This was made possible, among other things, by the appointment of research-active professors and the professionalization of our research organization in terms of application and administration that has been carried out in recent years," explains Professor Holz. "On the other hand, the five doctoral centers established at the four HAWs in Saxony-Anhalt since 2021 make an important scientific contribution to our research topics. With currently 78 university doctoral students - out of a total of 186 doctoral students from all four universities - they make a significant contribution to the research strength of the HAWs.
Research prize for Prof. Dr. Matthias Pietsch
Prof. Dr. Markus Holz, Vice-President for Research, Transfer and Sustainability, then presented the research award to Prof. Dr. Matthias Pietsch and said: "He has been one of the university's strongest researchers for many years. With over two million euros in third-party funding and a strongly practice-oriented research profile, he has shaped the further development of digital methods in environmental and landscape analysis."
Since his appointment in 2016, he has been working on the development of modern GIS and remote sensing methods that make natural and landscape areas more visible and improve planning processes. He analyzes data from drones, aircraft and satellites, develops methods to promote biodiversity and creates digital tools that support regions in using data specifically for sustainable development. This also includes innovative geo-web applications and digital standards such as XPlanung, a nationally used format for digital construction and specialist plans that is becoming increasingly important in Administration and planning. Professor Pietsch is a founding member of the Doctoral Center Life Sciences at Anhalt University of Applied Sciences. He is currently supervising a doctoral student as part of a cooperative doctorate.
His commitment extends far beyond the university: he is actively involved in nationwide expert committees such as the Modeling XPlanning working group and the Landscape Planning working group of the Federal Association for Professional Nature Conservation and is a member of the Scientific Committee of the international conference "Digital Landscape Architecture (DIA) (all taught courses in English)". With numerous publications and regular presentations at national and international conferences, he is continuously advancing his field.
Dissertation prize for Robert Heidrich
The university went on to award Dr. Robert Heidrich the dissertation prize. In his doctoral thesis, he investigated how solar modules change over the course of many years of operation and why they lose power over time - a key issue for the energy transition, as photovoltaics is growing rapidly worldwide and must provide reliable electricity in the long term.
Heidrich analyzed how solar modules withstand environmental influences over decades and which processes contribute to their ageing. He looked at both fundamental changes in the encapsulation material - such as diffusion and the degradation of polymer additives - and their effects on the measurable performance of the modules. By combining various measurement methods from physics, chemistry and materials science, he was able to identify important interactions and derive models that enable a more accurate prediction of the service life of solar modules. His research thus provides valuable insights for the further development of photovoltaics and for a stable, sustainable energy supply.
Lifetime achievement award for Prof. Dr. Dieter Orzessek
Another highlight of the event was the awarding of the Lifetime Achievement Research Prize to Prof. Dr. Dieter Orzessek. Dieter Orzessek studied and completed his doctorate at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg and then habilitated at the "Thomas Müntzer" University of Agriculture and Food Economics in Bernburg, where he became a professor in 1987 and served as rector from 1990 to 1993. When Anhalt University of Applied Sciences was founded in 1993, Dieter Orzessek switched to teaching, took over as Dean from 1994 to 1996 and was elected Rector and later President of the university in the same year. For over twenty years, he actively shaped its development with a clear attitude.
In addition to his work as Rector and President of Anhalt University of Applied Sciences, he never lost sight of his own research. During his time in office, he laid the foundations and framework conditions for the Center of Life Sciences at Anhalt University of Applied Sciences as well as the development of algae research and drone and gyrocopter-based remote sensing of agricultural land. It was always important to him to take the university's various research focuses into account. Even after his retirement, he is still involved in research projects, for example in the areas of biochar, field trials and agri-photovoltaics. The work in the area of Agri-PV is an example of transdisciplinary research at the university: researchers from the fields of Electrical Engineering, Agriculture and Biodiversity work together here. The project was nominated for this year's Hugo Junkers in the category "Most innovative projects and projects for adaptation to climate change".
Prof. Orzessek is a founding member of the Doctoral Center Life Sciences, where he passes on his specialist knowledge to young scientists.
Research as a shared mission
At the end of the evening, Prof. Dr. Markus Holz, Vice-President for Research, Transfer and Sustainability, looked to the future: "In the coming years, our university will continue to focus on research topics with particular economic and social relevance. Intensifying cooperation with Economics and the transfer of research results into the economic cycle through spin-offs and start-ups will play just as important a role as adapting to future topics through new fields of research, e.g. as part of the German government's High-Tech Agenda. Our motto is: 'We are curious about the new!
