Fears about the future? Paderborn's university boasts new mobility concepts!

Fears about the future? Paderborn's university boasts new mobility concepts!

On Monday, September 29th, Verena Mertens (CDU), Member of the European Parliament, visited the University of Paderborn. On her arrival she was greeted by university president Prof. Dr. Matthias Bauer and Vice President Simone Probst received. As part of their visit, an exchange took place about the university's achievements in research, teaching and transfer, with the importance of these achievements for the region being particularly emphasized.

Prof. Bauer emphasized the need to prepare young people for future transformations. The university offers modern, future-oriented study programs and a variety of networking opportunities within Europe, such as through the COLORS alliance, Erasmus+ and ERC grants. Another highlight of the meetings was the Start-up Campus OWL, which supports students in setting up companies in the region.

Paderborn New Mobility Initiative

An important part of the conversation was the “New Mobility Paderborn” (NeMo) initiative, which includes over 70 members from business, science and municipalities. The NeMo.bil project aims to develop a sustainable mobility ecosystem for people and goods transport. To this end, various partners are cooperating, including the German Aerospace Center (DLR) and the Dortmund University of Technology, with the aim of, among other things, a holistic view of mobility concepts, vehicle systems and digitalization.

• Aspens GmbH
• AVANCO Composites GmbH
• CADFEM Germany GmbH
• CP Tech GmbH
• dSPACE GmbH
• FIWARE Foundation e.V.
• HOLON GmbH
• INYO Mobility GmbH
• LIA GmbH
• Neue Mobilität Paderborn e.V.
• PHOENIX CONTACT E-Mobility GmbH
• Poppe + Potthoff GmbH
• Reisewitz GmbH & Co. KG
• Technische Hochschule Augsburg
• Technische Hochschule Ostwestfalen-Lippe
• Technische Universität Dortmund
• Universität Paderborn
• Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin

The visit also included a tour of the “Paderborn Center for Parallel Computing” (PC2) and the presentation of the new supercomputer OTUS, which, according to Prof. Dr. Christian Plessl makes a decisive contribution to complex simulations in climate and materials research. OTUS ranks 5th in the “Green 500,” a list of the most efficient computer systems in the world, which underlines the importance of the technical infrastructure at the university.

Internationalization of higher education

Mertens' visit took place in the context of the increasing internationalization of higher education in Germany, which is becoming increasingly important as a result of globalization. In a world in which good foreign language skills and intercultural experience make up a significant proportion of the requirements of academics, German universities have increasingly adopted strategies to promote studies and internships abroad.

In 2022, around 139,000 German students were enrolled abroad, which corresponds to 5.2% of all students in Germany. Popular host countries include Austria, the Netherlands, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. As part of Erasmus+, over 37,455 German students who studied abroad were supported between June 2022 and July 2024. These initiatives aim to increase the attractiveness of German universities for international students.

In summary, Verena Mertens' visit to the University of Paderborn shows not only the achievements of the educational institution, but also the ambitious plans to promote sustainability, mobility and internationality, which are in line with the goals of the EU's higher education policy. Further information about the NeMo initiative is available on the website nemo-paderborn.de and nemo-bil.de available.