Dean of Science Professor Rob Whelan, Director Klaus Krischok and Mic...

Professor Rob Whelan, Dr Guenter Gruber and Professor Rob Castle offi... Professor Rob Whelan, Dr Guenter Gruber and Professor Rob Castle officially opened the GerMANY Innovations Day

German author Wibke Bruhns and Professor Stephen Tanner holding Ms Br...

UOW celebrates GerMANY connections

Bavarian beer tasting, a presentation on flesh-eating disease and a discussion with the daughter of a German counter-intelligence officer who was executed for attempted assassination of Hitler led a program of events, highlighting connections between German culture and research and the University of Wollongong.

The GerMANY Innovations event on Friday (23 May) began with an open discussion with author Wibke Bruhns, who was the first female journalist to present the evening news in Germany.

The discussion, led by Head of the School of Journalism Professor Stephen Tanner, focused on Bruhns’ book My Father's Country, which follows her private and reporting life and covers her discovery that her father, counter-intelligence officer HG Klamroth, was executed in 1945 for high treason related to the attempted assassination of the German Chancellor Adolf Hitler.

German Consul General Dr Guenter Gruber officially opened the event with Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic and International) Professor Rob Castle and Dean of Science, Professor Rob Whelan.

GerMANY Innovations was a joint initiative of the German Consulate, German industry and cultural organisations and the University of Wollongong. The mix of serious and social events on the program was designed to allow students, staff and the general Illawarra community to get involved.

“We wanted to encourage as many people as possible to learn more about German technology, language and culture,” Professor Whelan said.

To encourage this, a competition asked entrants to research Germany and submit their answers online by Thursday May 22. Creative writing student Madeline Phelan won the major prize from Lufthansa Airlines, which allows her to travel to seven major cities in Europe.

Three UOW researchers working with German industry partners presented mini lectures, including Professor Mark Walker, whose research looks at flesh-eating disease and has significant collaborations with the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research in Braunschweig, Germany.

Throughout the day and into the evening there were trade displays involving German companies including Siemans, Volkswagon and Lufthansa. The event finished with Bavarian beer and food tasting, music and a screening of the German film Goodbye, Lenin!

For further details about GerMANY Innovations visit germany.uow.edu.au