Students experience innovative technology, international impulses and regional energy solutions

The block week on campus brings variety to everyday study life

An exciting block week for students took place at the Feuchtwangen campus from June 2 to 6. The week began with intensive laboratory work in which various components of modern building technology were explored in a practical way. The students carried out hydraulic balancing on the Wilo Brain test stand and learned about all the relevant elements for optimizing heating systems. Other stations included HVAC systems (heating, ventilation, air conditioning, cooling), geothermal systems, heat exchangers and heat pumps.

“The lab is the best place to learn how complex systems really work – theory is important, but this makes it tangible,” said one student enthusiastically after the first day.

This was followed on Tuesday by an inspiring workshop entitled “Sustainability in design”, led by Mexican guest lecturer Carla María Hernández Leal. This showed how sustainability aspects can be taken into account early on in the planning process – both in a technical and social context.

As part of the event, Wednesday was dedicated to Building Information Modeling (BIM). Students simulated which technical building installations are efficient and sustainable in large construction projects. In the afternoon, Carla María Hernández Leal reported on her work in Mexico, where she is active in rural regions to develop solutions for sustainable development together with local people.

The week concluded with an excursion to local energy plants: the students visited the wind turbine and the ground-mounted photovoltaic plant near Thürnhofen as well as the biogas plant in St. Ullrich and the battery storage facility in Feuchtwangen. They were able to experience concrete applications of renewable energies directly on site and make the topics covered during the week tangible.

“It was impressive to see how many sustainable technologies are being implemented right here in the region. It really motivates you to get involved in such projects yourself later on,” said one student after the excursion.