Bringing science to the people

The partners aim to develop new joint projects to raise the profile of science and education. MDR Director-General Ralf Ludwig and the Rector of Mittweida University of Applied Sciences, Professor Volker Tolkmitt, signed a cooperation agreement to this end on 14 February in Leipzig.

Speaking that afternoon, Tolkmitt said: “Today we are placing our collaboration on a broader footing and under the shared mission of bringing science to the people. As a University of Applied Sciences, we are particularly close to the public through our research findings and innovations. MDR, for its part, has made it its mission to spark an interest in science and education among as many people as possible. In this way, it facilitates discourse and participation – and raises the profile of Eastern Germany as a centre of science. I am delighted that we can play a pioneering role here together.”

For many years now, the university’s Faculty Media Sciences and MDR have been working closely together on production-oriented academic media training based on the Mittweida model. With almost 2,000 students, an infrastructure that is unique in Germany and innovative concepts that combine the content, design, production and marketing of media productions, the faculty is the largest media faculty in eastern Germany. Academics and students in Media Management and Media Technology, as well as those on the Master’s programme in Media Management and Technology, are working on projects primarily in the areas of format development for MDR’s youth programming, MDR’s AI strategy for editorial and production, and Virtual Production in documentary film. There is also close cooperation with the editorial team at MDR WISSEN.

Tolkmitt emphasised: “MDR has been our partner from the very beginning, and we are linked through lecturers, joint projects and, not least, the Mittweida graduates working at MDR. Against this backdrop, too, our collaboration with MDR – as the most important media organisation in eastern Germany – is of particular significance.”

Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk is the public service broadcaster for Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia. Through its regional roots and close ties to the local community, it promotes social cohesion and dialogue on important political, social and cultural issues. As a member of the ARD, MDR also provides media content for the ARD Mediathek, the ARD Audiothek and Das Erste. Among other things, the MDR WISSEN editorial team contributes content on science, research, teaching and education for programmes and platforms run by MDR, ARD, 3sat and ARTE.

Director-General Ralf Ludwig expressed his delight: “For us as a modern public service media organisation, communicating science and education topics is part of our core programming remit. We want to make the exciting research taking place in our broadcasting area accessible to a wide audience. Mittweida University of Applied Sciences ranks among the best of its kind nationwide in the fields of computer science, technology and media, with innovative degree programmes. I am therefore delighted that we are further expanding our practical collaboration.”

All degree programmes offered by the Faculty Media Sciences at Mittweida University of Applied Sciences

The Faculty Media Sciences’ YouTube channel, featuring numerous productions and live events created in Mittweida as part of the degree programmes