What should a university look like in the 21st century that preserves its unbeatable core - purpose-free research - while not ignoring the demands and challenges of the present? These and other questions were at the centre of this conference. Jürgen Kaube (FAZ) opened the conference in the Lamberti Hall of St Lambert's Church in Oldenburg. A panel discussion with Jutta Allmendinger (WKN), Rüdiger Eichel (MWK), Thomas Alkemeyer (University of Oldenburg) and Ariane Leendertz (HKM) concluded the conference programme.

The exhibition "A chair tells university history - Klaus Beilstein's 'university heads' in the University Archives Oldenburg" can be seen from 5 to 22 November during opening hours in the foyer of the University Library. It has an unusual concept: based on 15 former members of the university who sat on the chair in question and modelled it in Beilstein's studio, the exhibition tells the story of the university's history in highlights. The drawings can be seen on large panels as well as on a digital multi-touch table. This technology allows visitors to explore documents and photos from the University Archives that are linked to the people in the drawings.

The picture gallery shows impressions of the vernissage on 4 November 2024.

The University and the University Society (UGO) celebrated the end of the anniversary year with numerous guests from the worlds of science, politics, business and culture. Renowned sociologist Prof Dr Armin Nassehi gave the keynote speech. The University's research strength was demonstrated during the presentation of the UGO prizes. Chair Wiebke Schneidewind presented the "Prize for Excellent Research", each endowed with 5,000 euros, to geoecologist Sinikka Lennartz and sociologist Gundula Zoch. The prize for an outstanding doctorate was awarded to German scholar Martin Sebastian Hammer. The ceremony was accompanied by music from members of the Institute of Music.

Impressive experiments, tricky questions about Oldenburg's research and great live music - guests at the Quiz Night x UOL at CORE Oldenburg were able to experience all of this. To mark the anniversary, the university organised one of the regular quiz evenings there. In four rounds with different categories, the quizzes thematically explored the Institutes and research institutions. The teams gained an insight into the university's diverse topics and were able to win cool prizes.

We are UOL! Under this motto, around 850 current and former university employees celebrated together at the "hallig hanken". Live music by the student band Kicks & Tones, improvisation theatre by the Oldenburg ensemble "12 Meter Hase" and DJ Ismet Tolan entertained the guests late into the night. Whether over a meal together, a delicious drink or on the dance floor - the evening offered great opportunities to socialise and have fun with colleagues away from everyday university life.

The symposium with renowned researchers from Germany and abroad was organised with the Helmholtz Institute for Functional Marine Biodiversity (HIFMB) and in co-operation with the Universitätsgesellschaft Oldenburg e.V. (UGO). The public highlight and closing event was a German-language evening lecture by Prof Dr Ottmar Edenhofer. The Director and Chief Economist of the renowned Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) is one of the world's leading experts on the economics of climate change and is a member of the University Council.

"Spontaneously done!" Under this motto, the university and the student union, together with the AStA, the university cinema Gegenlicht and the short film festival Zwergwerk, called for the "fastest film competition in the north-west" in spring. The challenge: shoot, edit and submit the film in less than 57 hours. The theme: Campus Future. The participants had to incorporate three elements - a rucksack, the number 50 and new paths - into their film, which had to be no longer than five minutes. The results were shown on the big screen at Casablanca, followed byan awards ceremony. The jury prize went to the film "The Manifesto" by Eliza Heying, Jule Winnes, Sarah Fittje-Deditius and Joshua Stolle. The Audience Award went to Alwa Erythropel and Simon Windrich for their film "Hier muss man schwimmen".

Prof Dr Michael Daxner, President of the University of Oldenburg from 1986 to 1998, initiated the founding of Jewish Studies during his time in office. In 2021, the programme celebrated its 25th anniversary. To mark the university's anniversary, Professor Daxner gave a lecture in the Karl Jaspers House in which he placed his experiences and thoughts in the context of Oldenburg's founding and spoke about the current challenges of Jewish Studies in the transdisciplinary life of the university.

Making the inside of the university audible to the outside: This is the aim of a sound installation that was opened on the Haarentor campus. The Berlin artist Enrico Stolzenburg makes the pedestrian bridge at building A2 resound in a co-operative composition with students and lecturers from the Institute of Music. The permanent installation was opened with a performance. Other formats and artistic contributions from the Institute of Music were then presented in the auditorium.

An intercultural marketplace with stalls from international students and university organisations offered information and culinary delights at the summer festival organised by the International Office. Music, dance, theatre and open-air performances on the festival stage provided a special summer feeling.

Under the direction of Silja Stegemeier, the UniChor and the chamber choir gave a concert at Oldenburg's town hall market. Songs from the university's five decades invited market visitors to sing along.

Under the name UNIted, professors and employees from science, technology and administration have regularly run together at the Everstener Brunnenlauf since 2012. University President Ralph Bruder also took part again this year. Once again, Team UNIted won the challenge cup for the largest company team with 85 participants - in a uniform anniversary shirt.

50 years of the University of Oldenburg - 40 years of the Wechloy campus. The School of Mathematics and Natural Sciences and the Department of Computing Science organised guided (laboratory) tours, workshops, hands-on experiments, exhibits, presentations on current research projects and much more. Registered school classes were able to discover the Wechloy campus on Friday, 31 May. On Saturday, 1 June, all interested parties were invited.

Presenting concentrated science in ten minutes in an understandable way - that was the aim of the Oldenburg Science Slam. Young scientists once again took up this challenge in the anniversary year. The winner of the evening was Muriel Sudhoff, a bachelor's student of German and maths.

Lectures, guided tours, hands-on experiments and test stations at three different locations in Oldenburg in just one evening - the Long Night of Hearing offered exciting insights into the many different aspects of hearing.

The pop-up store was officially opened on Thursday, 2 May. Until 30 May, the university had a "branch office" in the city centre: in a shop at Haarenstraße 39, it offered many exciting insights into research, studying and working at the university. Experiments and hands-on activities, exhibitions, theatre evenings, lectures and much more were on offer.

For one evening, the university library was transformed into a festive dance hall. Normally a place of learning and work, for one evening there was dancing, chatting, laughing, eating and drinking. The book counter was transformed into a cocktail bar and the foyer became a dance floor.

Discover, try out, join in, marvel and play - that was the motto of the KinderCampus. In addition to three short lectures, the children were able to marvel at telescopes in the Tiny Observatory, discover an exhibition on children's rights and the Oldenburg teaching and learning labs. They could attend readings, be part of an improvisation theatre, go on a rally through the university library and have a medical check-up to find out what was wrong with the cuddly toy they had brought along. The university sports programme and the Spielefant games club provided a wide range of activities to get people moving. Workshops on music, ethics and ecology rounded off the programme. Throughout the day, there were short concerts by the band "Die Blindfische".

Dr Jürgen Lüthje, the university's first chancellor, and Dietmar Schütz, former Lord Mayor of Oldenburg, published the anthology "50 years of the University of Oldenburg - a stroke of luck for the city and region" to mark the anniversary.

Students on the Master's degree programmes "Museum and Exhibition" and "Cultural Analyses" designed an exhibition on the topic of protest cultures in co-operation with the City Museum. This took place from Sunday 10 March to Sunday 5 May in the Old Teachers' Seminar.

At the Variétakel, various university sports courses presented themselves with dance, acrobatic and other sporting interludes. The participants showed a colourful cross-section of the university sports programme and often ventured onto the stage for the first time.

At the traditional New Year's reception at the Oldenburg State Theatre, guests were able to enjoy works from operettas and musicals as well as film music and thus a "best of" from previous New Year's concerts. General Director Christian Firmbach and University President Prof Dr Ralph Bruder jointly hosted the evening. The Oldenburg State Orchestra conducted by Vito Cristofaro and soloists Paola Leoci and Paul Brady got the anniversary year off to a lively start.

Under the direction of Silja Stegemeier, the UniChoir and the Chamber Choir performed the Advent service in St Lambert's Church in Oldenburg. Christmas sounds from countries of our partner universities, such as South Africa and the Netherlands, invited the numerous guests to sing along.

The University and the University Society (UGO) celebrated the University's 50th birthday and the start of the anniversary year with numerous guests from academia, politics, business and culture. The keynote speech was given by Prof Dr Alena Buyx, Chair of the German Ethics Council. The ceremony was accompanied by music from several ensembles from the Institute of Music.