The University and the University Society (UGO) celebrated their New Year’s reception with five honours and classical opera music. Around 550 guests, including Lower Saxony’s Minister for Science, Björn Thümler, enjoyed an atmospheric evening.
“2019 was a good year for the University of Oldenburg in many respects. The course has been set for the future: the University is excellently positioned for the new decade, both in research and in teaching.” With these words, Lower Saxony’s Minister for Science and Culture, Björn Thümler, welcomed the approximately 550 guests to the New Year’s reception hosted by the University of Oldenburg and the University Society of Oldenburg e.V. (UGO) in the Main Auditorium of the Oldenburg State Theatre. The musical highlight was a concert performance of Vincenzo Bellini’s opera *La Sonnambula*. Prior to this, University President Prof. Dr Dr Hans Michael Piper honoured five individuals for their outstanding services to the University of Oldenburg.
Piper presented the President’s Medal of Honour to the recently retired Vice-Presidents Prof. Dr Sabine Kyora and Prof. Dr Esther Ruigendijk, as well as to Vice-President Prof. Dr Meinhard Simon. Music educator Axel Fries and the Head of the Department for Research and Technology Transfer, Dr Michaela Muylkens, were also honoured. “It gives me great pleasure, in the presence of the Minister for Science, the Lord Mayor and our numerous guests from the university, the city and the region, to express my thanks to you and to present you with this award,” said Piper, addressing the honourees.
Prof. Dr Sabine Kyora, a German studies scholar, served as Vice-President for Student Affairs, Teaching and Gender Equality from 2016 to 2019. She led major university-wide projects aimed at further developing teacher training and research-based teaching. In the area of gender equality, she initiated a university-wide gender equality plan and played a key role in its development, explained Piper.
Prof. Dr Esther Ruigendijk, a linguist, served as Vice-President for Early-Career Researchers and International Affairs from 2016 to 2019. She established new career paths for early-career researchers and secured funding for ten new early-career professorships through a federal programme, said Piper. Ruigendijk also strengthened co-operation with partner universities in Groningen and Port Elizabeth, South Africa. In future, she will support the Presidential Board as the university’s ambassador for co-operation with the University of Groningen.
Prof. Dr Meinhard Simon, Vice-President for Research and Transfer from 2018 to 2019, represented the university excellently in academic and higher education policy bodies at state and federal level, emphasised Piper. Furthermore, during his tenure, he led the strategic planning for the state’s competition for digitalisation professorships.
University President Axel Fries paid tribute to Fries for his outstanding contributions as a music teacher. Fries worked as a lecturer at the University’s Institute of Music from 2003 to 2019. Among other things, he founded the student ensemble ‘Schlagwerk Ossietzky’ at an early stage. This had become widely known under Fries’s artistic leadership, explained Piper as he presented the commemorative plaque.
Piper paid tribute to Dr Michaela Muylkens, Head of the Department for Research and Technology Transfer, for her exceptional commitment and skill. Between 2017 and 2019, she successfully led the university through four major competitions at state and national level: the ‘Innovative University’ scheme, the ‘Young Talent Pact’, the ‘Digitalisation Professorships for Lower Saxony’ and the ‘EXIST-Potentiale’ start-up funding programme.
Following the honours, the evening’s highlight was Vincenzo Bellini’s opera ‘La Sonnambula’. The Oldenburg State Orchestra, the opera choir of the Oldenburg State Theatre and vocal soloists performed an abridged version of the melodrama in concert form. The New Year’s reception drew to a close with the traditional ‘after-party’.
As in previous years, by purchasing their tickets, the guests supported the university’s ‘Deutschlandstipendium’ programme, which provides funding for particularly talented and committed students.