5 October 2022

Following extensive renovation and remodelling work, the new central teaching building at Nordhausen University of Applied Sciences was handed over today in the presence of Infrastructure Minister Susanna Karawanski and State Secretary for Science Carsten Feller. The new lecture theatre can be used from the start of the winter semester. The state building construction project, which involved the energy-efficient and barrier-free refurbishment of Building 19 on the Nordhausen University of Applied Sciences campus, cost a total of 8.5 million euros. The state contributed a total of 6.4 million euros from the Higher Education Pact.

"With our new lecture theatre building, we have state-of-the-art equipment and can offer our students a wide variety of teaching formats, including digitally enhanced ones. I am delighted for our Nordhausen University of Applied Sciences," emphasised University President Prof. Dr Jörg Wagner.

"The inauguration of the new lecture theatre building marks another milestone in the development of the local campus. Here in Nordhausen, we are not following the usual path of many universities, which are predominantly newly built. Since the university was founded, we have pursued a strategy of refurbishing the existing buildings and that was already a very forward-looking decision at the time," said Thuringia's Minister of Infrastructure Susanna Karawanskij. "Renovation instead of new construction saves resources and CO2. In particular, the team at the Thuringian State Office for Building and Transport (TLBV) has continuously succeeded in converting the existing buildings of the old agricultural college into modern research and teaching buildings and implementing the requirements for climate-friendly construction," she added.

"With modern teaching buildings, we are creating the best teaching and learning conditions in Nordhausen," said State Secretary for Science Carsten Feller. A well-developed infrastructure ultimately contributes to the attractiveness of the university location and thus to the strengthening of business and science in the region. "With around 2,000 students, Nordhausen University of Applied Sciences makes an important contribution to securing skilled labour in the region of northern Thuringia." The fact that the refurbishment of Building 19 was carried out according to the latest structural and energy criteria was a matter of course for a university that is committed to sustainability in research and teaching.

Construction of the project began in the second quarter of 2019. Now that the refurbishment of the central teaching building has been completed, further major construction work is due to be carried out on the Nordhausen University of Applied Sciences campus. Among other things, the active and passive network technology and the fire alarm systems across the entire campus are to be modernised. By 2024, the sports hall (Building 22) will also be repaired and cleaned of pollutants. By 2025, the old boiler house will be renovated with ERDF funding, the entire energy supply of the campus will be optimised and converted to renewable energies.