Rousing start to the semester at the neue Bühne Senftenberg

Once again, the university and the theatre, in collaboration with the town of Senftenberg and the district of Oberspreewald-Lausitz, invited guests to the neue Bühne. Ensemble members Richard Fuchs and Seassak Shik kicked things off with the Friedrich Holländer song "Ich bin von Kopf bis Fuß auf Liebe eingestellt". Artistic Director Daniel Ris and Stage Manager Andy Kubiak welcomed the audience to a particularly informative and entertaining programme, which was actively shaped by students, also in English.

BTU President Prof. Dr Gesine Grande began her welcoming address by thanking the director of the neue Bühne his team.
"It is the greatest joy of a university that once a year everything starts all over again and we can begin the great adventure of studying with a new cohort of young people," she explained. The President wished the students a good start and urged them to make use of the university's professors and Staff Members and also to take advantage of the benefits of Senftenberg, such as the short distances, but also to visit Cottbus.

Later in the evening, the advantages of the town of Senftenberg and the district of Oberspreewald Lausitz also played a major role in the welcoming address by the mayor of the town, Andreas Pfeiffer, and the head of education in the district, Robert Weidner. They used a quiz to find out, for example, that there are a total of seven kilometres of beaches around Lake Senftenberg and that the network of cycle paths in the Lusatian Lakeland is 1,900 kilometres long. Three brave quiz participants were delighted to receive Senftenberg vouchers.

Student amazement and participation
From the student side, it was Klara Richter from the Biotechnology Materials Chemistry Departmental Committee who gave valuable and humorous tips for successful studies, in particular to the first-semester students, and wished them success.
Other students contributed to the event with experiments and the presentation of an exciting project. Johann Malte Hübner, a Master's student of Materials Chemistry, and Moritz Kaschube, who is writing his Bachelor's thesis in Biotechnology, caused a sensation with "Gummy bears in hell and iceberg casting".

BTU employee Sindy Schmidt and Paulina Eiselt, dual Bachelor's student in Electrical Engineering, presented the battery-powered energy-saving LaDy-Gator, with which the student team Lausitz Dynamics successfully competed in one of the largest energy efficiency competitions, the Shell Eco-Marathon Europe, in Nogaro in the south of France in May 2024. In the new year, this competition will take place in neighbouring Poland, and new members of the BTU student team are very welcome.

Theatre - open to students
The neue Bühne Senftenberg, which had 65,000 visitors in the previous season, gave an insight into the attractive programme for the new season with numerous premieres. Three participants in a quiz with questions about the theatre secured free tickets for the "Young People's Choice Subscription", which allows them to attend five performances of their choice for just 25 euros. The social media campaign for the popular nB ClubNacht on 26 October was concluded with a prize draw for free tickets. BTU President Prof. Gesine Grande drew three lucky winners.

An atmospheric highlight of the start of the semester was the performance by the Musical SpielClub ensemble of the neue Bühne, led by Franziska Golk and Sven Irrgang, in which young people addressed both the "peculiarities of the Lusatian language" and the difficulties of digital communication in a subtle way and with great enthusiasm. Rehearsals take place on Mondays at the "Pegasus" cultural and leisure centre in Senftenberg. BTU members are already involved here, but others, in particular students, are welcome to join this games club and the planned games club 21+.

The event in the theatre hall ended with another Friedrich Holländer song, but by no means the start of the semester. Intendant Daniel Ris thanked the BTU and, in particular, Konstanze Eller Keilholz, who was responsible for event management, for their commitment to the preparations and invited everyone to a get-together in the new bar.
Here, the successful evening ended with lively discussions and music as well as free beer and snacks - provided with the support of the city of Senftenberg and the district of Oberspreewald-Lausitz.