Forensics lecture sheds light on environmental crime in Brandenburg

All interested parties are invited to attend the public lecture series "Forensic Sciences: On the trail of the crime"inthe main lecture theatreof theBTU in03046 Cottbus, Konrad-Zuse-Straße 4.

The officers will beHarryJäckel, Chief Inspector at the Brandenburg State Office of Criminal Investigation (retired) and Dr Dirk Marx, Coordinator of the Forensic Sciences and Engineering degree programme at BTU. The event will be moderated by Prof. Dr Thomas Fischer, Head of the Central Analytical Laboratory at BTU.

About the lecture

A pigsty is getting on in years. There are around 50 large pigsties in Brandenburg that have been built in the 1970s on foundations that are also getting on in years. The concrete is becoming brittle and the slurry tanks are leaking. How forensic environmental crime tackles such challenges is the focus of this evening of lectures. Using the example of a large stable in the region, it will be discussed where significant analyses could be available with regard to criminal justification, and it will be shown what has been initiated by certain actors to date. At the end of the evening, it will be discussed how socially relevant bodies come into contact with each other and act in the course of their understanding of their roles.

Topic:Crime in the pigsty:
Environmental crime in our region
Date: Friday, 13 February 2026, 17:30 to 19:00
Location: Large lecture theatre at the BTU main campus, Konrad-Zuse-Straße 4, 03046 Cottbus

Notes on the lecture series

The lecture series "Forensic Sciences: Tracing the Crime" is free of charge and registration is not required. After each lecture, participants will have the opportunity to talk to the speakers.
The event is organised by the Centre for Continuing Education and BTU's Forensic Sciences and Engineering Master's programme.

About the Forensic Sciences and Engineering study programme

The Forensic Sciences and Engineering study programme, which leads to a Master of Science degree, is unique in Germany as an extra-occupational continuing education course at BTU Cottbus-Senftenberg. The seminars in the forensic science study programme focus on crime scene work, investigative procedures and the evaluation of evidence as well as its analysis in the context of its successful use in court.
The programme is a transdisciplinary academic course at BTU. Forensic knowledge, which can also be used by examiners in the private sector, also characterises the teaching programme. Overall, forensic science is facing new challenges: The pace of methodological, technical and scientific developments is characterised by digitalisation, new international and European trends, which are pushing law enforcement authorities and examiners, who have so far mostly acted nationally, to their limits.
Forensic Sciences and Engineering at BTU is taking on these challenges and is expanding its teaching profile from the winter semester 2025/2026 by offering specialisation certificates in fire investigation, handwriting, white-collar crime and the special area of chemical and biological substances. People who do not have the prerequisites for a Master's degree programme are nevertheless given the unique opportunity to continue their university education in these specialist areas.

The flyer for the lecture series