Prof Dr Manuel Löwer has held the Chair of Product Safety and Quality at the University of Wuppertal since 2017. He has been committed to international exchange and interdisciplinary collaboration between engineering and design science students for many years. In subjects such as "Cooperative Product Development in Automotive Engineering", "Global Collaborative Engineering" and "Innovation of Safety-Compliant Products", students work together in internationally mixed teams and benefit from professional and intercultural exchange. The courses are organised in cooperation with Hongik University in Seoul and in collaboration with over 25 universities from more than ten countries.

Combination of digital teaching and short-term stays abroad

The organisation of the participating groups across different time zones is particularly important for the successful design of digital and blended learning formats. Students are intensively supported, challenged and encouraged by Manuel Löwer for one semester at a time. In order to familiarise themselves with the respective partner country and to work intensively on projects, reciprocal visits of around two weeks each take place. This combination of digital teaching and short-term stays abroad for project work is particularly attractive for those students who might not have been able to afford a full semester abroad.

Every year, around 25 Wuppertal students benefit from the exchange programme. Due to the regularity of the exchanges across the participating universities, the links at faculty level are also very close and are utilised in various fields of academic cooperation, making them strategic partners. The selection committee explicitly emphasised the curricular anchoring of the cooperation activities, which ensures long-term and sustainable collaboration between the participating universities.

Internationality is the central basis for excellence and competitiveness

This is the eleventh time that the University of Wuppertal has presented the award. "Science and research are international at their core," explained Prof Dr Peter Gust, Vice-Rector for Third Mission and International Affairs. "And internationality is the central basis for excellence and competitiveness in research, teaching and transfer as well as for the attractiveness of the University of Wuppertal as a place for securing skilled labour, which is becoming increasingly relevant. In times of geopolitical uncertainty, the importance of international science and cooperation is all the more important in order to overcome global challenges together," Gust continued.

Internationalisation also promotes intercultural dialogue and understanding. It is therefore an "intrinsic goal and cross-sectional task that the university wants to fulfil its social responsibility by implementing in a sustainable manner", as Gust emphasised. "Professor Manuel Löwer shows us the importance of responsible, committed action for the benefit of the university as a whole, the students and the international visibility of the University of Wuppertal," said the laudator about the award winner. The mechanical engineer and safety technician Löwer received the World Lion for his many years of successful and visible commitment.