News in research and teaching

How can we get more people in Saarland inspired to learn French? Professor Claudia Polzin-Haumann and her team at Saarland University are working on answers to this question. In the 'French and more' research project, they are developing practical language courses tailored to real-life needs. Following a successful pilot phase, one of the building blocks is now being made permanent: job-specific language courses designed for the healthcare sector. [...]

Wie gelingt es, Materialien und Produkte so in geschlossene Kreisläufe zu bringen, dass Abfälle vermieden, verwertet und Rohstoffe geschont werden? Wie kann die Wirtschaft im Saarland hiervon profitieren? Antworten auf diese Fragen geben Expertinnen und Experten aus Wissenschaft und Praxis am 30. September ab 9 Uhr auf dem ersten Saarländischen Circular Economy-Kongress. „Von der Kreislaufwirtschaft zur Zirkulären Wertschöpfung“ lautet das Motto des Kongresses. [...]

A Spanish flag hanging in the window, enticing tapas on the tables in the KHG courtyard... Every Tuesday during term time, students come together during their lunch break in a relaxed and inviting atmosphere to speak Spanish and learn more about Spain and its culture. These meetings will take place again in the winter semester. [...]

Zum Start des Wintersemesters finden wieder zahlreiche Führungen in der Saarländischen Universitäts- und Landesbibliothek (SULB) statt. Studierende im ersten Semester und auch externe Einsteigende erhalten eine erste Orientierung in der Bibliothekswelt. Bei einem Rundgang durch die wichtigsten Bibliotheksräume lernt man das Serviceangebot der SULB kennen. Die Führungen finden zwischen dem 6. und 24. Oktober statt und dauern jeweils etwa eine Stunde. Eine Anmeldung ist nicht erforderlich. [...]

At the festival celebrating the Day of German Unity 2025, Saarland University will join together with research institutes, partner institutions and the Saarland University Medical Centre to showcase numerous research projects in computer science, medicine, biosciences and the university's focus on Europe. There will also be a wide range of hands-on activities which will allow children and young people to experiment for themselves. [...]

The lungs of slaughtered pigs are usually turned into animal feed or simply discarded. Now, two research teams from the fields of medicine and engineering at Saarland University have developed a method to repurpose this type of ‘slaughterhouse waste’ as a practical and reliable lung model for research. Their goal is to replace and reduce animal testing—and possibly even surpass it in terms of its capabilities and its value to the scientific community. [...]

It might sound like science fiction, but it’s already a reality. Bacteria are now capable of breaking down environmentally harmful substances like polystyrene and turning them into the building blocks for nylon—without relying on fresh crude oil. This breakthrough has been achieved by Christoph Wittmann, Professor of Biotechnology at Saarland University, together with colleagues from neighbouring disciplines. Their findings have been published in the Chemical Engineering Journal. [...]

Welche Potenziale haben generative Sprachmodelle wie ChatGPT für das Jura-Studium und die Lehre in der Rechtswissenschaft? Im Rahmen des Juristischen KI-Projekts geht Professor Georg Borges vom Institut für Rechtsinformatik der Universität des Saarlandes gemeinsam mit Studierenden und Nachwuchswissenschaftlern dieser Frage auf den Grund. Die Ergebnisse aus dem Sommersemester, in dem der Workshop zu den KI-Tools gestartet war, stellen sie am 25. September ab 18 Uhr vor. [...]

On Monday, 6 October, an information day will be held from 9 a.m. for first-year students of Bachelor's and teacher training programmes at the Faculty of Humanities. In addition to lectures on the subjects, there will be other events with tips on studying, as well as an information bazaar and a campus rally. [...]

Am 19. September konnte der Professor für Organische Chemie an der Universität des Saarlandes Dr. Hans-Jörg Schneider seinen 90. Geburtstag begehen. [...]

Vom 23. bis 27. September kommen 23 Dekaninnen und Dekane von Universitäten aus Lateinamerika an die Universität des Saarlandes, um sich im Wissenschaftsmanagement weiterzubilden. Ein weiteres Ziel der Fortbildung ist es, die Fakultätsleitungen und ihre Universitäten mit der Universität des Saarlandes zu vernetzen. Die Universität des Saarlandes baut auf diese Weise ihre Hochschulkooperationen weiter aus.
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Am Samstag, dem 20. September, lädt die Universität Absolventinnen und Absolventen der wissenschaftlichen Weiterbildung und des Gasthörerstudiums erstmals zur "Lifelong Learning Night" ab 17.30 Uhr in die Aula ein. Der Abend steht im Zeichen der Wertschätzung für alle, die sich neben Beruf und oft auch Familie mit großem Engagement weiterqualifiziert haben – ob in Programmen des "Continuing Education Centers" CEC Saar oder des "Zentrums für Lehren und Lernen" ZeLL. [...]

How can evaluation help to make projects and programmes in development cooperation, environmental promotion or migration policy more targeted, efficient and effective? This question will be explored at an international conference taking place from 17 to 19 September at Saarland University, jointly organized by the Society for Evaluation DeGEval and the Saarbrücken Center for Evaluation. [...]

In the 1990s, a Roman burial ground with two large burial mounds was discovered in Oberlöstern, a district of the town of Wadern in Saarland. The burial mounds were then rebuilt. Since 2010, archaeologist Sabine Hornung from Saarland University and her team have been researching the ancient cultural landscape surrounding these striking monuments. [...]

Designing English lessons with the help of tasks that are rooted in the everyday lives of pupils – this is the central theme of the 21st Teachers' Day at Saarland University. It will take place on Tuesday, 7 October 2025, starting at 8:30 a.m. in the university auditorium (Building A3 3). The event is aimed at English teachers, trainee teachers and students. Registration is open until 22 September. [...]

A topping-out ceremony was recently held at the university's medical campus in Homburg to mark the new building for the Anatomy Department's prosection and dissection facilities, along with new teaching areas for Biophysics and Physiology. Once completed, the building will be called the 'Teaching Forum'. Numerous guests from politics, public administration, academia and medicine attended the ceremony, which traditionally celebrates an important milestone in the construction project. [...]

Professor Dominik Brodowski, Vice-President of Saarland University and Professor of Law, visited Kyiv from 9 to 11 September at the invitation of the Office of the President of Ukraine. During his visit, he participated in the 5th Summit of First Ladies and Gentlemen and delivered a guest lecture on the rule of law at Mariupol State University. In recognition of his contributions, he was appointed ambassador of Mariupol State University, a partner institution of Saarland University. [...]

Maintaining industrial equipment remotely with VR glasses or navigating the real world with augmented reality – what has long been part of everyday life in the professional world and in our private lives is still rarely found in classrooms. The new XRISE teaching project at Saarland University aims to change this by bringing together teacher training students with IT experts and psychologists. [...]

Karin Jacobs and Franziska Lautenschläger, professors of physics at Saarland University, along with Dr. Oskar Staufer from the INM – Leibniz Institute for New Materials, have been appointed Fellows of the Max Planck School Matter to Life. [...]

This year’s Demo Day—part of the 8th Saarland Accelerator—saw 7 finalists present their business models to an audience of around one hundred guests. The event, which took place at Saarland University’s and was jointly organized by Triathlon – Ecosystem for Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Transfer, and fitt gGmbH, marked the conclusion of the annual three-month accelerator programme. The winning pitch came from Team LAHA, whose innovative laser-based hearing aid caught the attention of the jury. [...]

The universities of Saarland are hosting the University Ball at the E-Werk in Saarbrücken on 11 October. All dance enthusiasts from across the region are warmly welcomed to join students and university staff for an elegant evening of celebration. The Saarland Police Big Band and DJ Moh will provide a vibrant musical programme, featuring everything from timeless dance classics to international party hits. Discounted tickets are available for students and trainees. [...]

Was hat der Netflix-Hit "3 Body Problem" mit Mathematik aus Saarbrücken zu tun? Während in der Serie das Wechselspiel dreier Sonnen für kosmisches Chaos sorgt, treiben in der Wissenschaft Dreikörper-Wechselwirkungen zwischen Teilchen Simulationszeiten in die Höhe. Ein Team aus Saarbrücken und Neuseeland hat nun einen Weg gefunden, diese komplizierten Berechnungen massiv zu beschleunigen und somit Materialien am Computer deutlich schneller und genauer zu simulieren.
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Professor Wolfgang Wahlster, long-serving Chair of the Executive Board at the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI), has been awarded the prestigious Konrad Zuse Medal by the German Informatics Society (GI) in recognition of his outstanding contributions to computer science. The award honours the exceptional scientific achievements and the remarkable commitment of an outstanding researcher who has profoundly shaped AI research in Germany and across Europe. [...]

Just like on motorways, traffic in the body no longer flows smoothly when the 'roads', such as cellular microtubules, are damaged. These tiny tubes play a key role in the cytoskeleton, providing stability and serving as transport routes within the cell. A team of biophysicists in Saarbrücken has now redefined the role of a microtubule protein that not only stabilizes but also supports the repair of damaged microtubules. The scientists have published their findings in Nature Physics.
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Ultra-flat, featherlight, and compact – these are the hallmarks of the next-generation cooling units being developed by Professor Paul Motzki at Saarland University. Backed by a prestigious ERC Starting Grant from the European Research Council, Motzki is pushing the boundaries of elastocaloric technology – a cutting-edge, climate-friendly method of cooling and heating – by combining two breakthrough smart material systems. [...]

A research team at Saarland University has demonstrated in a clinical study that a widely used anti-allergy nasal spray containing the active ingredient azelastine can significantly reduce the risk of infection with the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The results of the placebo-controlled trial involving 450 healthy participants have now been published in the leading US medical journal JAMA Internal Medicine. [...]

On the 40th anniversary of the Schengen Agreement, Europe's open internal borders are facing mounting challenges. A new volume in the series Saarbrücker Beiträge zur Europaforschung (Saarbrücken Contributions to European Studies), entitled '40 Jahre Schengener Übereinkommen. Europa und seine inneren Grenzen' ('Forty Years of Schengen—Europe and Its Internal Borders'), takes stock of the past four decades while also looking to the future, asking what lies ahead for Europe in these uncertain times [...]

An international team of researchers, including mathematician Jonas Haferkamp from Saarland University, has discovered a new phenomenon in the world of quantum physics. States that appear to be purely random, without actually being so, are generated much faster than previously thought. This could significantly improve many quantum physics applications. Due to their fundamental importance, the findings were published in the journal Science.
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From 10 to 12 September, the EDV-Gerichtstag (EDVGT) conference will be held for the 34th time on the campus of Saarland University. Around 800 experts from the judiciary, the legal profession, public administration, politics and academia will once again gather at Germany's largest specialist conference on digital innovation in law. This year’s conference with the title ‘Next Generation Law – From AI to Digital Civil Procedure Rules’ will take place at the Faculty of Law (Building B4 1). [...]

On 4 September, Dr. Wilfried Kindermann, Saarland University’s long-standing professor of sports medicine, who was even dubbed the ‘Emperor of Sports Medicine’ by the media, will turn 85. Dr. Kindermann served as the head of the Institute for Sports and Preventive Medicine at Saarland University for many decades. [...]

For centuries, physicists have believed that ice melts on slippery surfaces due to the effects of temperature, pressure and friction. But a research team led by Martin Müser, Professor of Materials Simulation at Saarland University, has now shown that this long-standing belief is mistaken. Using advanced computer simulations, the team discovered that molecular dipoles—tiny charged regions within molecules—play a decisive role in disrupting the crystalline structure of ice. [...]

Since April, Triathlon—an ecosystem for entrepreneurship, innovation and technology transfer at Saarland University—has been part of the European BIKE-HEI project. The project aims to strengthen universities as designers of regional innovation ecosystems and to drive forward the green, digital transformation through AI-based solutions. In the winter semester, Triathlon will launch workshops on sustainable entrepreneurship and innovation—open to students, university staff and community members. [...]

Scientists at Saarland University’s Homburg Campus have developed a pioneering robot-assisted procedure for joint replacement surgery. Their approach removes the need for bone pins and external infrared cameras in procedures such as knee replacement surgery. Led by Professor Stefan Landgraeber, Director of the Department of Orthopaedics at the University Medical Center, and research associate Philipp Winter, the project seeks to make orthopaedic surgery both safer and less invasive. [...]

Vom 1. bis 3. September findet an der Universität des Saarlandes die Jahrestagung der Gesellschaft für Fachdidaktik (GFD) statt. Didaktikerinnen und Didaktiker aus ganz Deutschland tauschen sich auf dem Saarbrücker Campus unter dem Motto „Perspektiven der Fachdidaktiken – Schnittstellen, Übergänge, Vernetzungen" aus. Die GFD ist der Dachverband aller Fachdidaktischen Fachgesellschaften in Deutschland. Die Medien sind herzlich eingeladen. [...]

Every time a muscle contracts or a thought forms in the brain, calcium plays a crucial role in triggering the process. Once the signal has been transmitted, the calcium must be rapidly cleared from the cell, so it is ready for the next signal. This task is performed mainly by plasma membrane calcium pumps, which, it turns out, operate at a transport rate more than 100 times faster than previously thought. [...]

Wie kann Künstliche Intelligenz sinnvoll genutzt werden, um die Patientenversorgung sektorenübergreifend von der Arztpraxis über Krankenhaus, Apotheke, Reha bis hin zum Pflegedienst nahtlos zu steuern? Wie kann das hierfür nötige Vertrauen von Patientinnen und Patienten, Ärzteschaft und der Öffentlichkeit aufgebaut werden? Diese Fragen stehen im Mittelpunkt eines Kongresses, den das Netzwerk Health.AI mit Partnern am 27. August im Innovation Center (A2 1) auf dem Saarbrücker Campus ausrichtet. [...]

Satellite images, social media and barcode scanners in shops offer a wealth of data that has so far been little used in the social sciences. New AI-supported methods are helping with the evaluation, but they require a great deal of IT expertise and legal and ethical consideration. This interdisciplinary expertise is now to be pooled in a competence centre called ‘Societal Observatory Using Novel Data Sources (SOUNDS)’. [...]

For his outstanding services to Saarland as a centre for computer science and his decades of commitment to research, teaching and science policy, Professor Kurt Mehlhorn was awarded the Saarland Order of Merit by Minister-President Anke Rehlinger on 20 August. [...]

Joint press release by the Health.AI Saar network, Saarland University and the Saarland Ministry of Economic Affairs:
Following a successful interim evaluation, the Health.AI Saar research network has been awarded approximately €14 million in funding. Numerous partners within the network are conducting a wide range of research projects exploring how artificial intelligence can enhance healthcare and medical practice. [...]

Saarland University’s Professor Dr. Rudolf Wendt will celebrate his 80th birthday in St. Ingbert on August 18th. Professor Dr. Wendt previously served as the Chair of Constitutional, Administrative, Economic and Financial Law and the Dean of the Faculty of Law and Economics at Saarland University and currently acts as the Vice-President of the Constitutional Court of Saarland. [...]

From compostable packaging to novel, renewable building materials and recyclable lightweight vehicles. Students who want to help develop sustainable solutions like these can join Saarland University’s new Master’s programme ‘Sustainable Materials and Engineering’. Starting this winter semester, the programme offers students the chance to tackle sustainability challenges hands-on. [...]

While tuberculosis no longer plays a major role in large parts of Europe, many people still carry the pathogen. The bacterial infection can still be very dangerous for people with weakened immune systems. The QuantiFERON-TB Gold Plus test is often used as the standard diagnostic test for tuberculosis. A high-profile study conducted in eleven European countries found that this test alone is not very reliable in immunocompromised patients. [...]

Die Universität des Saarlandes bietet erstmals ein Stipendium für internationale Studierende und Promovierende an, die im Studium mit besonderen persönlichen Herausforderungen oder schwierigen Lebensumständen konfrontiert sind. Damit will die Universität die Chancengerechtigkeit stärken und Benachteiligungen ausgleichen. Die Bewerbungsfrist endet am 31. August 2025. [...]

Wie kann die Zertifizierung von KI-Systemen helfen, Künstliche Intelligenz zu regulieren und so Vertrauen in die Technologie stärken? Dieser Frage gehen deutsche und brasilianische Forschungsteams auf den Grund. Das Forschungsprojekt, an dem Arbeitsgruppen der Universitäten des Saarlandes und Sao Paulo zusammenarbeiten, wird von der Deutschen Forschungsgemeinschaft DFG und der brasilianischen Partnerorganisation CAPES gefördert. [...]

Nicht nur in der Großregion werden Fachkräfte gesucht, die in kulturvermittelnden Institutionen, in der Kreativwirtschaft oder im Kulturmanagement tätig sein wollen. Daher geht an der Universität des Saarlandes zum Wintersemester 2025/26 der interdisziplinäre Bachelorstudiengang „Cultural Studies und Management“ an den Start. Der doppelsprachige Studiengang (Deutsch und Englisch) verbindet Inhalte aus den Bereichen Kultur, Medien und Musik sowie Wirtschaft und Marketing. [...]

Juniorprofessor Anselm Crombach ist mit seinem Lehrstuhl für Klinische Kinder- und Jugendlichenpsychologie und -psychotherapie an einer internationalen Studie beteiligt, in der es um belastenden Kindheitserlebnissen, Erziehung, Wohlbefinden und soziale Normen geht. Für eine etwa 20- bis 30-minütige anonyme Online-Umfrage werden Eltern von jungen Erwachsenen (18 bis 25 Jahre) gesucht, die zu diesem Themengebiet Auskunft geben möchten. [...]

Anlässlich der FISU World University Games 2025 Rhine-Ruhr wurde die Universität des Saarlandes mit dem „Healthy Campus“-Label der Fédération Internationale du Sport Universitaire (FISU) in der höchsten Stufe Platin ausgezeichnet. Diese Auszeichnung würdigt das umfassende Engagement der Universität für die studentische Gesundheitsförderung auf dem Campus. Insgesamt wurden neun deutsche Hochschulen mit dem Label ausgezeichnet. Weltweit tragen aktuell etwa 85 Hochschulen aus 43 Ländern das Label. [...]

Mathematik-Studierende der Universität des Saarlandes können ab sofort bereits während des Studiums einen Teil der Ausbildung zum Aktuar beziehungsweise zur Aktuarin absolvieren – also zum wissenschaftlichen Sachverständigen für die Bewertung finanzieller Risiken, etwa in Banken und Versicherungen: Die grundlegenden Lehrveranstaltungen in Versicherungs- und Finanzmathematik an der Saar-Universität sind von der Deutschen Aktuarvereinigung e.V. (DAV) akkreditiert worden. [...]

Am 23. Juli 2025 kann der emeritierte Professor für Humangenetik und frühere Vizepräsident für Forschung an der Universität des Saarlandes, Dr. Klaus Dieter Zang, seinen 90. Geburtstag begehen. [...]

Die Universität des Saarlandes hat ein Projekt eingeworben, mit dem ukrainische Hochschulen gefördert und ein saarländisch-ukrainisches Universitätsnetzwerk aufgebaut werden sollen. Das interdisziplinäre Vorhaben "Saar-Ukraine University Network: Overcoming Borders for a European Future" wird vom Deutschen Akademischen Austauschdienst für vier Jahre mit etwa einer Million Euro aus Mitteln des Bundesministeriums für Forschung, Technologie und Raumfahrt gefördert. [...]