As part of an interdisciplinary and interlingual teaching module, students from Ukraine are staying in Cologne from 16 to 28 January. In this module, they are working together with students from the Master's programme Communication Systems and Networks (TH Köln) and biology students (UoC) to investigate the influence of climate change on plant growth. The participants from Ukraine are currently in Cologne to carry out the experiments and are otherwise participating via video conference.
The course is part of the project “Plant-Ukraine”, to which six Ukrainian universities, among others, contribute in addition to the two universities in Cologne (project management: Prof Marcel Bucher (UoC), Prof Uwe Dettmar (TH Köln)). The project helps to establish an innovative and interdisciplinary teaching and learning programme for biology and engineering sciences. Students and researchers from Germany and Ukraine develop their own ideas and concepts for researching climate change and its effects on plant growth and soil biodiversity.
One focus is interdisciplinary and intercultural cooperation. In the project, modern technologies such as robotics and the Internet of Things – a network that connects virtual and physical objects – are combined with in-depth knowledge of plant growth and the interaction between plants and microorganisms to develop innovative issues, experiments and approaches.
As part of the Plant-Ukraine project funded by Stiftung Innovation in der Hochschullehre, the project partners University of Cologne and TH Köln are developing further networking and cooperation opportunities for both students and researchers from Ukraine in addition to the practical teaching modules.
The Plant-Ukraine project is linked to the parallel project “InnoBioDiv” by the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection. In this project, an innovation platform is being set up to make it possible to experience the influence of climate parameters on the growth performance of plants and biodiversity in the soil using modern technology from the fields of sensor technology, robotics, transmission technology and signal processing. The focus is on the development of concepts for the adaptation of crops and ecosystems to climate change, biodiversity in the soil as well as the resource-saving use of water and nutrients in the cultivation of crops and the security of supply for the population. “Plant-Ukraine” expands the activities in the “InnoBioDiv” project by involving Ukrainian scientists and students.
Media Contact:
Isabelle Metzen
Institute for Plant Sciences
+49 221 470 8223
imetzen1
uni-koeln.de
Press and Communications Team:
Jan Voelkel
+49 221 470 2356
j.voelkelverw.uni-koeln.de