Am 1. September 2010 startet die Jacobs University Bremen mit 630 Bachelor-Studierenden und 580 Studenten in Graduiertenprogrammen in ihr zehntes akademisches Jahr. Mit insgesamt 1210 jungen Menschen aus 104 Nationen ist der Jacobs-Campus so international wie nie zuvor. Besonders beliebt bei den 215 Studienanfängern ist der neue Bachelor-Studiengang „Global Economics and Management“.

On September 1, 2010, Jacobs University starts into its tenth academic year with 630 Bachelor students and 580 students in Graduate programs. With a total of 1210 students from 104 nations the Jacobs campus is as international as never before. Of particularly interest to the 215 freshmen is the new Bachelor program “Global Economics and Management”.

On August 31, 2010, Jacobs University held a ground-breaking ceremony together with Bremen’s Senator for Economics and Ports to celebrate the start of the site development and construction work for a Science Park in the direct campus neighborhood. Four hectares, equipped with state-of-the-art buildings and infrastructure, will provide research and technology oriented companies with space for future establishment. The first construction project, a multi-purpose building with a combined area of 3.500 square meters for “Jacobs University Science & Technology Transfer”, is expected to be ready for occupancy in 2012.

Over 330 Freshmen and their families are arriving on Jacobs University campus as the university's tenth academic year begins. August 25 is the first day for most of the newcomers, undergraduate freshmen and graduate students, on the campus of their new Alma Mater. Until the official start of term on September 1, the students will get to know their new home territory through a diverse orientation week program.

A new Coffee Bar located in the East Wing of Jacobs University’s Campus Center opens its doors on Thursday, August 19th. Opening hours are Monday to Friday from 11.30 a.m. to 3.00 p.m. The bar is run by Jacobs University’s caterer Aramark.

More than 60 Jacobs students from 24 countries will assist this year’s newcomers to settle into university life at Jacobs University. The so-called “student advisors” were appointed last week after having demonstrated high motivation and detailed knowledge about Jacobs University in individual interviews with Radu Rovin and Veneta Ilieva. The third-year-students and main organizers of the Orientation Week are confident of having made a great selection: “The student advisors performed really well. We are sure that their effort and enthusiasm will contribute greatly to make this O-Week an informative, fun, and definitely unforgettable experience for the freshies.”

People on medication involuntarily contaminate drinking water: as the drugs’ pharmaceutical agents often are not completely metabolized by the body, they are excreted and end up in the sewer system. Wastewater treatment insufficiently removes such substances. Even though the concentration of pharmaceuticals in drinking water is very low, the actual impact of such a drug cocktail is little studied.

More than one billion Muslims across the world have begun observing Ramadan. For the next 30 days, believers will observe the holiest month in Islam by fasting from dawn to dusk. Of course, this is also the case on Jacobs University campus. As one of the most diverse universities worldwide, we make sure to cater for the needs of our Muslim students and staff during Ramadan.

Jacobs University campus continues to be a place of dynamic developments. After having celebrated the opening of College Nordmetall, the fourth and largest college on campus, only one year ago, the next big construction project is already under way. The new Science Park will evolve at the northern side of Jacobs University campus.

From August 1 to 6, 2010, Jacobs University hosts the 6th New England Biolabs (NEB) Meeting on DNA Restriction and Modification. Co-organized by Albert Jeltsch, Jacobs Professor of Biochemistry, the conference is expected to attract about 160 scientists from all over the world. Highlights of this year’s meeting are the plenary lectures given by Nobel Prize laureates Werner Arber und Richard J. Roberts.

The summer school on Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUV) at Jacobs University taking place from July 23 to 27, 2010, has attracted a very international group of 27 participants coming from various European countries and the USA.

Vom 30. Juli bis 9. August 2010 bieten Religionswissenschaftler der Jacobs University und der Universität Bremen gemeinsam die internationale Summer School 2010 „How Virtual is Reality?" für Nachwuchswissenschaftler an. Fokus der Summer School ist die kulturwissenschaftliche Relevanz von 3D-Online-Umgebungen wie „Second Life" oder „World of Warcraft" im Hinblick auf Religion(en) und Rituale. Finanziert wird die Sommerschule durch die Volkswagenstiftung.

From July 30 to August 9, 2010, researchers in the field of religious studies from Jacobs University and the University of Bremen offer a joint international summer school titled “How Virtual is Reality?" for graduate students. The summer school focuses on the relevance of 3D online environments like “Second Life” or “World of Warcraft” for cultural studies regarding religion(s) and rituals in these virtual worlds. The summer school is financed by the Volkswagen Foundation.

As of fall 2010, the International Foundation Year Program at Jacobs University will provide high school graduates from all over the world with the opportunity to gain fundamental subject orientation and acquire the needed prerequisites to conquer admission hurdles. The first group of participants of the International Foundation Year will be welcomed on the Jacobs campus in October 2010. Applications are being accepted online until September 1st.

In the new collaborative research project BEYONDVIS, Claus C. Hilgetag, Associate Professor of Neuroscience at Jacobs University, will explore the organization of brain networks that underlie visual perception. Funded for a three-years-period with a total of 800.000 Euros by the European Commission’s ERA Net NEURON program, the project’s goal is the development of novel treatment and training strategies to increase visual performance in brain-damaged patients. For his project component of studying brain networks underlying visual attention with the objective of developing a predictive computational model, Hilgetag receives 215.000 Euros.

Only two months after its opening, the 300,000th visitor was welcomed at Bremen’s Best Practice Area at EXPO 2010. Here, Jacobs University’s interactive multimedia exhibit attracts the visitors with the opportunity for a »hands-on« experience of the university’s topics »Campus«, »Community«, »Study« and »Science«.

Only two more matches and the world will have a new soccer world champion. The teams of the Netherlands and Spain are still in the running, not least because of the progressive and effective management skills of their trainers and managers. The textbook “Management für die Champions League. Was wir vom Profifußball lernen können” (“Management for the Champions League. What we can learn from professional soccer”) by Sven Voelpel, Jacobs Professor of Business Administration, presents the latest management techniques used by football trainers and managers and reveals how every company can use these findings to improve the management of their employees. For the “Manager Magazin Online”, the authors have outlined some of their findings in a four-part article series that deals with the topics “Structure”, “Leadership”, “Management”, and “Culture”.

121 architectural best practice examples in Bremen and Lower Saxony will be opened to the public during Architecture Day on Sunday, June 24, among them Jacobs University’s College Nordmetall. The fourth and largest college on campus was realized under the management of the Hamburg architecture office Böge Lindner, which has already won several awards for the previous successful transformation of the former Roland barracks into the campus of Jacobs University. The guided tours start at 11am, 1pm and 3pm at the campus gate. Everyone interested in architecture is welcome to join.

On June 23, 2010, a novel algae cultivation pilot facility for CO₂ mitigation in industrial exhausts was put into operation in Bremen-Blumenthal. The facility is part of the local waste-run power plant operated by the HKW Blumenthal GmbH. Scientific manager of the project, which is partnered by Jacobs University’s first spin-off Phytolutions GmbH and the BREWA WTE GmbH, is Laurenz Thomsen, Jacobs Professor of Geosciences. The project is funded by the Bremen Economic Development (Wirtschaftsförderung Bremen).

From June 18 to 20, the Jacobs University Rowing Team participated in the Rowing World Cup 2010 in Munich. Invited to take part in the "Städte-Achter-Sprintcup" as part of the supporting program, the team competed against other first-timers on the Olympia regatta track in two 250 meter sprints.

From June 14 to 19, Jacobs University houses 515 sportsmen and women with intellectual disabilities and their coaches on campus. The athletes participate in the “Special Olympics National Games 2010” taking place in Bremen. They compete with more than 4,000 other sportsmen and women in 17 Olympic disciplines ranging from rowing and soccer to judo and swimming. For the six days of the games, the athletes move into Krupp and Mercator College while most of the students are away for summer break or inhabit rooms in Nordmetall College.

Am 12. Juni 2010 gab die holländische Königen Beatrix den offiziellen Startschuss für die Inbetriebnahme von LOFAR, dem größten und modernsten Radioteleskop der Welt. An der Zeremonie in den Niederlanden nahmen Astronomen aus der ganzen Welt teil. Anschließend unterzeichneten Vertreter der LOFAR-Forschungskonsortien in Deutschland, Frankreich, Großbritannien, den Niederlanden und Schweden das offizielle Memorandum zur wissenschaftlichen Zusammenarbeit im Rahmen dieses europäischen Großforschungsvorhabens. Vertreter des deutschen Konsortiums war Marcus Brüggen, Professor of Astrophysics an der Jacobs University.

On June 12, 2010, Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands formally opened LOFAR, the world’s largest radio telescope, at a special ceremony in the Netherlands, which was attended by astronomers from all over the world. Representatives from the LOFAR research consortia in France, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, and the United Kingdom then officially signed the memorandum that kicks off their scientific collaboration, among them Marcus Brüggen, Vice-President of the German consortium and project leader at Jacobs University.

Petar Perkovic is the new President of the Jacobs University Bremen Alumni Assocation e.V. The Jacobs alumnus who graduated in 2004 with a Bachelor’s degree in Cognitive and Social Psychology and Integrated Social Sciences was chosen by ballot during the annual Alumni Homecoming on Saturday, June 5, by the Jacobs University Alumni General Assembly. Supported by the newly elected Treasurer Ewa Greznik and Secretary Stefan Anca (both Class of 2007) Perkovic will steer the affairs of the association for the next three years.

On June 4, 2010, Jacobs University celebrated the graduation of its seventh class, the Class of 2010. With almost 30% more graduates over last year, it is the largest ever class at Jacobs University. The 95% success rate of this year’s graduating batch – 430 young people representing 230 bachelors, 130 masters, and 70 doctoral graduates and hailing from 73 nations – is proof of their exceptional performance and confirms once more the excellence of the University’s approach to higher education. The keynote speaker this year was the Australian ambassador to Germany, Peter Martin Tesch.

Am 4. Juni 2010 feierte die Jacobs University den erfolgreichen Studienabschluss ihres siebten Absolventenjahrganges. Mit gut 30% mehr Absolventen im Vergleich zum Vorjahr ist die „Class of 2010“ die bislang größte Abschlussklasse der Jacobs University. Die 430 jungen Menschen – 230 Bachelor-, 130 Master- und 70 PhD-Absolventen – aus 73 Nationen stellten mit der herausragenden Erfolgsquote von 95% ihre außergewöhnliche Leistungsfähigkeit unter Beweis und bestätigten einmal mehr das exzellente Bildungskonzept der Universität. Festredner war in diesem Jahr der australische Botschafter für Deutschland, Peter Martin Tesch.

Jacobs University’s spin-off SeSaM-Biotech is among the three winners of the „Bremen Founders Award 2010“ (Bremer Gründerpreis 2010). The start-up company was awarded third place in the annual competition honoring outstanding and successful entrepreneurial commitment. SeSaM Executive Director and Jacobs alumnus Dr Alexander Schenk received the award endowed with 2000 Euros prize money during the 9th Bremen Entrepreneurial Gala held at the FinanzCentrum of the Sparkasse Bremen in the evening of June 1. The Prizeotel Bremen GmbH, owner of Bremen’s first budget-design hotel, was placed first; runner-up was the Winkler Studios GmbH.

Die SeSaM-Biotech GmbH, ein Spin-off der Jacobs University, gehört zu den drei Gewinnern des Bremer Gründerpreises 2010. In dem jährlich von der Sparkasse Bremen ausgelobten Wettbewerb zur Würdigung erfolgreicher Unternehmensgründungen und herausragendem unternehmerischen Engagement errang das 2008 gegründete Start-up den dritten Platz. SeSaM-Geschäftsführer und Jacobs-Alumnus Alexander Schenk nahm die mit 2000 Euro dotierte Auszeichnung gestern Abend auf der 9. Bremer Unternehmer-Gala im FinanzCentrum der Sparkasse Bremen entgegen. Den ersten Platz belegte die Prizeotel Bremen GmbH vor der der Winkler Studios GmbH.

Block A of Krupp College, Block A of Mercator College and Block C of College III are Jacobs University’s most successful residential energy savers. The residents of these blocks managed to save the highest number of kilowatt hours (kWh) per person as compared to their own past during the last twelve weeks. Thus, they are the well-earned winners of the Green Team Award Spring 2010. The award is a project by the University Environmental Affairs Committee (UEAC) which consists of representatives of all parts of Jacobs University.

On Saturday, May 29, the “End of the Year Festival” organized by Jacobs students took place on Jacobs University’s Campus. Looking back to a successful year students, faculty, staff, and friends came together to celebrate the end of the term.

Today Jacobs University takes on a festive air as more than 420 graduates, families and friends from 74 nations gather on campus to celebrate Graduation 2010. The Class of 2010 is the seventh and largest class up to now to graduate from Jacobs University.

Windenergie, Car-Sharing, und zukunftsweisende Bildung – mehr Zeit als geplant hat sich Bundespräsident Horst Köhler für die Themen genommen, mit denen sich Bremen, Bremerhaven und Oldenburg gemeinsam auf der Weltausstellung in Shanghai präsentieren. Eine Stunde verbrachte das deutsche Staatsoberhaupt am Donnerstag, den 20. Mai 2010, am Bremer Expo-Stand, auf dem die Jacobs University gemeinsam mit Partnern aus Wissenschaft und Forschung ausstellt. Zum Abschluss unterschrieb Köhler mit goldfarbenem Stift auf einer Stadtmusikanten-Skulptur, die als Gästebuch dient.

Wind power, car-sharing, and future oriented education – Federal President Horst Köhler took his time during his visit to the Bremen EXPO area on May 20, 2010 to learn more about the topics Bremen, Bremerhaven and Oldenburg are presenting at the world exhibition. The German head of state devoted one hour exploring the exhibits, among them Jacobs University’s multimedia table. Concluding his visit, Köhler signed the sculpture of the Bremen town musicians located in the center of the Bremen stand, which serves as the Bremen EXPO visitors’ book for special guests.

Jacobs University participates in the European Integrated Project AMARSi (Adaptive Modular Architecture for Rich Motor Skills) on robotics development under the lead of the University of Bielefeld. Funded for a four-years-period with a total of 7 million Euros by the European Union, twelve research teams from Europe, Israel, Japan, and the US join forces to develop human-like and animal-like robots. These devices will be able to move in a natural fashion, learn motor skills like crawling, reaching, and climbing, and extend their behavioral repertoire through interaction with humans. The Jacobs Machine Learning Group under the lead of Herbert Jaeger, Professor of Computational Science, receives 526,000 Euros of the project money to contribute control modules inspired by natural brains.

Die Jacobs University schließt sich mit elf Forscherteams aus Europa, Israel, Japan und den USA im Forschungsprojekt „AMARSi“ (Adaptive Modular Architecture for Rich Motor Skills) zusammen mit dem Ziel, Roboter zu entwickeln, die das Bewegungs- und Lernverhalten von Menschen und Tieren kopieren. Anders als bisherige Roboter sollen sie sich natürlich bewegen und ihr Verhaltensrepertoire durch Lernen und Umweltinteraktion erweitern. Die EU fördert das Projekt über vier Jahre mit 7 Mio. Euro. Die Jacobs Machine Learning Group unter Leitung von Prof. Herbert Jaeger erhält 526.000 Euro für die Entwicklung der Steuermodule, die sich in Struktur und Funktion an menschlichen Gehirnen orientieren.

On May 12, Jacobs University Bremen and the Hamburg School of Business Administration (HSBA) met a third time at the "Hanse Boat Race" in Hamburg. The coxed eight from Jacobs University won the race by one and a half boat lengths in a close finish, capturing the trophy which will remain in Bremen at least until next year's race.

Am 12. Mai 2010 traten die Jacobs University Bremen und die Hamburg School of Business Administration (HSBA) zum dritten Mal zum Ruderduell „Hanse Boat Race“ auf der Alster gegeneinander an. Vor knapp 500 Zuschauern gewann der Jacobs-Achter die hanseatische Ausgabe des universitären „Boat Race“ über die Distanz von 2.300 Meter mit anderthalb Bootslängen Vorsprung und errang so erneut den großen Wanderpokal. In den erstmals durchgeführten Zusatzrennen konnte sich auch der Jacobs-Frauen-Vierer mit gut vier Bootslängen Vorsprung gegen die HSBA durchsetzen; der gemischte Jacobs-Vierer unterlag knapp mit einer halben Bootslänge.

On Monday, May 10, a new stage for Bremen was opened - the TheaterSpace. The studio theater will be a home to every member of the Jacobs community who is interested in performing arts and wants to learn more about the craft. To celebrate the grand opening of this new venue on campus, a variety of student performances, ranging from acting and poetry to dancing, singing, and music, were showcased.

On Sunday, May 9, the Jacobs University Rugby Team hosted the Roehlig Rugby Challenge 2010 on campus. The match between the Jacobs University Berserks, the team of the University of Bremen, the SC Varel, and the FT Adler Kiel Youth Team was held on the sports field in front of Krupp College. After losing the first two games against the rugby teams of the University of Bremen and the SC Varel, the Berserks stepped up a gear and could secure a win against the FT Adler Kiel Youth Team in the third match.

On Sunday, May 2, Jacobs University welcomed its sixth wave of students of the two-year part-time Executive MBA program in European Utility Management (EUM) with an opening ceremony. Ten executives from eight utility related companies coming from four different countries arrived on campus for their first block week of classes. During the next two years, the executive students will gain a wide range of new skills and sharpened their analytical abilities by combining coursework with day-to-day professional experience.

On April 26, Jacobs University hosted the Third Annual Logistics Chain Gathering on campus. Organized by the Logistics Chain, Jacobs University’s logistics club, businessmen, executives, students, and faculty from the logistics field came together to discuss current business issues and exchange ideas and visions. Highlights of this year’s get together were the award ceremony for the first BLG Case Study Competition and the celebration of the first Jacobs logistics class that is about to graduate on June 4.

Dr. Michael Bau and Dr. Andrea Koschinsky, Professors of Geosciences, win the 2010 award for best paper published in 2009 in the Geochemical Journal. With the award the Geochemical Society of Japan acknowledges their outstanding article entitled “Oxidative scavenging of cerium on hydrous Fe oxide: Evidence from the distribution of rare earth elements and yttrium between Fe oxides and Mn oxides in hydrogenetic ferromanganese crusts“. The article outlines the results of their research on high-technology elements in metal-rich marine iron-manganese nodules and crusts which are of interest as potential targets of deep-sea mining.

The first half of the “Green Team Award Spring 2010” is completed this week. As of Monday, April 12th, the inhabitants of Krupp College, Mercator College and College 3 have been competing among themselves for the title of the “Energy Star” for six weeks. At the end of round 3 (each round consists of a two-weeks-period) a great outcome is observable: At present, every single participating block managed to reduce its electricity consumption as compared to its own past. This was different at the outset of the initiative when some single blocks’ electricity consumption turned out somewhat higher than before. Thus, the “Green Team Award” seems to have achieved a change in the residents’ consumption behavior.

When adults play with Lego bricks at Jacobs University these days, this is not for the sheer fun of it but has to do with a new research project on manual dexterity. Funded for an initial two-years-period with a total of 160.000 Euros by the German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft DFG), the project aims at exploring how age and expertise influence employees’ hand proficiency. For this purpose Jacobs University’s research team in Neuroscience and Human Performance has developed various tasks that probands are asked to perform by hand. Among other things, the tasks involve palpating objects made of Lego bricks, squeezing a force transducer and indicating the percipience of nylon threads on one’s index finger.

On Sunday, April 11, the Jacobs University Rowing Team christened their new racing boat for the Eight Race at the Hanse Rowing Cup on May 12. As a result of the great support from the Rowing Team’s main sponsor Lürssen, the team coaches were able to acquire this second racing boat after the first acquisition of a racing four earlier this season. In an official ceremony, Jacobs Vice-President Dr. Alexander Ziegler-Jöns christened the elegant and dynamic boat “FRIEDA”, named after Peter Lürßen's daughter. The Empacher Racing Eight is exactly what the Rowing Team had been looking for and the team therefore feels yet more confident about repeating last year’s success in the Hanse Rowing Cup – this time in a lighter and faster boat.

A new research project led by Sebastian Springer, Professor of Biochemistry and Cell Biology at Jacobs University, is examining how the body’s immune reaction to viruses, bacteria and cancer can be manipulated. In cooperation with Martin Zacharias, Professor of Theoretical Biophysics at the Technical University Munich, Springer aims at developing chemical substances to inhibit or enhance the response. These substances could then be used either in vaccines to boost the immune reaction or in drugs administered to transplant patients to suppress a possible rejection of the organ. The project, which combines bioinformatics and biochemistry approaches, is funded by the German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft DFG) with a total of 225 000 Euros over an initial three-year period.

Visiting the campus is often times the best way to get a better picture of a university and, in particular, its undergraduate programs. Jacobs University therefore invites prospective students and their families as well as teachers and career advisors to visit the campus for the 2010 Open House on Saturday, April 24, from 10 am to 5 pm to see what makes Jacobs University the premier English-language university in Germany. During the event, guests will have the opportunity to interact with Jacobs students, faculty, and staff. Questions and concerns will be addressed as information about the admissions process is provided and numerous opportunities available at Jacobs University are highlighted.

On its hump day, Thursday, March 30, the Bremen International Model United Nations Conference (BRIMUN) was given further impetus by Max Schön. The President of the German Club of Rome held a lecture about possibilities of commitment in fighting climate change on different levels.

The eighth Bremen International Model United Nations Conference (BRIMUN) started off on Jacobs University campus on Sunday, March 28th, with an opening ceremony and a welcome dinner for more than 100 students from around the globe. The students have come together on Jacobs Campus to simulate the discussions and work of the United Nations. On this occasion, Kurt Bangert, Director of Research at the World Vision Institute for Research and Development, visited Jacobs University to talk to the delegates about “Poverty, Climate Change, and Global Governance”.

From March 28 to April 1, 2010, Jacobs University hosts its eighth Bremen International Model United Nations (BRIMUN) Conference. Organized by the Model United Nations student society, more than 100 students from around the globe come together on Jacobs Campus to simulate the discussions and work of the United Nations. This year’s theme “Energy and Resources” challenges participants to make decisions on topics such as energy security, global warming and scarcity of resources.