Campus for Design and Art

Visit of the Asian partner universities from Taipei/Taiwan

Foto: Luca Natale

A delegation from two Taiwanese universities spent a week at Campus Gestaltung in June.

The two universities, National Taipei University of Education/ NTUE and Ming-chi University of Technology/ MCUT, have a long-standing partnership with the Campus of Art and Design in Trier. There are regular reciprocal visits, for example in the form of summer schools. In June 2024, an interdisciplinary group from Taiwan visited the Campus Gestaltung.

The Dean, Prof. Dr. Matthias Sieveke, welcomed the guests in the auditorium. In a subsequent campus tour, they were given a comprehensive insight into the workshops and studios and thus gained a comprehensive insight into the courses offered by the Department of Design.

Throughout the week, the Taiwanese students took part in the "Wood Water" workshop led by Prof. Jörg Obergfell together with students from Trier. At social evening events such as a joint barbecue, the students also got to know the delegation from Ruanda, who were visiting the Campus at the same time.

Wood Water" workshop
Prof. Jörg Obergfell, Artistic Design
The aim of the workshop was to develop a solar-powered well using found branches, trunks and roots as building materials. The students first went in search of materials in the Weißhauswald forest. The found material was then selected together, some of the wood was processed with tools and assembled into an artistic fountain sculpture. The fountain's water circuit is powered by a solar-powered module panel.

The resulting works were presented at the end of the week in the form of an exhibition. University President Prof. Dr. Dorit Schumann was also a guest at this event and was impressed by the creative results of the international collaboration during the project week:

"This is a prime example of intercultural work at the highest creative and scientific level. The workshops strengthen our cooperation as Trier University of Applied Sciences with two important partner countries – Rwanda and Taiwan –enormously. I will remember the experience of the high-quality exhibitions and inspiring discussions for a long time to come."

The program was rounded off with cultural excursions to the region, to the Centre Pompidou in Metz and to Luxembourg City, where the MUDAM was visited, among other things.

The project was funded by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and the Federal Ministry of Education and Research as part of HAW.International.