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A few days ago, Geisenheim University celebrated the 150th birthday of its location in the Rheingau. It was opened on 19 October 1872 as the "Königliche Lehranstalt für Obst- und Weinbau zu Geisenheim" with six students at the time.
At the ceremony with Hessian Prime Minister Boris Rhein and 200 invited guests, University President Prof. Hans Reiner Schultz emphasised the role of the university in times of "enormous change". He went on to explain: "The challenges of the present - climate change, resource consumption, loss of biodiversity and the transformation of entire landscapes, the depiction of sustainable quality-oriented, safe production, processing and marketing systems, food security and many more - are thought about and dealt with in parallel at our university in teaching, research and transfer." The university will "make a significant contribution" to making the industries associated with the study subjects "sustainable and thus viable".
Hesse's Minister President Boris Rhein said that Geisenheim University "now enjoys an excellent reputation worldwide" in viticulture and oenology. It is "the address for the winegrowers of tomorrow in the whole of Germany". With its range of courses and research work on nature, landscape, horticultural crops, food and beverages, the university is "not only firmly anchored in science, but also in society".
In the coming year, on the occasion of its tenth anniversary as a "new type of university", Geisenheim University wants to strengthen the dialogue between practice and society and make it more visible. Those responsible are planning demonstration trials and field days, for example in the areas of agro-photovoltaics, soil cultivation, vine breeding and organic vegetable cultivation. In addition, there are the projects of the university and its partners in preparation for the German Federal Garden Show in the Upper Middle Rhine Valley World Heritage Site in 2029.
(uka / Photo: Hoschule Geisenheim)