08.09.2011

The NIT Alumni Network hosted its sixth annual Homecoming Weekend (HCW) event from 2^nd-4^th September. The weekend started on Friday when current alumni joined the graduation ceremony and reception of Class 11 to welcome the fresh NIT graduates to the alumni network. Aditi Ramdorai (Class 07), Chair of the Board of the NIT Alumni Network, and Qiquai Zhang-Horiot (Class 03) directly addressed Class 11 and all their guests in their encouraging speeches. 

Saturday morning saw the HCW move on to a more formal note when the network staged its annual General Assembly. Andreas Lange (Class 08) retired as Treasurer, Ana-Yolanda Sianez Gonzales (Class 10) takes over this function. Chair of the board, Aditi Ramdorai (Class 07), and Diana Lima (Class 10), Vice Chair, stay on in their functions. Heike Bläsig (Associate Director Fundraising & Alumni for NIT) presented an overview of current and future developments at NIT. 

A panel of guest speakers joined the event Saturday afternoon for a workshop on alternative energies. Prof. Dr.-Ing. Thomas Willner, HAW, Dr. Robert Spallino, Renewable Energy Technology Center, Dipl.-Ing. Julia Gottwald, HAW, Peter Lindlahr, hySolutions, Jan Rispens, Erneuerbare Energien Hamburg Clusteragentur  shared their wisdom and advice from different perspectives on this topic, evoking many interested questions and a lively discussion.

Saturday night the annual Alumni Ball was celebrated in its third year, this time at Kaffeerösterei in Hamburg’s Speicherstadt. Alumni and students from all class years gathered along side of Dr. Christoph Jermann (CEO of NIT), Daphna Horwitz and Heike Bläsig to give a festive welcome to the newest alumni of class 11. Guest of Honour, Dr.-Ing. Gottfried von Bismarck, Chairman of the NIT Supervisory Board, casted a spell over the audience while bringing the program full circle to sustainability, but from a fascinating social and emotional perspective. After the delicious dinner, guest speaker, Prof. Dr. Michael Braungart, founder and head of EPEA Internationale Umweltforschung GmbH, remained true to his slogan "We do not want sustainability, because that is not enough. We want real quality." Slightly sarcastically, he led the present NIT community from down cycling via eco-effectiveness and design chemistry to the absurd palm oil consumption in the so called western world.

Both speeches touched everybody present and initiated ongoing talks and debate. However, once the dance floor was opened, the party started and everybody enjoyed it way into the morning hours.

Sunday morning the strong and brave ventured out again for the weekend’s closing event of the Career Brunch. Sleep-deprived but nonetheless motivated alumni shared their experiences with fellow NIT graduates on getting the right start after NIT.