Silke Pöhlmann has been working as a laboratory engineer at the Münchberg campus, which at the time was still part of the University of Applied Sciences now Coburg University of Applied Sciences, since 1998. She is thus one of the longstanding employees of Hof University of Applied Sciences, which was founded in 1994, and was recently honored for 25 dedicated years of public service.
During a small ceremony with Chancellor Ute Coenen, Silke Pöhlmann received a certificate of thanks from the Free State of Bavaria.
The campuls editorial team spoke with Ms. Pöhlmann about her professional career, her tasks at the university and what she particularly appreciates about the Münchberg campus.
Ms. Pöhlmann, how long have you been at Hof University of Applied Sciences, Münchberg Campus?
“Officially”, I have been working as a laboratory engineer in Münchberg since February 1, 1998, when I was still part of the Coburg University of Applied Sciences. But already since July 1, 1997 I was employed for 10 teaching hours/week for the supervision of practical courses in Münchberg.
Could you please describe your professional career in a few sentences?
I studied “Textile Finishing/Chemistry” at the Münchberg Campus from 1988-1992 and already worked as a student assistant in the dyeing and printing laboratory during my studies. I completed my diploma thesis in April 1993 and then worked for three years in Regensburg, first in the jeans finishing department, then as a technical employee in the needle felting department. After returning to my “home country” in 1996, I became a laboratory employee in a textile printing plant in Oberkotzau.
In July 1997, the laboratory engineer position in the dyeing/printing department at the Münchberg campus became vacant. The six-month “job closure” was “bridged”, so to speak, until February 1998 by dividing the internship supervision between my predecessor and me.
What is your area of expertise as a laboratory engineer?
My area of expertise is textile finishing, specifically pretreatment, dyeing, and textile printing.
What do you particularly enjoy about your work at the Münchberg campus?
The contact and work with the students, whether in the laboratory practicals or in supervising bachelor’s and master’s theses. In addition, I am particularly pleased when events such as Campus Day or Girls’ Day, which I help organize in Münchberg, are successful and the students go home excited. This is the best advertising for “Textile” and the Münchberg campus that we can do.
My 2-year affiliation from 2019 to 2021 as a representative of the “Other Employees” on the Faculty Council of Engineering Sciences was also a new and wonderful experience for me. I have now been a substitute member there since 2021.
Thank you for the interview!
