‘The most important thing about our work is always the students!’

Prof Dr Dieter Lompe retires after 26 years at the university

When Prof Dr Dieter Lompe started working at Bremerhaven University of Applied Sciences, he only had a very small, old laboratory, research was seen more as a hobby for lecturers and smoking was permitted in the rooms on campus. Since then, there have been many changes, which he has helped to shape in his role as Professor of Supply and Disposal Technology, Dean of Studies and Dean of Faculty 1. He will now be taking his well-deserved retirement at the end of the semester. 

The field of environmental technologies was still quite new when Prof Lompe graduated from high school in 1978. He initially studied mechanical engineering in Braunschweig and then switched to the energy and process engineering programme at TU Berlin after completing his intermediate diploma. There he gained a doctorate in environmental engineering and subsequently worked for several years in various commercial enterprises, initially in an engineering office for waste and landfill technology and later in international plant construction.

Professorship with the prospect of a new laboratory with new equipment

While searching for a new professional challenge, Dieter Lompe discovered a job advert at Bremerhaven University of Applied Sciences. He applied for the professorship in what was then the Industrial Engineering and Supply Technology degree programme - and then heard nothing for a long time. ‘It was only after what seemed like an eternity that I received a call inviting me to an interview. I was very surprised because I hadn't expected it. In the private sector, a long wait tends to mean that you get a rejection,’ he recalls. In 1999, he was appointed Professor of Supply and Disposal Technology at Bremerhaven University of Applied Sciences and initially only found a small old laboratory there. ‘The state of Bremen had no money to equip a laboratory for this subject. Fortunately, however, there was a special investment programme in the state of Bremen with money from Berlin, part of which we were able to use. My first job at the university was therefore laboratory planning in addition to teaching. Of course, that made the job very attractive,’ recalls Prof Lompe.

A short time later, the professor took on another role and became a member of the study commission. ‘At my first meeting, I was told that I could take over the chairmanship directly. And that's what I did. It really was a lot of work, but it was also fun.’ As Chair of the Study Commission and later in the Dean's Office, he played a key role in planning the degree programme. This involved not only the development of new degree programmes, but also the renewal of existing ones. ‘The process was much simpler back then than it is today. The senatorial authority decided directly on the approval and there were no accreditation agencies yet. It was still a lot of paperwork and you had to do almost everything yourself.’

Co-responsible for changes in the faculty as dean

Dieter Lompe's involvement did not end with the study commission. Instead, he became Dean of Studies and then Dean of Faculty 1 around a year later. ‘Josef Stockemer was Dean of the Faculty. When he was elected Rector, I took over the position and held it for about five or six years,’ he says. During this time, he initiated major structural changes within the department. ‘Previously, all degree programmes acted very autonomously and did not coordinate their courses with each other. This meant, for example, that many rooms were empty. Of course, that wasn't ideal. That's why we introduced the first timetabling programme, which is still used by Faculty 1 today.’ Prof. Lompe also played a key role in the development of the Maritime Technologies degree programme, which can now be studied as a specialisation within the Engineering degree programme. But at some point it was time for Dieter Lompe to leave the post of Dean to someone else. ‘Working in the dean's office is fun, but it's also a lot of work. Basically, you don't get to do anything else, but you still had to teach the full range of courses as there was no deputy. I worked a lot of overtime, but I didn't get to do the specialist work, which also involves further training. At some point, I no longer wanted that.’

Without the numerous tasks that arose in the dean's office, Prof Lompe also had time for science again. He conducted research in several smaller projects on behalf of various companies. In the beginning, research was not considered an important task at a university of applied sciences. ‘It used to be seen more as a hobby for lecturers. There was no time off or other remuneration for it. Fortunately, this is no longer the case today. It's now even possible to do a doctorate at HAW,’ says the professor. The extra work did not deter him. He later reduced his teaching hours for larger third-party funded projects and worked together with industry on sustainable innovations for energy and environmental technology. 

From a smoky "school" to a highly specialised educational institution

A lot has changed at the university in his 26 years of service. ‘Teaching sounded a bit like school. There was talk of classrooms and classes and there was a staff room. And health protection was not yet on the agenda. Smoking was allowed in the university, except in the laboratories. There were full ashtrays in all the corridors and the foyer of House K was sometimes full of clouds of smoke. You could hardly breathe in there,’ recalls the professor. At that time, the university only had around 1,300 students. Growth then began in the 2000s. ‘Not only did the number of students increase, but the quality of teaching also improved significantly. More and more emphasis was placed on a specialist focus and the degree programmes also became more specialised. This has led to greater specialisation in teaching and higher subject quality.’ The student body is also different today. ‘We used to have a lot of students who started a degree programme after completing a second-chance education. Some of them had deficits in theory, for example because they lacked certain maths skills, but they were more determined. Today, there are more students who don't know exactly what they want to do after graduation, and many also have fewer ideas about the degree programme itself.’ The result is that students change degree programmes and drop out. Nevertheless, the professor has always maintained a positive view of the students. ‘The most important thing about our work is always the students! Instead of looking at those who are less committed, I'm happy about the good ones. It's great fun working with them and supporting their development.’

Internationalisation: a challenge with added value

Over the years, the university has also become increasingly international - another development that Professor Lompe has accompanied with great enthusiasm, including as coordinator for the long-standing partnership with the University of Gdynia in Poland. ‘We had one of the first English-language Bachelor's degree programmes in Germany, which met with great interest, particularly in Asia.’ Even today, the Master's degree programmes in Process Engineering and Energy Technology and Embedded Systems Design still attract foreign students to the seaside city. However, it is important to accompany and support them properly. In this way, conflicts arising from ignorance and cultural differences can be avoided.  ‘We have learnt over the years how to deal with the particularities of other cultures. For example, students at some foreign universities don't work in laboratories themselves, but watch the lecturers carry out experiments. When they come to us after their Bachelor's degree, they lack basic knowledge of laboratory work and project management. This is a big problem with laboratory exercises because we don't really have time to start from scratch,’ explains the professor. He would like to see additional laboratory hours offered for these students so that they can get used to the other requirements.  

The winter semester 2024/25 marks the end of Prof Dr Dieter Lompe's tenure at Bremerhaven University of Applied Sciences. Even though he will no longer be initiating any changes himself, he hopes that the university will continue to develop in the future. ‘There are many more development opportunities and challenges. The university should not hold back and actively shape developments instead of just reacting to them. You have to have staying power to be successful in the end.’