The University IT and Data Center celebrated its 50th anniversary with a ceremony on November 6, 2024 at the University Forum in Heussallee. As part of the ceremony, the University IT and Data Center looked back on its history and the IT development of the University of Bonn over the past five decades with around 130 invited guests.
After a welcome address by Dr Rainer Bockholt, Director of the University IT and Data Center at the University of Bonn, Prof. Dr Maren Bennewitz, Vice-Rector for Digitalisation and Information Management, Prof. Dr Max P. Baur, former Chairman of the IT Board of the University of Bonn, Daniela Korden, Project Manager for DiCe projects at the HRZ and Susanne Sigmund, former HRZ employee, gave welcoming speeches.
A highlight was the keynote speech by Prof. Dr Harald Ziegler from Ruhr University Bochum, whose spectacular extrapolation revealed that "[...] one data center year corresponds to approx. 22 university years. What changes in a working life changes at the HRZ in approx. two years, i.e. an HRZ employee has to retrain at least 6-7 times in a working life." Despite the fast pace of technological progress, all HRZ employees have one characteristic in common: their flexibility. But it takes far more than just flexibility and problem-solving skills to work efficiently at the University IT and Data Center.
"At the HRZ, the focus is always on people", emphasised Dr Rainer Bockholt, Director at the HRZ for over 21 years. ‘We are happy to be here’ is not just an empty phrase, but reflects the working atmosphere at the HRZ, said Daniela Korden, a current HRZ employee. This mood could be felt without exception among the current and former employees present.
Susanne Sigmund, former head of training and head of the user support department, stated: "One of the biggest success stories is the training in IT for system integration at the HRZ. Since it began in 2005, all trainees at the HRZ have passed their final exams and none have failed." A special fact: the two very first trainees from 2005 are still working at the HRZ today.
In addition to video presentations and slide shows with photos from the HRZ archive, the guests also enjoyed live music with light, cheerful sounds from flamenco guitarist Ismael de Barcelona.
The new ‘History’ section of the website provides exciting insights into the milestones and technical advances of the past 50 years at the HRZ, including a picture gallery from the anniversary celebration.
The HRZ channel also features a new YouTube video series ‘HRZ Time Travel’, which illustrates the most important development since the founding decade - right up to the here and now in 2024 - in an entertaining way.