Mr. Schuster You earned your doctorate but did not take the classic route of studying chemistry. Instead, you decided to study chemical engineering / paint and coatings as a high school student. How did you come across this course of study? And how did you find the specialization in the direction of paint and coatings?
That's right. After a short "detour" via HS-Reutlingen, I decided to change the course of study once again and come to Esslingen. I still remember well when I visited the labs and stood in front of a large dissolver/bead mill for the first time. Then I thought: somehow there is more to it than "just" car paint. In retrospect, such a paint is a pretty exciting thing. To this day, I find it fascinating what everything is actually coated with. In our everyday lives, we come into contact with "paint" on a daily basis. Whether it's glazed wood, soft-feel lacquer on a high-quality PC mouse or highly scratch-resistant car paint. This also shows that despite a high degree of specialization, there are many areas in which paint engineers can work.
This degree program with its specialization trains young people to become paint engineers. In your opinion, what are the advantages for these graduates compared to a degree in chemistry - regardless of whether it was obtained at a university or a university of applied sciences?
From the perspective of coatings manufacturers, coatings engineers have naturally received the ideal training. Throughout Germany, graduates certainly have the best career opportunities in this industry segment and also a decisive advantage over graduates in "classic" chemistry. What I personally have always appreciated very much. Regardless of whether you have a bachelor's or master's degree, you can go into industry with either one. This is perhaps the biggest advantage over a degree in chemistry. Here, at least a master's degree is required, if not a doctorate.
You then took a master's degree in surface and materials science at the Esslingen University of Applied Sciences and went on to do a doctorate at the University of Stuttgart at the Institute of Interfacial Process Engineering and Plasma Technology (IGVP) in cooperation with the Fraunhofer IGB. Would you take this unusual path again?
I actually didn't find the path that unusual. In retrospect, it would certainly have been easier to do a doctorate if the master's had been done at a university. I didn't have the "foresight" at the time and the master's in Esslingen and Aalen had also appealed to me too much in terms of content for me to have had my sights set on a change to a university. In the end, however, I had a good mix of university and college graduates at the institute, all of whom completed very successful doctorates. The time in the master's program as well as during the doctorate was certainly very strenuous at times, but I would like to have the freedom I had then back now. It was a really great phase of life.
What difference did you get to know and experience between studying at a university and a university of applied sciences?
Of course, that's a bit more "hearsay" now, since I no longer actively studied at university myself. But I have heard one or two lectures at the university. My impression was that the amount of material at the university was simply a bit higher in some places. In some places, I think the students have to bite their way through the material themselves. The way the material is presented at the universities of applied sciences is sometimes a bit "friendlier". Nevertheless, if you have a good degree from a university of applied sciences, you certainly don't have to hide from university graduates.
The interview was conducted by Elke von Seggern, Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering / Paint and Coatings.
