Centenary Weekend in Germany - Event Report

Alumni in Europe gathered for a special Centenary weekend - 4-6 May 2007

Imperial College Club of Germany went European and celebrated not only the 100 years of Imperial College, but also the 50 years of the signing of the European Treaty of Rome. And what better place to celebrate than in Bonn, the former Capital of West Germany and the cradle of many diplomatic discussions to create the European Union of today.

Dr. Hagen Schulz-Forberg, European University Institute, "Florence/Forum46 - Interdisciplinary Forum for Europe" introduced us to the idea of making Europe more tangible, followed by Professor Mary Ritter, Pro-Rector for Postgraduate and International Affairs, Imperial College London who took us on a journey through Imperial College's Past, Present and Future. It was fascinating to learn all the different topics that Imperial is researching, and gave us a good lead into a Group Workshop discussing with Emma Jones and Liz Gregson from the Imperial College Office of Alumni and Development the Needs and Rôle of Imperial Alumni in Europe.

After a pleasant buffet lunch in the Hilton Hotel Courtyard, we were taken into the World of Energy by Professor Sandro Macchietto, Professor of Process Systems Engineering in the Department of Chemical Engineering and a Director of the Energy Futures Lab, Imperial College London. Regarding resources and emissions, Sandro's computational models should aid the politicians to make the necessary and speedy decisions! Indeed, some of our members might well sign up to Sandro's MSc Course!

The Entertainment Highlight was the Boat Trip on the Rhine aboard MS Eureka. Along with 60 other ships, we sailed down the "Flaming Rhine" passing through 6 Stations of Fireworks before the Grand Firework Finale accompanied by French Chansons and Champagne!

Sunday was dedicated to Europe, and we listened to Werner Ungerer from the German Foreign Office as he explained how Europe came to be, and his personal challenges in European Diplomacy especially between the British, Germans and French! With his stories still in our ears, we toured the former Bundestage where the Reunification of Germany was announced, and returned to the Hilton for our farewell Lunch.

For the the photo gallery of Bonn plus further info about future events (incl our Homecoming events in 6 Locations throughout Germany, plus the visit of Sir Peter Knight and Professor Djamgoz in November/ December 2007) please refer to www.iccg.net.