As part of the excursion week of Faculty 14, the Department of Steel Construction offered a varied combination of theory, practice and production insights. The three-day event gives students direct access to real work processes and technical challenges in steel construction.

On the first two days, the focus was on welding. At the Kassel training center, the participants not only received a theoretical introduction to various welding techniques, such as electrode welding and MAG welding. Under the guidance of Mr. Barde, the students tried out the welding techniques themselves. Basic techniques, equipment settings and different welding seams and joint shapes were explained and tested. The practical part of the course quickly revealed how demanding and precise welding work is - an important insight for future civil engineers. The students also gained an insight into the quality assurance of weld seams and their testing.

The course concluded with an excursion to the Lamparter company. In an exciting presentation, Mr. Thiel provided a comprehensive overview of the range of services and the company structure - from impressive steel bridges to innovative glass façades and complex roof structures. Mr. Thiel paid particular attention to the planning and logistical challenges associated with such projects and gave the students valuable insights into real construction processes.

A particular highlight was the subsequent tour of the production site, during which Mr. Thiel and Mr. Watteeuw explained the various stages of production and assembly. Here, the students were able to see how real components are created from drawings.

The excursion week offered valuable insights into key areas of steel construction and the opportunity to try out practical skills and talk to experts. It showed how complex and fascinating building with steel is and how essential an understanding of technical processes, planning logic and production technology is in professional life.

Many thanks to Mr. Barde from the Kassel training center and to Mr. Thiel and Mr. Watteeuw from Lamparter for their dedicated support and practical insights - an all-round successful excursion that impressively combined theory and practice!