Professor Dr Rainer Bastert retires

Rainer Bastert still remembers his first weeks and months as a newly appointed professor at Bonn-Rhein-Sieg University of Applied Sciences. When he took over the professorship for automation technology, in particular robotics, in October 2002, he found a university that was still in its infancy. And the room that later became known as the Laboratory for Industrial Robotics was literally an empty room. From the point of view of the newly appointed professor, this was not a disadvantage: "We were able to set up the lab as we saw fit." Today, the laboratory in the Department of Engineering and Communication is very well equipped with a wide range of industrial robots, which students can use to train in a very industry-oriented way.

Rainer Bastert came to the university with a lot of professional experience in industry. He worked for many years in management positions in areas such as assembly systems with industrial robots, automated air freight systems and conveyor systems for the automotive industry. His career also took him to Singapore and the UK for longer periods. He studied mechanical engineering at the Technical University of Dortmund, where he also completed his doctorate with a thesis on robotics. 

Robots, understood as a means of production in the factory, remained a central topic for the professor, both in teaching and in research. His research interests were reflected in his courses, which covered topics such as industrial robotics, factory automation, conveyor technology, production engineering and technical product design. Between 2007 and 2014, the university lecturer was also involved as a coach for the student motorsport team, which built (and still builds) a new racing car for the "Formula Student" every year.

In his role as a lecturer, Rainer Bastert says that application orientation has always been very important to him: "We basically have two customers: the students and the industry." For him, this meant aligning the teaching content so that it could be applied in industry. 

And Professor Bastert obviously enjoyed what he was doing, because by law he could have retired three years ago. "I wanted to," he says, "because I've always really enjoyed it." But he still has ideas for retirement. More time for his family is definitely on the cards, and he also wants to spend more time travelling and riding his motorbike. And the professor also wants to continue working on his specialist subjects. He already has one or two ideas for new projects in mind.