First inaugural lecture at FernUni Switzerland
The first inaugural lecture of FernUni Switzerland took place on December 5. The public inaugural lectures offer the new professors of FernUni Switzerland the opportunity to introduce themselves and their research and teaching activities to the international academic community, the media, teaching staff, students and all employees.
An inaugural lecture enables new members of an institute to present their academic work to the academic community and all interested parties. "As an accredited university institute, FernUni Switzerland offers flexible and location-independent Bachelor's and Master's degree programs. Our general academic degree programs focus on the unity of research and teaching. The inaugural lectures provide an opportunity to focus on the academic work and scientific research of our professors, which inspires their teaching in everyday life. At each inaugural lecture, participation is possible both on site and online in order to reach as many participants as possible, as the academic community is international," explains Professor Nicolas Rothen, Rector ad interim of FernUni Switzerland. An inaugural lecture is planned for all newly appointed professors from the fall semester 2024.
Mathematics opens series of inaugural lectures
David Loeffler, Full Professor of Mathematics at FernUni Switzerland since November 2023, opened the series of inaugural lectures initiated by the university institute. In front of an audience of around 110 participants on the campus in Brig and online, the professor presented the legacy of Fermat's theorem and highlighted the significance of this theorem for modern mathematics.
"I decided to focus on Fermat's theorem because it is a question that is quite simple to formulate but incredibly difficult to answer. The efforts of generations of mathematicians to solve this one problem have contributed significantly to the development of modern mathematics. Although the theorem has now been proven, the ideas developed in the process remain central to current research and play an important role in the latest discoveries of my research group," explains David Loeffler.
Born in England, he has extensive experience in research and teaching. He specializes in number theory, representation theory and algebraic geometry and has received numerous grants for his projects, including an ERC Consolidator Grant. "Professor David Loeffler's inaugural lecture impressively demonstrated how closely our teaching and research are linked and how we bring them closer to an international audience. We look forward to the exciting topics that will be presented in the upcoming inaugural lectures," says Rothen.
Information on the next inaugural lecture:
- Thursday, March 27, 2025, 5:15 p.m. to 6:45 p.m.
- Location: Campus Brig or online
- Speaker: Sabine Pitteloud, Assistant Professor of Contemporary History at FernUni Switzerland since December 2023
- Topic: Globalization in focus: For a history of multinational companies as political actors
Source: www.fernuni.ch