Professor Kühne,
Professor Strothotte,
Professors,
Alumni, Graduates, future students,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
If we may believe what the history books tell us, Christopher Columbus had to put up with some rather nasty comments when he was dining at the home of Cardinal Mendoza.
People remarked that discovering the New World wasnt that special. Anyone could have done it. It was the year 1493 and Columbus had just returned from his first voyage to the Americas.
So how did he react? He asked those present P to stand a boiled egg on its tip, if they could. No-one succeeded and all agreed that the task was quite impossible.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Many of you will know what happened next - especially here where the architecture points to the solution: Columbus was asked to attempt the task himself, whereupon he simply slammed the tip of the egg into the table top. And, surprise, surprise: it didnt topple over. Thats all there was to it. Once again those present griped that anyone could have done that. To which Columbus replied: The difference is, Gentlemen, you could have done it. But you didnt and I did.
Today, no-one doubts that Colombus was a man of action. Someone who, through hard work, courage and perseverance had made a discovery that changed the then familiar world - firstly the European-centred view of the world and secondly the world order. Not to the immediate benefit of the inhabitants of the world that had now been discovered and who were soon to be robbed of their treasures. But one cannot solely criticize him for that.
It is not enough, however, merely to discover what is new. Because finding new paths and attaining new objectives of lasting value depend entirely on viable logistics.
This is where new men (and women) of action come to the fore. We need them now more than ever: people whose eyes are fixed on their goals and know how to get there.
Students who come to Kühne Logistics University are trained as men and women of action in one of our major future industries. KLU shares with MSH Medical School Hamburg the distinction of being one of the youngest private universities. It is almost exactly three years since KLU received state recognition under Hamburgs Universities Law. Since then it has developed very well, and already grown to such a size that a new campus was needed. And now, after several months of alteration work, the new campus is being officially opened today and I am happy to be here with you in Hamburgs HafenCity.
To refer briefly back to the anecdote about Columbus: Im sure I am not the only person in this hall who is impressed by this Golden Egg, the unique architectural design at the core of the new campus. In future it will serve as the main lecture hall for our students and also be open to the public for cultural and academic events. A truly creative, inspiring location. And - think Columbus - its symbolic meaning is also very motivating.
Currently, there are nine private, state-recognized universities in Hamburg. About 20,000 people are enrolled in these universities, out of Hamburgs total student population of around 85,000.
The KLU has an excellent reputation - and not without reason. All the students, as I have been told, complete their courses within the time allotted. Some of them will be stepping forward soon, because today we are also holding the graduation ceremony for the second cohort of students who have gained their masters degrees. Professor Kühne has already told us something about that.
Surveying the providers of logistics and business management education, the business newspaper Handelsblatt ranked the KLU among the best universities in 2012. The granting of an ERASMUS University Charter is further proof of quality, as is the large number of applicants for logistics courses. At present there are three applicants for each place.
The international approach is reflected in the student and teaching bodies at the KLU; one student in two comes from outside Germany, as do about 30 per cent of the academic faculty. All the lecturers have gathered extensive experience abroad and the language of instruction is English throughout.
Its global approach makes the KLU extremely attractive for ambitious students and highly qualified academics. At the same time, it is an advertisement for Hamburg.
In return, this city also has plenty to offer. Hamburg is an experience - so please dont miss out, however heavy your teaching or study workload.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
We like to call Hamburg the Gateway to the World. This is not the whole picture, because it tends to suggest people or cargo leaving the city. But in the globalized world, exchange is important. The mutual exchange of goods and ideas; Hamburg sends them out into the world and naturally, they need to flow back in the same measure, if we are to continue to play a prominent, competitive role on the global stage.
An inevitable part of this process of give and take is the competition for clever minds. For talented young people, who get to know and value Hamburg through close association with the city - for example by studying at the KLU. Men and women who do not just regard their time here as a way station on their resume. But who, so we hope, develop a positive bond with Hamburg and remember the city with affection long after they have launched successful careers elsewhere in the world.
We would be just as pleased to see a different outcome: talented people who initially come to the city because of the educational opportunities and then stay here after graduation. Because the career prospects are good. Because they can envisage living in Hamburg, see it as a good place for a successful career and for a satisfying personal life, or, if the time is right, somewhere to start family life and a good place to bring up children.
When we talk about the need for skilled workers and demographic change, everyone recognizes that we will have to turn to qualified people who are willing to migrate from other countries. An attractive centre of learning is a pre-requisite - with high-performance state universities, internationally acclaimed research facilities and, to complement them, private universities such as the KLU, which both define and deliver what is required to attract the attention of international students and academics.
The KLU, with its special focus on logistics, is the ideal institution for this city. Because Hamburg is an ideal logistics location.
As home to about 11,000 logistics companies in its metropolitan region, including a large number of global players, Hamburg is northern Europes major logistics centre and - with Europes second-biggest port - one of the most important hubs for the global movement of goods.
The latest figures reveal that some 338,000 people have a job in the logistics industry in the metropolitan region of Hamburg. Nationwide, the estimated turnover of the logistics industry was 220 billion euros in 2011.
Not only as an industry, but as a continually developing field of academic study, logistics and its associated services are essential supports in the process of globalization. For this reason there can be no doubt that research, teaching and practical training must meet international criteria from the outset, which, as mentioned earlier, is exactly the course that KLU pursues so rigorously.
The planned addition of humanitarian logistics to existing focus topics is a further step in this direction and marks the highly interesting interface between state and private enterprise.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Year after year, the world suffers hundreds of disasters or emergencies. We in Hamburg have had our own painful experience of what it is like to be defenceless against a sudden, unexpected natural disaster. The great storm surge that hit Hamburg over 50 years ago claimed countless victims. But it taught us one major lesson. To successfully cope with a disaster, it is essential for aid organizations, medical teams and logistics enterprises to work together.
Which reminds me of the Humanitarian Logistics Symposium which KLU hosted some 18 months ago.
And with that in mind, it is sensible and welcome that KLU and MSH Medical School Hamburg are now moving into the same building. Sharing premises will promote cooperation between the two universities, and in future the two disciplines are sure to discover valuable points for interaction, especially in the field of humanitarian logistics.
It would have been impossible to establish and develop the KLU without the considerable level of funding provided by the non-profit Kühne Foundation. I should therefore very much like to take this opportunity, Mr Kühne, to thank you personally for the commitment that the Kühne Foundation has made in order to advance the growth of the KLU. This new site and the opportunities it offers are an excellent basis for progress. More than ever, it will be the flagship of your science and culture sponsoring activities.
I wish you, the KLU and all students and faculty all the best and continued success.
Es gilt das gesprochene Wort.