From May 30th to June 3rd, 2022, the two third-year classes of the St. Florian Higher Federal Agricultural College each spent three days at the Raumberg-Gumpenstein Higher Federal Agricultural HBLFA . The aim of the stay at the Styrian teaching and research institution was to inspire the students for research and scientific work, thus laying a good foundation for their diploma theses.
The diploma theses, which must be written in teams, represent an important part of the final school-leaving and diploma examinations. The students in this year's third year will begin choosing their diploma thesis topics next school year. To prepare themselves well, they had the opportunity to spend a few days at the HBLFA Raumberg-Gumpenstein, getting a taste of scientific work, learning the criteria for designing meaningful experiments, and gaining valuable insights into the procedures for evaluating experiments – experiencing science and research firsthand.
The students worked in four groups on the following topics and were expertly guided by staff members of the HBLFA Raumberg-Gumpenstein:
- Assessment, yield and fertilizer requirement determination of grassland areas (supervised by Ing. Reinhard Resch / Institute for Plant Production and Cultural Landscape)
- Surveys on feed intake and nutrient supply of sheep (supervised by Dipl.-Ing.Stefanie Gappmaier / Institute for Livestock Research)
- Focus on barn climate – Technical measurement and assessment options in practice (supervised by BE Ing.Irene Mösenbacher-Molterer / Institute for Animal, Technology and Environment)
- Grazing behavior (feeding – rumination) of dairy cows in different grazing systems (supervised by DIEdina Scherzer / Institute for Organic Agriculture and Biodiversity of Farm Animals)
The Science Week culminated in presentations in which the students impressively presented the results of their "research projects".
Everyone was thrilled with the organization and execution of Science Week, which would not have been possible without the tremendous commitment of all involved. Special thanks go to the staff of the research institutes at HBLFA Raumberg-Gumpenstein, who made Science Week a unique experience for the students of HLBLA St. Florian.
