Wolfgang Watermeyer is the master of entire colonies of living organisms - and of gleaming stainless steel, shining brightly and equally chic and expensive equipment. „Many students who come in here for the first time are initially afraid of breaking something,“ says the good-humoured man in the lab coat with a smile, „but they quickly learn to handle the equipment correctly.“ Wolfgang Watermeyer is head of the biotechnology centre at HSWT and has been for 23 years. The father of two children has been at the University of Applied Sciences since 1992. Before the Biotechnology Centre was built, he worked for a few years at the Department of Bioengineering in the area of cell culture technology.

A workplace full of technology and life

Bioprocess engineering is done in the Biotechnikum. „We grow biocultures, i.e. bacteria, yeasts and moulds that produce active substances that can be used in pharmaceuticals or food technology, for example,“ explains the native of Westphalia. For organic cultures to be able to do their valuable work, you have to offer them the best possible conditions. Then, they multiply in no time at all. „It's fascinating to see this growth,“ says Watermeyer: „We start with a colony the size of a pin, which grows and grows into the next largest vessel - all the way to the bioreactor with a useful volume of ten litres. The population grows enormously, just as happens in our bodies when we catch a pathogenic intestinal bacterium like E.coli, for example.“ Seeing the colonies develop in the lab always impresses the students, too. However, there are no pathogenic biocultures in the biotechnology centre.

At Watermeyer, students, especially from Bioengineering (Sciences) courses, learn how to carry out various procedures to master these applications when they enter the workforce. „Our facilities have pilot status,“ the 55-year-old emphasises, not without pride: „This is a preliminary stage to industrial facilities: they are somewhat smaller, but the complete measurement and control technology is identical.“ A so-called separator - a continuous centrifuge - is even there on an industrial scale, which is a rarity at universities of applied sciences. Watermeyer got hold of it through his good contacts.

A social network from the biotechnology centre to the whole world

It is important to him to send the students into professional life well-prepared with a sound education, and interpersonal relations are also of great value to him. „I want to strengthen the students, give more self-confidence to those perhaps a little uncertain at the beginning,“ says Watermeyer. „I enjoyed an excellent education during my studies and want to pass that on. Imparting knowledge is important to me, so students are also allowed to bombard me with questions by email at any time. I want them to learn a lot at the biotechnology centre, have fun doing it and hopefully enjoy being here.“

That seems to work very well: Watermeyer and countless of his former students have spun a reliable social network over the years. For 14 years, he has been invited by a group of alumni to a hut weekend every winter. He regularly receives calls from alumnae and alumni who have long been in professional life and a graduate who has since founded a company in the USA repeatedly welcomes HSWT students from Watermeyer's courses for internships and theses - the „old hands“ support the new generation. And then, of course, there is the technical component of his job, the devices, electropolished and state of the art: „I like to screw around, even with the huge spanner. When a device runs again after you've analysed and fixed the problem yourself, that's just a great feeling.“ For him, the combination of the different aspects makes working at the Biotechnikum exceptional: „I like the synergy between Biotechnology, technology and interpersonal issues. I can realise myself here.“

When he's not giving lectures in the Biotechnikum in his lab coat and safety goggles or leading training events for industry, Wolfgang Watermeyer spends much time with his two children. And if there is anything left of the day, he devotes himself to reading and photography or sometimes organises a duck dinner for the entire village and former companions from the University of Applied Sciences. The motorbike, however, has been waiting in the garage for a long time for its coming use. „But it won't run away from me,“ laughs the pragmatic optimist.