In July 2025, HNU – in collaboration with the Ulm-based software company TriCAT – launched an innovative digital initiative: the ‘Professorship Experience’. A virtual 3D environment that, for the first time, brought to life what the path to a professorship at HNU looks like and what HNU stands for as an employer. Developed as part of the InnoPROF project, the platform offered an immersive insight into career paths, university culture and key information relating to the professorship.
A year later, the next major step has now been taken: on 13 July 2026, the ‘Erlebniswelt Professur’ went live in a comprehensively revised Version 2.0. The new edition is more powerful, more intuitive and features significantly expanded content – making HNU an even more accessible, diverse and interactive potential place to work.
Technical improvements and new content
With version 2.0, the technical foundation of the Erlebniswelt has been significantly optimised. Shorter loading times, more stable performance and a simplified login process – with no mandatory fields – ensure that interested visitors can immerse themselves in the virtual environment more quickly and easily. These improvements not only enhance user-friendliness but also make the platform more accessible to new target groups.
In terms of content, a new exhibition has been added to the virtual experience: twelve practical projects and twelve publications from the HNU community demonstrate just how diverse and practice-oriented the university’s work is. The range spans all faculties and provides a vivid insight into applied research, interdisciplinary collaboration and socially relevant topics.
AI agents as our new companions
A key highlight of the new version is two AI agents that greet visitors verbally and answer their questions. One agent provides information on the topic of professorships at HNU, whilst the other covers practical projects. Both respond to spoken questions and provide answers via audio output – an interactive feature that makes it easier to find your way around and makes information immediately accessible.
The content provided by the AI agents has been carefully curated and manually entered by the project team. In this way, the interactive experience combines modern AI technology with verified information quality. The result is an example of how artificial intelligence can be used in a meaningful, responsible and user-centred way.
Reactions to the relaunch
Fabian Girschick, who is in charge of the ‘Erlebniswelt’ professorship on behalf of HNU, emphasises: “These days, it’s almost impossible to avoid the topic of AI. It’s important to me that we find a meaningful way of dealing with it – and I think the AI agents in our ‘Erlebniswelt’ are a perfect example of this. They convey information simply, accurately and with real added value.”
Markus Herkersdorf, CEO of TriCAT GmbH, also sees the new version as a successful step forward: “The ‘Erlebniswelt 2.0’ impressively demonstrates how virtual spaces and AI technologies can work together. It brings university development to life – in a modern, interactive and, at the same time, accessible way.”
An invitation to explore
The platform is freely accessible at www.hnu.de/erlebniswelt.
With version 2.0, HNU is sending a strong signal in favour of innovative university communication and modern recruitment – and invites anyone interested to experience Neu-Ulm University virtually and be inspired.
