Sarah Schütz was awarded second prize by the University Council in 2026 on June 18, 2026. Congratulations, Sarah, on this wonderful award.
In her master’s thesis, titled “Validation and Prototype Implementation of the European Specification ‘Configuration – Logical Concept’ for the Configuration of Railway Systems ,” the graduate translates a theoretical standard for individual devices into a scalable concept for the safe, automated, and parallel configuration of entire railway infrastructures. In doing so, she contributes to the digitalization, increased efficiency, and future viability of modern rail systems.
“Sarah Schütz stands out for her exceptional scientific dedication and combines analytical acuity, a structured approach, and creative problem-solving skills with a strong engineering-based understanding of systems,” said Prof. Dr. Karl-Albrecht Klinge, who supervised the master’s thesis. “With her ability to translate scientific findings into practical and forward-looking solutions, she is an exceptional asset to scientific and engineering projects.”
Railway technology is becoming increasingly digital and software-controlled. This creates complex interdependencies among many networked devices. A European standard already specifies how individual field devices can be uniformly described and configured. However, it is not sufficient to coordinate the configuration of entire signal box systems comprising many interdependent devices.
This is where Sarah Schütz focused her master’s thesis, developing a prototype that extends individual device configuration with a higher-level model. Dependency trees are the central tool. They show which devices and configuration steps depend on one another. This makes it possible to automatically determine which changes must be made sequentially and which can be made in parallel.
Using a railroad switch as an example, it becomes clear that a change affects not only the individual device but also signals, track clearance detection systems, and control units. The prototype takes such interdependencies into account and coordinates the configuration processes accordingly.
The University Council Award, presented at the Volksbank Darmstadt Mainz, is given annually to outstanding students and graduates of Mainz University of Applied Sciences. It recognizes not only outstanding academic achievements but also the recipients’ broader social and higher-education advocacy efforts. The prize is endowed with 5,000.00 euros for first place, 3,000.00 euros for second place, and 2,000.00 euros for third place.
