With its new interactive carnival float “Helau Love,” Mainz University of Applied Sciences is sending a clear message in support of tolerance and social cohesion. The interdisciplinary student project develops a participatory carnival float concept and offers the audience a live stage on Rosenmontag—directly on the float itself.
For the third consecutive year, Mainz University of Applied Sciences is taking part in the Mainz Rosenmontag parade with a carnival float that has been designed and built entirely by students. On 16 February 2026, 3 × 11 students from the degree programmes Architecture, Interior Architecture, Communication Design, Business Administration, and Digital Media will roll through Mainz city centre with the interactive float entitled “Helau Love.”
What makes the project special is that, for the first time, the audience is offered a visual stage via a video camera, allowing spectators to actively become part of the performance—under the banner of love, tolerance, and social cohesion.
Taking Part Instead of Just Watching
Unlike traditional carnival floats, “Helau Love” focuses on direct participation. The students, who will power the float themselves and accompany it on foot, encourage spectators to join in—forming hearts, calling out “Helau” together, and spreading joy. A camera captures spontaneous expressions of affection from the audience and displays them live on the float in real time.
The previous projects already integrated interactive elements and conveyed the values of the university. With Helau Love, the team is taking this one step further, as the boundary between the students and the audience as active participants dissolves, symbolically representing social cohesion. This is explained by Helin Kismetli, who shares the student project leadership with Josi Strobel, Alexandra Büchner, and Ben Hoffstedde.
Interdisciplinary Teamwork: From Concept to Implementation
The “Helau Love” project once again brings together all three faculties of Mainz University of Applied Sciences—Design, Engineering, and Business. From conceptual development and construction to design, communication strategy, and project management, students work together across disciplines.
They are supported by Prof. Dr Bernhard Ostheimer (Faculty of Business), Prof. Thomas Mrokon (Faculty of Engineering), and Mathias Ewald, Head of the Model-Making Workshop (Faculty of Design).
Applied Science in a Local Context
The project is more than a creative carnival initiative—it represents applied science in practice and exemplifies the mission of Mainz University of Applied Sciences as a University of Applied Sciences. Students apply knowledge gained in previous semesters and modules in a practical context: during the technical modification of the towing bicycle, in programming the website, integrating the video camera into the visual design, and in the conceptual and creative development of the costumes. This is emphasised by Prof. Dr Bernhard Ostheimer.
After the project has been completed, a comprehensive project report will be published reflecting on the practical work, further underlining the academic ambition of the initiative.
Love as a Social Message
Five student concepts were evaluated by an internal university jury consisting of University President Prof. Dr Susanne Weissman, University Chancellor Jens Egler, Patrik Henkel from the Mainz Carnival Association (MCV), and the supervising professors. Together with the students, “Helau Love” was selected from the five proposals.
The title was chosen deliberately. At a time of increasing social polarisation, political tensions, and growing intolerance in Germany, Europe, and around the world, the float sends a clear message: Love connects—across borders, backgrounds, and opinions.
The students continuously document the development of the float on their dedicated Instagram account (https://www.instagram.com/helaulove). From brainstorming and progress updates across the different trades to costume development and the assembly and conversion of the float, the account offers a wide range of insights into the hands-on project.
