The focus of the finissage was not only the presentation of student work from the Architecture and Urban Design degree, but above all the dialogue. Around 35 guests accepted the invitation - including representatives of the city administration, citizens, experts and students. In a concentrated form, it became clear what urban development can mean today: not as a pure planning task, but as a community process - characterised by history, experience and a passion for design.

Silvio Moritz, First Alderman of the City of Schwedt/Oder, opened the event. Three pointed keynote speeches then shed light on Schwedt from very different perspectives: Dr Ulrich Hartung (architectural historian) shed light on the city as a socialist planned city, Prof. Dr Alexander Conrad (Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development) linked personal experiences with structural developments, and Johann Reichstein (Schwedt City Council) gave an insight into current challenges and strategies in municipal planning.

The subsequent discussion emphasised that cities like Schwedt are not a finished picture, but an open question - an invitation to help shape the future.

"The finissage was not just a conclusion, but a moment of consolidation: the city was negotiated here - with historical depths, with personal approaches and with plenty of room for new ideas ," said project manager Vivien Nowak, adding: "It was important for us to sharpen the focus on the potential of cities away from the metropolises. The collaboration with the city, the administration and the local people enabled the students to think of the city not in abstract terms, but in concrete, lively and contradictory terms."

Afterwards, the students presented their projects in the foyer of the town hall: designs, concepts and interventions that dealt with vacancy, spatial identity and social sustainability. The open atmosphere encouraged dialogue - questions were asked, perspectives shared and ideas developed. As the event drew to a close with refreshments, conversations took place beyond the stage and lectures - spontaneous, direct and cross-generational.

The finissage impressively demonstrated what happens when the university, administration and the public enter into dialogue: The city becomes tangible, negotiable - and takes on new faces.

The event marked the end of a successful university and transfer project, which was supported by the Schwedt | Uckermark presence centre and funded by the InNoWest Transfer Fund.