Universities of applied sciences step up international links

Germany’s Fachhochschulen, or universities of applied sciences, are to receive additional support to enhance their level of internationalisation in comparison to traditional universities.

With their focus on practical application, the German Fachhochschulen (or Hochschulen für angewandte Wissenschaften – HAW) have served as a role model for new institutions in several other countries, and many of them are now seeking to further step up their own international links.

For its new ‘HAW International’ programme, the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) has now selected 31 model projects which are to receive about €21 million (US$24.8 million) from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF).

The key aspects of the programme are to further enhance the global competitiveness of this type of institution via international collaboration in close cooperation with industry and to better prepare students for the requirements of a labour market strongly shaped by internationality. In this context, digitisation is to play a greater role, too.

The programme has two funding lines, in the first of which the DAAD supports the development and implementation of internationalisation strategies and the establishment of international networks for studying, teaching, research and transfer of research results to industry.

A total of 17 universities were chosen by a selection committee of experts for this funding line. One of them, Heilbronn University of Applied Sciences, was successful with its HHN-IDEAL – Internationalisation through Digitally Enriched Active Study Preparation and Collaborative Learning – project.

This institution intends to internationalise its curriculum with collaborative, digitally supported formats run with partner universities as well as partners in practical fields and extend digital components in its course guidance system. Subjects the university offers include industrial and process engineering, business and transport management, mechanics and informatics.

The second funding line focuses on the development of practice-oriented study programmes together with international cooperation partners and the creation of mobility and exchange formats.

One of the 14 winning projects here, ‘BA.International@HsKA’, is run by Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences, which plans to establish a ‘BA.International’ programme, including two international semesters in all of its main subject areas.

This scheme is to be accompanied by experimental, partly virtual student exchange concepts and a ‘certificate of international and intercultural skills’. The university has programmes in subject areas ranging from computer science through media studies and management science to mechanical engineering.

“With HAW International, we are seeking to support Germany’s universities of applied sciences in enhancing their attractiveness globally and making this successful type of university even more popular worldwide,” says DAAD President Joybrato Mukherjee. “Germany’s higher education system as a whole is going to benefit from us assisting universities of applied sciences in gaining an even sharper international profile.”

Michael Gardner can be contacted by e-mail: michael.gardner@uw-news.com.