Regional Internationality

The basic idea is that the university uses international connections and the locations of regional companies in a wide variety of ways for teaching, research and knowledge transfer. In this context, regional anchoring and international orientation are complementary aspects rather than opposite poles.

The regional companies are often market leaders in their niche (“hidden champions”). They are global players and are therefore in increasing need of graduates who are internationally oriented and possess intercultural skills. The goal pursued by the internationalisation of the university is therefore to emphasise the relevance of international and intercultural skills for students and, in particular, to give them the instruments required to develop these skills.

Along with the international orientation of its teaching, internationality is also reflected by the applied research carried out at the university. As business and society become increasingly globalised and in view of the cross-border challenges faced, researchers are also working to find solutions to global issues. Here an important role is played by the guiding principle of sustainability.

The university is part of a region promoted by the Bundestag and federal government as the German centre for international cooperation (UN institutions, NGOs, Deutsche Welle etc.). Special emphasis is placed on environmental and developmental topics. Moreover, the region has developed as a strong scientific centre with a large number of universities, research institutions, important scientific intermediary organisations and funding agencies, international governmental and non-governmental organisations, associations and development cooperation organisations.