Bochum University of Applied Sciences

Bochum University of Applied Sciences specializes in various fields of engineering and Business. With its main campus situated in the Ruhr region, amid one of the most massive academic establishments in Europe, the university maintains close ties with its local community while reaching out internationally.
Hochschule Bochum is comfortably sized with slightly more than 7,000 students, offering a much more personal atmosphere than the larger universities in the surrounding area. In its original campus in Bochum itself and the new one at Velbert/Heiligenhaus, the university pursues an innovative teaching and research path. Six departments cover the primary focal areas of Construction (architecture, civil engineering, geodesy), Engineering (electrical engineering, informatics, mechatronics, and mechanical engineering), and Business. With a good 50 bachelor's courses, the goal is to equip students with the knowledge and skills that will allow them to transition seamlessly into their careers. Part-time study courses stretching over 13 semesters make it possible for people to gain additional qualifications alongside their day jobs. Hochschule Bochum sees its 15 master's courses as opportunities to deepen the academic knowledge gained in bachelor's degrees and qualifications in fields in which it is exceptionally well versed and where its expertise is sought after.
Collaboration with companies in its home region and beyond is very important to the university on the teaching and research level. Regular marketplace events offering dissertation or thesis opportunities on engineering or business topics make it possible for companies to research practical issues with a minimum outlay systematically. More than 150 professors teach and research at Bochum University of Applied Sciences. They have spent several years as practitioners in the field, which was a necessary precondition for their teaching staff appointment.
Since the 1990s, Hochschule Bochum has been building up contacts with universities worldwide, but primarily in Europe and Asia. This has resulted in many instances of close collaboration; the forms of interaction are varied, stretching from organizing internships and arranging student and lecturer exchanges to joint research projects and study courses offering double degrees. The intensification of international networking in many areas of Business also creates new challenges in the working world. The university aims to prepare its alumni as best as possible to meet these challenges while learning from others' ideas and experiences involved in teaching, research, and organizational matters. Therefore, it has created study courses that permit stays abroad where students are mentored and looked after by the university's partner establishments in other countries.
At Bochum, innovation in teaching includes introducing new degree courses like architectural media management and geothermal energy or new teaching and learning aids (special coaching in mathematics, e-learning, student jobs at the university, introductory projects for first-semester students). But it also means educating students in skills beyond their core academic disciplines.
The fundamental notion that sustainable development must be a core principle in society and academia has been anchored since 2011 in the Hochschule Bochum development plan. This principle must be evident throughout the organization - in teaching, research, infrastructure, and the university's conduct. In 2013, this idea was embodied in an interdisciplinary bachelor's degree course entitled "Sustainable Development," which has proved very popular.
For many years, the Architecture department has been placed among the Top 5 in the CHE ranking, primarily due to student ratings: All students are allocated their workspace. Covering an area of 1,200 square meters, the Blue Box offers around 250 state-of-the-art workplaces with PC and notebook hook-ups. The Civil Engineering department has particular strengths in the areas of water management and the environment. This is epitomized in the Hydraulic Engineering laboratory and the International Geothermal Centre, whose varied research and teaching activities (headquarters of the International Geothermal Association, geothermal energy network of the EnergieAgentur.NRW, Bochum Graduate School AGES, etc.) are recognized nationally and internationally as intrinsic to the university's reputation.
Core Engineering disciplines at Hochschule Bochum are electrical engineering, informatics, mechatronics, and mechanical engineering. And since 1995, the university has offered courses in these areas as dual study courses with vocational training in a cooperating engineering education program. This study model is a crucial feature at the Velbert/Heiligenhaus campus, implemented in close cooperation with local corporations who train apprentices. The successful training of engineers within the region is based on collaboration with the non-profit organization "Die Schlüsselregion" (the Key Region), a local companies and institutions network.
Bochum University of Applied Sciences is widely acknowledged for its activities in the field of Electromobility. For many years, students have been building cars driven by solar power, with which they have successfully competed in the World Solar Challenge in Australia. This experience is evidenced by solar racers such as SolarWorld No.1, the BOcruiser, SolarWorld GT (which earned an entry in the Guinness Book of Records for its round-the-world trip) or the Powercore SunCruiser, with which Hochschule Bochum garnered second place in the Cruiser Class of the 2013 world championships. In 2015, Team Bochum and it is ThyssenKrupp SunRiser took third place in this category of vehicles explicitly designed for practicality.