Founded in 1964 as a "National School of Engineering," Offenburg University of Applied Sciences quickly established itself as a high-performance educational institution with a practical orientation. Today our University forms a thriving community, with more than 4,500 students on two campuses. We offer Bachelor's and Master's degrees in these four departments: Business and Industrial Engineering, Electrical Engineering and Information Technology, Mechanical and Process Engineering, and Media and Information.
The University maintains excellent relations with regional and national businesses. There is a constant exchange of information between faculty members and industry professionals, providing continuing access to current scientific and engineering know-how. These extensive business partnerships also provide students resources in terms of gaining work experience, doing research, or for future employment.
The Institute for Applied Research (IAF) heads the University's technology and innovation work in solar energy, medicine, robotics, and electric mobility. The close collaboration with industry partners benefits all sides – application-oriented research and technology transfer, up-to-date laboratories, and concentrated, interdisciplinary expertise in different technological fields. All provide significant draws.
Offenburg University prides itself on the international orientation of its programs. In 1998, it was one of the first higher education institutions in Germany to introduce international Master's degree programs through the Graduate School. Today, we offer five English-taught programs that cater to international students, who comprise about twelve percent of the total student body. Additionally, the International Office maintains active exchange programs with more than 70 partner universities worldwide, giving our students plenty of opportunities to study and pursue internships abroad. Thanks to our proximity to the French border, we can also offer double-degree programs with prestigious French universities.
Students at Offenburg University benefit from the advantages of a more intimate campus environment - smaller classes, individual supervision and support by faculty and staff, hands-on teaching, and close integration with the regional economy. It enjoys consistently high rankings and, as the Association has awarded a reformed technical college for the Promotion of Science and Humanities in Germany.
Applied research, innovation, and technology transfer are some of the cornerstones of Hochschule Offenburg. We have built strong alliances with regional and national and international businesses, research institutes, and educational establishments. These close contacts, both within and across networks, guarantee continued access to innovative fields of application our partners, in turn, benefit from the latest scientific findings and developments.
Research projects conducted by our academic staff and fellows frequently result in doctoral dissertations supervised in cooperation with our partner universities in Germany and abroad.
Besides academics – studying and teaching – and internationalization, applied research is one of Hochschule Offenburg's cornerstones. Through its Institute for Applied Research (IAF), the University has become a local 'science factor' and a leading player in the greater Offenburg region's innovative capacity. Past applied-oriented research works have successfully demonstrated our overarching goal to transfer technology and innovative impulses to the regional industry.
The IAF is Hochschule Offenburg's central division for research and development projects:
We are the first contact for interested companies, the public and other higher-education institutions, and external research institutes.
We also support the University's research actors in their grant applications, cooperation agreements, utilization of results, and external-funding administration.
We promote knowledge and technology transfer, mainly in the University's research areas. The IAF is the central administrative agency besides the six subject-specific institutes and numerous additional research teams.
Hochschule Offenburg maintains active exchange programs with more than 70 partner universities around the world. It also cooperates closely with the many internationally active companies in the Ortenau Region, both benefiting from and contributing to the internationalization of the region.
Hochschule Offenburg was one of the first institutions of higher education in Germany, in 1998, to introduce internationally oriented, English-language Master's degree programs. Facilitated by the proximity with the French border, double-degree programs in cooperation with prestigious French universities are also offered.
Support of our international students - who currently comprise about twelve percent of the total student population - extends well beyond academics and the classroom. They receive help finding accommodation, participate in cultural activities and language courses, and are advised on their studies and everyday issues throughout their stay. After leaving the University, the international Alumni Network makes it easy to stay connected and establish new contacts with other graduates.
Offenburg University's research strength lies in its application-oriented approach, leading to expertise and innovative technological solutions. We work 'close to the product,' collaborating with companies in Germany and abroad, and with particular scholarly depth in our dissertation projects in cooperation with national and international research universities.
While as a former technical college, Offenburg's academic research activities are relatively young; today, more than 70 professors, 80 scientific staff members, and 35 doctoral candidates pursue research at the Hochschule. Small and midsize businesses (SMB's) in particular, often lacking adequate research capacities on their own, use this opportunity of cooperation, which benefits both sides.
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