The Higher Education Review

Recognized as a higher education paradise, unlike any other country, Germany is the place where one can find many worldwide ranked universities, countless courses to choose from, globally valued degrees that promise high employability to you and affordable living costs. Built in 1994, Hof University of Applied Sciences is home to departments for engineering, business and computer science. Offering a total of over 30 Bachelor's and over 20 Master's degree programs, this Graduate School is certainly of particular interest to Indian students with first professional experience since all its programs are practice-oriented, interactive and taught using modern media.

“At Hof University, teaching is based on application-oriented knowledge and is supported by projects with industry, on-site visits and exchanges with experts. Case studies as well as real-life business examples contribute to in-depth insights into theoretical knowledge. Our professors (all with PhDs) and lecturers are experts in their respective fields and combine sound scientific understanding with valuable professional experience. Therefore, the employability of our graduates is at the core of our teaching. In addition, we have a strong focus on career-promoting activities for students (e.g. career talks, job fairs, seminars and trainings)”, highlights Prof. Dr. h.c. Lehmann, President, Hof University of Applied Sciences.

Adding further, Dr. h.c. Lehmann shares, “Our international activities have a strong focus on India – we are proud to have twelve active university cooperations with highly esteemed Indian universities, among them NID Ahmedabad, IIT Guwahati, IIT Madras, NationalLaw School of India University Bangalore, Vishwarkarma University Pune and Nirma University. Over the past 12 years, our university has also been home to the Bavarian-Indian Center (BayIND).

This institution is directly funded by the Free State of Bavaria and consistently supports the cooperation between Bavaria and India. Among other things, BayIND is a contact point for exchange programs in studies, teaching and research. To add to this, BayIND also functions as a central service facility for companies by acting as a network platform for the preparation and implementation of cooperations between Bavaria and India.”

“From offering valuable assistance to international students to preparing students for promising careers, Hof University of Applied Sciences is a name that can be relied upon”

Practising Unique Ways of Imparting Quality Education
One of the major factors attracting students to Hof University of Applied Sciences is its student-teacher ratio which has a lot to do with the size of the college. On an average there are only about 30 students per lecturer and thus, individual support is therefore guaranteed. The innovative teaching concepts, learning with coaching and the interdisciplinary approaches of many study programs are highly appreciated by the students at this college.

“Innovative and contemporary teaching concepts are particularly important to us. We think and teach in an interdisciplinary way and our coaching has to be cutting-edge and, above all, very practice-oriented. All our professors have gained many years of professional experience themselves and they transfer their knowledge into the classroom. In addition, sabbatical leave is common in order to learn about new developments in the industry and to update our own knowledge. This is the only way to provide our students with the best possible learning experience. In addition, we have integrated internships in all our study programs which are supervised by our professors and the company as well. Thus, students can immediately put their knowledge into practice and gain additional work experience”, speaks Dr. h.c. Lehmann.

A Window of Opportunities for Indian Students
Among Indian students, the Master's program in Operational Excellence is currently the most popular course of study. This

includes modern business and production processes, which makes it possible to think about how innovation, leadership, teamwork and new tools merge to enable competitive advantage and value creation. Although, all of our English-taught courses are very suitable for Indian students.

While the culture change between two places is major, Hof University of Applied Sciences is leaving no stone unturned to bridge the gaps. “At Hof University, we offer a variety of services to help Indian students in this transition. First of all, we support them with getting their visa and finding accommodation. We also offer free orientation weeks before the semester in order to help them settle in in their new environment, find friends and to handle all administrative issues before the actual start of the lectures. In addition to the above, there are many very individual offers by our departments Housing Office, the Welcome Service or also the Career Service. However, we believe, our strength here is personal counselling and support”, adds Dr. h.c. Lehmann.

From offering valuable assistance to international students to preparing students for promising careers, Hof University of Applied Sciences is a name that can be relied upon. Speaking about the future and sending out a message to students looking to pursue their higher education in Germany, Dr. h.c. Lehmann says, “My only advise to all international students is to also learn the German language despite English study offers and to make use of corresponding offers. Get involved in the European culture and while staying informed about the traditions of the host society. The better integrated you are, the better your chances are on the German job market. As a university, we will consistently continue on our path of internationalization, also and especially with India - A very new offering is the Sustainability Management (M.B.A. and Eng.) degree program in cooperation with Vishwakarma University in Pune. To add to this, a unique feature of Sustainability Management is that in coming times all students will have the chance to study and experience the meaning of Sustainability Management in India and in Germany, in the context of a Newly Industrialized Country as well as in an established industrial nation.”