Hochschule Karlsruhe Hochschule Karlsruhe - University of Applied Sciences
Hochschule Karlsruhe Hochschule Karlsruhe - University of Applied Sciences
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HKA International

"Being international, thinking globally, acting worldwide" – under this motto, the structural and development plan of Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences names the further internationalization as one of its central strategic goals. For HKA, a decidedly international orientation is an essential element in teaching in order to prepare our students for an increasingly globalized job market.

The relevant key figures already show HKA to be a university of applied sciences with a pronounced international orientation. This applies in particular to the proportion of our graduates who have at least one semester of study-related experience abroad, whether in the form of a study semester at one of more than 180 partner universities around the world or an internship semester in a foreign company. Numerous international study programs offered at the university itself include a considerable number of dual degree programs with renowned foreign universities. Both the proportion of foreign students and foreign academic staff at HKA is significantly higher than the average at comparable universities, as is the number of international collaborations per professorship.

Nevertheless, one of the top items on HKA's internationalization agenda for the coming years remains to further foster the internationalization of teaching and learning, both in quantitative and qualitative terms. The new BA.International program, for example, is intended to give further impetus to worldwide student mobility, while cooperation within the scope of INGENIUM, an association of eight European universities, emphasizes the importance of strategic partnerships within Europe. The fact that cross-border cooperation with France and Switzerland is particularly important in this context is apparent from the four degree programs under the umbrella of the Franco-German University as well as in the university's involvement in TriRhenaTech, the alliance of universities of applied sciences in the Upper Rhine area.

What the BA.International and INGENIUM projects have in common is the collaborative development of digital international teaching and learning formats, with which traditional mobility abroad is to be supplemented by increased “internationalization at home“. Not least, this is intended to make internationally oriented higher education accessible to those who are unable to participate in traditional mobility formats due to health, personal, or economic circumstances. The increased teaching of international, intercultural, and foreign language skills as part of a comprehensive university education is flanked by the introduction of a corresponding certificate, with which our students can also demonstrate these soft skills to potential employers. This, too, conveys the vision guiding us in the further internationalization of our university – the vision of becoming the institution of choice among the universities of applied sciences in the state of Baden-Württemberg for those seeking studies with a pronounced international orientation, and thus also for companies that operate globally and seek to recruit appropriately qualified employees.

Central contact persons for all matters international at HKA are the Vice-President for Academic and International Affairs, Prof. Dr. Angelika Altmann-Dieses, and the Director of the International Office, Dr. Joachim Lembach