University profile
1. About the university
Amberg-Weiden University of Applied Sciences (www.haw-aw.de) was opened in 1995. A wide range of bachelor as well as master programs form the profile of the university. There are courses of study which are unique nationwide such as Patent Engineering and other innovative programmes like Applied Computer Sciences, Environmental Engineering, Retail and Service Management or European Business and Language Studies.
2.400 students are enrolled at Amberg-Weiden University of Applied Sciences in 2008, supervised by 60 professors. About a quarter of them are from outside the Upper Palatinate, a good sign for the attractiveness of our courses of study. 1.500 graduates have already started their professional careers, 80% of them stayed with employers in the Upper Palatinate – showing that the industry has an availability for highly qualified personnel on location. Internationally speaking, there is close co-operation with 40 partner universities in 23 countries inside and outside of Europe.
Amberg-Weiden University of Applied Sciences has turned the cities Amberg and Weiden into real university sites. The region is proud of its educational centre and supports it in every way possible. Both locations, Amberg and Weiden, offer a high standard of living, combined with affordable prices. The four faculties of the university have an excellent quality of teaching, a very good acceptance of their graduates in their working lives and an international orientation due to an increased availability of a globalized job market.
Amberg and its cityscape are coined by a history that dates back a thousand years. Centre of the city with its almost 45.000 inhabitants is the historic market place with a gothic town hall and the pedestrian zone. Various offers of sports and recreation plus a diversified art and culture scene are a further benefit of the city. Companies with international standing operate out of Amberg, such as Siemens, Grammer and Deprag. Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and Environmental Engineering are closely connected to and represent these areas of industry.
45.000 inhabitants live in the city of Weiden as well. The core of the city is formed by the old town hall, offering trendy and distinctive cafés and bars, as well as arts, culture and musical events – this all leads to an interesting student life in Weiden. Service and trade adds to renowned companies in the glass and porcelain sector such as Bauscher, Seltmann and Nachtmann. The industrial sector in Weiden is, for example, complemented by vehicle construction and engineering, by polymer processing or by micro electronics. Two third of the workers in Weiden are employed in the tertiary sector.
2. Studies
Amberg-Weiden University of Applied Sciences offers a broad portfolio of different programmes, focussing on up-to-date technical and economical developments.
learn more about study courses
3. Research
Third-party-funds and partner models are part of the success the university has. Alone during the years 2004 to 2008, third-party-funds in the amount of about € 5 million were acquired from application-oriented projects connected with the economy. The university sees itself as an enterprise, offers services for its university region and beyond and experiences the acceptance of the economy. With these third-party-projects, sponsoring and other cooperations almost 40 additional members of the staff could be financed at our university. Plus, co-operations with companies have led to the implementation of projects such as “Partner Circle”, in which twenty of the most renowned regional companies have joined together, forming a close network with the university. Partners from industry have also helped to employ professors paid by donations, for example, in logistics or international business management.In addition to that, there are further initiatives to realise a transfer of knowledge between university and industry. Exclusive examples for that are five projects within the “High-Tech-Offensive Bavaria”, an annual business forum, workshops in the faculties, summer schools, the foundation of a centre for further education, training of managers or a foreign language programme.Plus, there is the start-up of an associated research institute at the university for strengthening the knowledge and technology transfer. It is, with support of “Bayern Innovativ GmbH”, an institute for retail management and an institute for statistics and quantitative methods.
4. Service
At the University of Applied Sciences Amberg-Weiden there is a strong emphasis on service. A ratio of 1 professor to 40 students stands for ideal mentoring. Discussions during the lectures and a personal relationship between teachings and study are natural.The administration, too, understands itself as a service-oriented company. Applicants and students are in close contact with the student office, the student advisory service and the international office. From the moment a future student asks for information material, admission forms, assistance concerning possible problems, organisation of a study abroad or an internship abroad, search for possibilities to get scholarships, the student will get the best support possible: there is an open-door policy.The same goes for service-related institutions such as the IT department or the university library with its broad assortment in Amberg and Weiden. We try to maintain contact to our alumni which is a special concern of our university in terms of networks.