New International Degree Programs at Hochschule Offenburg

The nine partners in the European university alliance ChallengeEU—of which Hochschule Offenburg is a member—have set themselves the goal, among other things, of developing joint degree programs and facilitating student mobility within the alliance. In recent days, Prof. Dr. Tobias Hagen, prorector for internationalization, presented some results of the collaboration that are providing students with new international experiences.

For example, Hochschule Offenburg and the South East European University (SEEU) in Tetovo, North Macedonia, have jointly developed a new double degree program in Informatik. Students from both partner universities thus have the opportunity to benefit from the academic and subject-specific expertise of the other University and to earn degrees from both Universities. Students who began the long-standing master's program in Informatik at Hochschule Offenburg in the 2026–27 winter semester can still submit an application for the dual-degree program with SEEU until January 15, 2027. They will then complete a program with a strong international focus and earn both a German and a Macedonian master's degree, which will be recognized by both Universities in accordance with the academic regulations and requirements of the program. Prof. Dr. Elke Mackensen and Prof. Dr. Tobias Lauer, representing the department of Electrical Engineering, Medical Engineering and Computer Science at Hochschule Offenburg, emphasized the value of this new collaboration: “We are very pleased that the new double degree program in the master's program in Informatik offers students an attractive opportunity to earn a second degree through a fully recognized semester abroad and a jointly supervised Master’s thesis. As a campus-based university, SEEU offers an excellent learning environment and the chance to quickly build connections.”

In addition, Hochschule Offenburg and the University of Warmia and Mazury (UWM) in Olsztyn, Poland, have signed an agreement on an “extended study program.” As part of this program, up to five UWM students can complete an exchange semester during the sixth semester of the bachelor's program in International Management Logistics (IML) at Hochschule Offenburg, which is taught entirely in English. The credits earned during this semester (30 ECTS) are guaranteed to be recognized and applied toward their studies at UWM. German IML students can participate in the exchange program at UWM as regular exchange students, provided they meet the language requirements—since courses at UWM are taught in Polish. However, in this case, students will not have the opportunity to earn two degrees. Rather, this is a specialization, pre-determined exchange semester that simplifies the recognition process and administrative procedures for students and Universities and can help students develop their academic profile. “I hope to welcome Polish exchange students here soon. They could bring different logistical perspectives and solutions to the lectures, thereby broadening their own horizons and those of the German students,” said IML program director Ingo Dittrich, expressing his enthusiasm for the new agreement. And he won’t have to wait long: Four students from Poland have already been confirmed to come to Offenburg for the summer semester of 2027.

And soon there could even be more dual-degree programs or expanded study programs: Prof. Dr. Tobias Hagen and Prof. Dr. Tobias Kreilos already held discussions on this topic in September with ChallengeEU partner Mid Sweden University in Östersund and Sundsvall, Sweden. There, programs in the fields of autonomous systems and AI, as well as business administration and entrepreneurship, are promising candidates for specialization.