DUAL STUDY NOW ALSO POSSIBLE IN THE COUNTRYSIDE

Erfurt, 24 August 2020 - Dual studies are booming in Germany - the number of those starting academic studies combined with practical experience has increased fourteenfold to over 100,000 since 2005. But what do high school graduates do when perhaps a suitable practical company is on site, but the nearest university is miles away? For these cases, IU Duales Studium, Germany's largest private university for dual study, now offers its dual study model virtually - in a fixed class environment with professors and fellow students, via video conferencing instead of in the lecture hall. Applications for the winter semester starting 1 October are now open at www.iubh-dualesstudium.de/bewerben.

"A dual study programme at the virtual campus works like a study programme at the presence location," explains Franziska Bader, Head of Virtual Studies at IU. "The only difference: our lecturers teach the theory completely virtually. They teach live and interactively via Zoom video conferences and the students follow the lessons on their screens." As in the classroom version, the practical part is done on site at a practice partner in the desired region. Students regularly alternate between theory on the virtual campus and practice in the company.

Lecturers and students at IU have already gained experience with virtual teaching in this summer semester, which took place completely virtually due to the pandemic. For Florian Sörnsen, a 3rd semester student, virtual teaching has clear advantages: “I am more flexible and do not have to travel long distances to the university. This saves me an hour's drive every day and I can use this time wisely. In addition, I can set up my study space the way I need it. And if someone is late, they don't directly disrupt the entire lecture.”

There are currently seven fields of study to choose from for the virtual dual study programme at IU: Business Administration - Accounting & Controlling (B.A.), Business Administration - Logistics Management (B.A.), Business Administration - Tax Consulting (B.A.), Marketing Management (B.A.), Media Design (B.A.), Social Work (B.A.), Tourism Management (B.A.). Prospective students, but also interested companies, can apply for both the winter and the coming summer semester. Further information at www.iubh-dualesstudium.de/standorte/virtueller-campus/