IUBH BECOMES THE LARGEST GERMAN UNIVERSITY - AND "IU INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY”

Erfurt, 22 March 2021 - Digital learning. Flexible study programmes. International orientation: With these principles, IUHB International University has now become Germany's largest university. More than 70,000 students will be enrolled in IU International University of Applied Sciences’ degree programmes by the summer semester of 2021, more than at any other university in Germany. By the end of the year, over 10,000 foreign students are expected to be matriculated at the university. In order to underline its growing international importance, IU International University of Applied Sciences gives a new name to itself: From now on the university is called IU Internationale Hochschule (English IU International University of Applied Sciences).

"The record enrolment shows that IU International University of Applied Sciences is on the right track: We are now the largest university in Germany because of our focus towards the needs of the students - especially through innovative digital forms of learning - which gives them the best opportunities to develop. This milestone is the perfect occasion to make our internationality even more visible with a new name: We are not tied to a particular location and are connected worldwide - and we educate people from home and abroad for the global labour market," says Dr. Sven Schütt, Managing Director of IU International University of Applied Sciences.

Thuringia's Minister of Science Wolfgang Tiefensee says: "IU International University of Applied Sciences enriches the Thuringian academic landscape with its diverse and future-oriented range of courses. I am glad that IU is located in Erfurt since 2019 and therefore, as a state-recognised university, also strengthens Thuringia as a science location. The university' s activities in the area of digital teaching are outstanding. And they open up access to academic education to a broad section of the population because, as a distance learning university, they offer additional courses that can be easily integrated into everyday life.”

IU International University of Applied Sciences - an educational brand with international appeal

"As a digital pioneer, IU International University of Applied Sciences is pushing innovation in the education sector internationally. With our partner universities and companies such as Microsoft and Salesforce, we set standards for the education of tomorrow” says Holger Sommerfeldt, new Rector of IU since the beginning of March. "With our new name, we are taking into account the high international appeal of our digital degree programmes. Our English-language Mint programmes such as AI and Data Science are especially popular among international students. Excellent career opportunities are open to these students. At the same time, we are providing an essential contribution to skills that are in very high demand in the labour market."

Today, IU International University of Applied Sciences offers over 200 Bachelor's, Master's and MBA programmes as dual studies, distance learning courses, part-time combi-studies and classic campus studies. In 2020 alone, the IU International University has added 29 new degree programmes to its range of courses - especially innovative study programmes for the digital working world of tomorrow, for example Artificial Intelligence, Cyber Security, Data Science, New Work and UX Design. Simultaneously, the number of employed academics has risen significantly - in 2020, IU International University has employed over new 100 professors.

Proven in the Corona crisis

The satisfaction of the students is reflected in the recommendation rate: For online studies at IU International University of Applied Sciences, this figure is 98 percent. Digital tools such as learning apps, online exams and learning sprints provide support for the students. Unlike many other universities, the IU International University of Applied Sciences was able to continue its classes in all degree courses without any difficulties. In addition, the pandemic has further increased the interest in digital education - for example, the number of distance learning students at the IU International University of Applied Sciences has almost doubled in 2020.

Furthermore, more than 6,000 German and international corporate partners benefit from the flexible study options. Especially during the lockdown, the combination of online methods and face-to-face interaction has worked out successfully for the companies.

Continuation of the successful model with a new name

The managing director of IU emphasises that although the name of the university is new, the basic orientation will remain the same. Schütt: "For our students and our corporate partners, the new name will not change the well-known strengths of the IU International University. We will continue to work hard to optimally adjust our study programmes to the needs of our students and corporate partners."