WOLFGANG TIEFENSEE VISITS IU CAMPUS IN ERFURT
THURINGIA'S MINISTER OF ECONOMICS WOLFGANG TIEFENSEE SPOKE WITH THE UNIVERSITY MANAGEMENT ABOUT IU'S
Erfurt, 29 November 2022. Thuringia's Minister of Economics, Science and Digital Society, Wolfgang Tiefensee, visited the campus of IU International University of Applied Sciences (IU) in Erfurt last Thursday. Based in Thuringia, IU is Germany's largest university with over 100,000 students.
Tiefensee spoke with the Rector, Prof. Dr. Holger Sommerfeldt, the Chancellor, Prof. Dr. Alexandra Wuttig and the Chief Operating Officer of dual studies, Michael Kaestner, as well as representatives of the Erfurt campus about IU's contribution to the German education landscape.
The discussion focused on IU's development to date. They also talked about how IU provides access to education for many people, for example through the expansion of the 'Virtual Campus'. Another topic of the exchange was the high proportion of women among the students at IU, which is currently over 60 percent. In addition, the university management informed the audience that a high number of people study at IU without a high school diploma (16 percent) and that the proportion of students from non-academic families is also high at over 70 percent.
Other important topics were the opportunities and challenges for teaching and organisation that arise from digitalisation and the use of technologies such as artificial intelligence. In addition, during the campus tour, in which Tiefensee was given an insight into the premises of IU, an exchange took place with the practice partner of the real estate brokerage company "Engel & Voelkers". Tiefensee also chatted with students when he attended a lecture on campus.
At the beginning of November, IU reached a new milestone of 100,000 students, further strengthening its pioneering role as Germany's largest university.
(IU International University press release, 9 November 2022: "IU International University reaches new milestone of 100,000 students.")
ABOUT IU INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES
With over 100,000 students, IU International University of Applied Sciences (IU) is the largest university in Germany. The private, state-approved educational institution with its main campus in Erfurt brings together more than 200 bachelor's and master's programmes under one roof, which are offered in German or English. Students can choose between dual studies, distance learning and myStudies, which combines online and face-to-face events, and design their studies independently with the help of a digitally supported learning environment. In addition, IU enables further training and promotes the idea of lifelong learning. The aim of the university is to give as many people as possible worldwide access to personalised education. IU started operations in 2000 and is now represented in more than 30 German cities. It cooperates with over 15,000 companies and actively supports them in the development of their employees. The partners include Motel One, VW Financial Services and Deutsche Bahn. Further information at: www.iu.org.
