Internationalization

We see ourselves as Dortmund's window to the world. And as a space in which internationality can be experienced and lived in Dortmund. Because we have experience of this in the region; with 5 million inhabitants, the Ruhr region is a melting pot of cultures and extremely adept at integration.

We promote exchange for students, lecturers and employees with our international partners; with over 170 partner universities from around 50 countries worldwide. Our diverse university partnerships thrive on personal exchange and joint activities. The cooperation activities with our strategic partnerships are characterized by particularly intensive collaboration.

We provide our international students with a qualified range of support services. This is part of the wide range of counseling and support services offered by our International Office.

Our internationally oriented study programs and our English-language courses help to make our university even more attractive internationally.

Following on from participation in the "Internationalization of Universities" audit process(Opens in a new tab)  of the German Rectors' Conference (HRK) in 2010/11, a wide range of strategic aspects have already been further developed in recent years in order to promote internationalization.

For example, the HRK re-audit format "Internationalization of Universities"(Opens in a new tab) , which built on the audit, was successfully completed in 2022 and internationalization was thus taken even further into the breadth of the university.

With the establishment of a dedicated Vice-Rectorate for Internationalization and the inclusion of internationalization as one of the four focus topics in the new University Development Plan 2020-2025, Fachhochschule Dortmund has committed itself to the ever-increasing relevance of strategic internationalization. With the "Campus International 2025" strategy adopted in 2022, the orientation and focus of internationalization were adjusted in line with the Unive"Internationalization of Universities"(Opens in a new tab) , which built on the audit, was successfully completed in 2022 and internationalization was thus taken even further into the breadth of the university.

With the establishment of a dedicated Vice-Rectorate for Internationalization and the inclusion of internationalization as one of the four focus topics in the new University Development Plan 2020-2025(Opens in a new tab) , Fachhochschule Dortmund has committed itself to the ever-increasing relevance of strategic internationalization. With the "Campus International 2025" strategy adopted in 2022, the orientation and focus of internationalization were adjusted in line with the University Development Plan 2020-2025.

The strategy will be updated in the course of 2026 as part of the new University Development Plan 2025-2030.

The further development and expansion of strategic international networking is one of the central goals of Fachhochschule Dortmund. Partnerships that are characterized by a special quality and intensity of cooperation with a broad impact on the university contribute to this. Fachhochschule Dortmund is currently focusing on eight university-wide strategic partnerships, including two networks and one bilateral partnership.

1. the European Partnership for Project and Innovation Management (EuroPIM)(Opens in a new tab) 

• KU Leuven(Opens in a new tab) , Belgium
• Kaunas University of Technology (KTU)(Opens in a new tab) , Lithuania
• University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU) Bilbao(Opens in a new tab) , Spain
• Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) Trondheim(Opens in a new tab) , Norway

Fachhochschule Dortmund and the four universities have already been cooperating intensively for over ten years with exchange activities and projects in teaching and research in the fields of project management, digital transformation and technological innovation.

2nd Circular Economy University Network (Circular EcUNet)

• R.V. College of Engineering(Opens in a new tab) , Bangalore / India
• National Institute of Engineering (NIE)(Opens in a new tab) , Mysore /India
• Universidad de Medellín(Opens in a new tab) , Colombia

The cooperation with the three universities is primarily driven by the DAAD project InduTwin@scale(Opens in a new tab) , through which various long-term and short-term exchanges, virtual and hybrid teaching formats and a train-the-trainer program have already been implemented. The unifying theme of the cross-departmental collaboration with partners in teaching and research is sustainability.

3. university and city partnership with Amiens

• Université de Picardie Jules Verne (UPJV)(Opens in a new tab) , Amiens / France

The partnership between Dortmund University of Applied Sciences and Arts and the Université de Picardie Jules Verne (UPJV) in Amiens is the university's oldest cooperation. It originated from the city partnership between Dortmund and Amiens and since then has actively contributed to the promotion of intercultural exchange within the framework of Franco-German friendship.