UP Press Releases - University of Potsdam

The European Digital UniverCity (EDUC) has the potential to become an "innovation hub". The European consortium led by the University of Potsdam will drive the internationalization of the entire university. This is the verdict of the experts of the "Re-Audit Internationalization", which the University of Potsdam has undergone over the past three years. With this re-audit, the German Rectors' Conference (Hochschulrektorenkonferenz HRK) supports universities in implementing their internationalization strategy. "The positive feedback and the many constructive suggestions will help us to refine and firmly establish the international profile of our university, in research and teaching, but also in administration and in knowledge and technology transfer," Prof. Dr. Florian J. Schweigert, Vice President for International Affairs, Alumni and Fundraising, explained.

In 2012, the University of Potsdam was one of the first to take part in the HRK’s audit on "Internationalization of Higher Education Institutions" and was awarded the coveted certificate. The re-audit has now assessed how it has implemented its ideas for a cosmopolitan university through internationally oriented teaching and research. Internationalization was found to have significantly gained importance at the university. It is now considered to be a cross-cutting issue and life has been successfully breathed into it, the auditors Prof. Dr. Ulrike Landfester, former Vice-President External Relations at the University of St. Gallen, and Prof. Dr. Georg Winckler, former Rector at the University of Vienna, said. The University was found to have strategic partnerships worldwide and to promote exchange, not only among researchers, teaching staff and students, but also among technical and administrative staff. According to the re-audit, English-language degree programs, double degrees at universities in two countries, teacher training internships abroad, summer schools as well as digital and thus cross-border teaching formats have been established and now offer a good foundation for the further development of the European Digital UniverCity: In cooperation with partner universities in France, Hungary, Italy and the Czech Republic, a common space is being created in which students, teaching staff and administrative staff can work together without administrative, cultural and social barriers. The experts believe that EDUC has the potential to "play a leading role as an innovation hub for a new orientation of teaching within the University of Potsdam". They also see an opportunity to promote multilingualism beyond just English as the academic lingua franca, and thus to provide students with the best possible qualifications for a globally interconnected job market. The internationalization of the curricula and the orientation of teaching towards global topics were also said to serve this purpose.

Contact: Marita Böhning, Executive Assistant to the Vice President for International Affairs, Alumni and Fundraising
Phone: 0331 977-4190
E-Mail: marita.boehninguuni-potsdampde

Media information: 03-04-2020 / No. 040

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