International Winter University (IWU) Kassel
Encyclopedia
International Winter University (IWU) Kassel is a short-term program that is held during the winter season by the University of Kassel
(Uni Kassel) every year. The IWU inspired from the international short-term programs held in Germany, then International Summer University (ISU) Kassel
began the establishment of IWU in response to growing interest of international students to study in Germany. In addition to the 12 international master programs, Uni Kassel organizes both of ISU and IWU as one of its internationalization strategies. The program of IWU Kassel is designed for university students as well as researchers and professionals who want to learn more about German
and European perspectives in Environmental Sciences and German Language & Culture. Environmental science has been one of the strengths of Uni Kassel since its foundation in 1971. IWU Kassel is now overseen by Uni Kassel’s International Study Center and shares the motto: “Sustainable Environment Cultural Heritage Student Potential WE CARE” with its sister program International Summer University (ISU) Kassel.
The uniqueness of IWU Kassel lies in the concern for the sustainability
of global environment and cultural heritage. While IWU Kassel embraces globalization
and innovation
in the study program, the best practices of the program has been kept – arrangement of host families – to ensure that the visiting students are fully engaged in the local community
and culture during their short stay in Kassel
. Students are arranged to live with carefully selected host families and to practice their classroom knowledge with tandem partners and tutors. Workshops (e.g. German dancing, cooking, sports), field trips and excursions in Kassel and neighboring areas are also organized to introduce local culture and traditions to the students. Since the program is held during the term time, IWU Kassel students also have abundant opportunities to meet local students and participate in student activities on campus. The theme “sustainability” does not only cover the academic content of IWU, but also the program design which encourages continuous learning within and outside classrooms.
. It is a pioneer of short-term winter programs in Germany and is one of the short-term programs bearing the DAAD Quality Seal.
Besides, IWU offers short-term credit-bearing academic program featuring the strengths of Uni Kassel in the areas of Environmental Sciences and German Language & Culture studies. Apart from the academic components with specific foci, IWU is unique in its host-family program for students to experience first-hand German lifestyle. The University’s long-standing partnerships with industries in the region and experiences in university-industry knowledge transfer
also bring additional benefit to IWU students by giving them opportunities to witness the application of academic knowledge in industrial settings.
Since its inception, IWU has received on average some 50 international students each year. The number of students is on the rise with its growing popularity among partnering universities. Some of these students returned to Kassel for further studies and many of them have become the ambassadors of the University and the city of Kassel in their home countries. In 2009/2010, a total of 59 students took part in the program.
(European Language Portfolio) at the following levels: A1, B1 and C1. Students will study in small groups under the supervision of experienced teachers qualified in teaching German as a foreign language. Interactive and innovative teaching methods are characteristics of this German language course.
The seminars for engineering module usually cover the following topics: an introduction to international climate policy, renewable energy and energy systems from a German and European perspective, environment protection measures, solar-thermal technologies and systems, photovoltaic, the history and future of wind energy, wind farm management, biomass
, natural gas storage
, and rational and efficient energy usage: low energy housing and sustainable building. Seminar for German culture module usually covers topics such as German history, literature, and art of the 19th and 20th centuries, which all activities will explore how contemporary German culture has been shaped by historical developments in the past 200 years, the "Age of Goethe" (Goethe-Zeit), the end of the 19th century (nietzsche), and the revolutionary
art movement
(bauhaus
and expressionism
).
Students will be awarded 6 ECTS
upon completion of the German language course and two academic seminars in either the engineering module or culture module. The seminars are taught by experienced faculty members in English and optionally in German. Students of the engineering module are arranged to visit industrial partners. Students from the cultural module are arranged to visit the museums and cultural establishments in Kassel.
and Wilhelm Grimm
spent more than 30 years of their lives to collect and compile the Grimm's Fairy Tales
(German: Grimms Märchen) collection. Kassel is also the city of "documenta
" where the world’s largest exhibition of contemporary art takes place every five years.
In 1971, Uni Kassel was founded in the city of Kassel as a reform university. The University is one of the first universities to have developed an international and inter-disciplinary perspective in research and learning. Being the youngest public university in the state of Hessen, it has currently a student population of 18,113, which includes some 2,400 international students from over 120 countries.
University of Kassel
The University of Kassel, founded in 1970, is one of the newer universities in the state of Hesse. The university is in Kassel, and as of September 2010 has about 18,113 students...
(Uni Kassel) every year. The IWU inspired from the international short-term programs held in Germany, then International Summer University (ISU) Kassel
International Summer University (ISU) Kassel
International Summer University Kassel is a short-term program that is held during the summer season by the University of Kassel every year...
began the establishment of IWU in response to growing interest of international students to study in Germany. In addition to the 12 international master programs, Uni Kassel organizes both of ISU and IWU as one of its internationalization strategies. The program of IWU Kassel is designed for university students as well as researchers and professionals who want to learn more about German
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
and European perspectives in Environmental Sciences and German Language & Culture. Environmental science has been one of the strengths of Uni Kassel since its foundation in 1971. IWU Kassel is now overseen by Uni Kassel’s International Study Center and shares the motto: “Sustainable Environment Cultural Heritage Student Potential WE CARE” with its sister program International Summer University (ISU) Kassel.
The uniqueness of IWU Kassel lies in the concern for the sustainability
Sustainability
Sustainability is the capacity to endure. For humans, sustainability is the long-term maintenance of well being, which has environmental, economic, and social dimensions, and encompasses the concept of union, an interdependent relationship and mutual responsible position with all living and non...
of global environment and cultural heritage. While IWU Kassel embraces globalization
Globalization
Globalization refers to the increasingly global relationships of culture, people and economic activity. Most often, it refers to economics: the global distribution of the production of goods and services, through reduction of barriers to international trade such as tariffs, export fees, and import...
and innovation
Innovation
Innovation is the creation of better or more effective products, processes, technologies, or ideas that are accepted by markets, governments, and society...
in the study program, the best practices of the program has been kept – arrangement of host families – to ensure that the visiting students are fully engaged in the local community
Local community
A local community is a group of interacting people sharing an environment. In human communities, intent, belief, resources, preferences, needs, risks, and a number of other conditions may be present and common, affecting the identity of the participants and their degree of cohesiveness.- Overview...
and culture during their short stay in Kassel
Kassel
Kassel is a town located on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Kassel Regierungsbezirk and the Kreis of the same name and has approximately 195,000 inhabitants.- History :...
. Students are arranged to live with carefully selected host families and to practice their classroom knowledge with tandem partners and tutors. Workshops (e.g. German dancing, cooking, sports), field trips and excursions in Kassel and neighboring areas are also organized to introduce local culture and traditions to the students. Since the program is held during the term time, IWU Kassel students also have abundant opportunities to meet local students and participate in student activities on campus. The theme “sustainability” does not only cover the academic content of IWU, but also the program design which encourages continuous learning within and outside classrooms.
History and Development of the Programme
Following the success of ISU, the International Winter University (IWU) Kassel was established in 2005/06 to offer international students an alternative time frame to experience education in GermanyEducation in Germany
The responsibility for the German education system lies primarily with the states while the federal government plays only a minor role. Optional Kindergarten education is provided for all children between three and six years of age, after which school attendance is compulsory, in most cases for...
. It is a pioneer of short-term winter programs in Germany and is one of the short-term programs bearing the DAAD Quality Seal.
Besides, IWU offers short-term credit-bearing academic program featuring the strengths of Uni Kassel in the areas of Environmental Sciences and German Language & Culture studies. Apart from the academic components with specific foci, IWU is unique in its host-family program for students to experience first-hand German lifestyle. The University’s long-standing partnerships with industries in the region and experiences in university-industry knowledge transfer
Knowledge transfer
Knowledge transfer in the fields of organizational development and organizational learning is the practical problem of transferring knowledge from one part of the organization to another part of the organization. Like Knowledge Management, Knowledge transfer seeks to organize, create, capture or...
also bring additional benefit to IWU students by giving them opportunities to witness the application of academic knowledge in industrial settings.
Since its inception, IWU has received on average some 50 international students each year. The number of students is on the rise with its growing popularity among partnering universities. Some of these students returned to Kassel for further studies and many of them have become the ambassadors of the University and the city of Kassel in their home countries. In 2009/2010, a total of 59 students took part in the program.
Program of Study
The study program of IWU Kassel includes German language courses which are designed to meet the criteria of the Common European Framework of Reference for LanguagesCommon European Framework of Reference for Languages
The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment, abbreviated as CEFR, is a guideline used to describe achievements of learners of foreign languages across Europe and, increasingly, in other countries...
(European Language Portfolio) at the following levels: A1, B1 and C1. Students will study in small groups under the supervision of experienced teachers qualified in teaching German as a foreign language. Interactive and innovative teaching methods are characteristics of this German language course.
The seminars for engineering module usually cover the following topics: an introduction to international climate policy, renewable energy and energy systems from a German and European perspective, environment protection measures, solar-thermal technologies and systems, photovoltaic, the history and future of wind energy, wind farm management, biomass
Biomass
Biomass, as a renewable energy source, is biological material from living, or recently living organisms. As an energy source, biomass can either be used directly, or converted into other energy products such as biofuel....
, natural gas storage
Natural gas storage
Natural gas, like many other commodities, can be stored for an indefinite period of time in natural gas storage facilities for later consumption.- Usage :...
, and rational and efficient energy usage: low energy housing and sustainable building. Seminar for German culture module usually covers topics such as German history, literature, and art of the 19th and 20th centuries, which all activities will explore how contemporary German culture has been shaped by historical developments in the past 200 years, the "Age of Goethe" (Goethe-Zeit), the end of the 19th century (nietzsche), and the revolutionary
Revolutionary
A revolutionary is a person who either actively participates in, or advocates revolution. Also, when used as an adjective, the term revolutionary refers to something that has a major, sudden impact on society or on some aspect of human endeavor.-Definition:...
art movement
Art movement
An art movement is a tendency or style in art with a specific common philosophy or goal, followed by a group of artists during a restricted period of time, or, at least, with the heyday of the movement defined within a number of years...
(bauhaus
Bauhaus
', commonly known simply as Bauhaus, was a school in Germany that combined crafts and the fine arts, and was famous for the approach to design that it publicized and taught. It operated from 1919 to 1933. At that time the German term stood for "School of Building".The Bauhaus school was founded by...
and expressionism
Expressionism
Expressionism was a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Germany at the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it radically for emotional effect in order to evoke moods or ideas...
).
Students will be awarded 6 ECTS
European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System
This page describes ECTS-credits. For information about the ECTS grading system go to ECTS grading scale.European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System is a standard for comparing the study attainment and performance of students of higher education across the European Union and other...
upon completion of the German language course and two academic seminars in either the engineering module or culture module. The seminars are taught by experienced faculty members in English and optionally in German. Students of the engineering module are arranged to visit industrial partners. Students from the cultural module are arranged to visit the museums and cultural establishments in Kassel.
About Kassel and Uni Kassel
Kassel is a mid-sized city located in northern Hessen in the center of Germany. The city has around 198,500 inhabitants and a total area of 107 km2. Kassel is known as the "Capital of German Fairy Tale Route" for it is the place where Jacob GrimmJacob Grimm
Jacob Ludwig Carl Grimm was a German philologist, jurist and mythologist. He is best known as the discoverer of Grimm's Law, the author of the monumental Deutsches Wörterbuch, the author of Deutsche Mythologie and, more popularly, as one of the Brothers Grimm, as the editor of Grimm's Fairy...
and Wilhelm Grimm
Wilhelm Grimm
Wilhelm Carl Grimm was a German author, the younger of the Brothers Grimm.-Life and work:...
spent more than 30 years of their lives to collect and compile the Grimm's Fairy Tales
Grimm's Fairy Tales
Children's and Household Tales is a collection of German origin fairy tales first published in 1812 by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, the Brothers Grimm. The collection is commonly known today as Grimms' Fairy Tales .-Composition:...
(German: Grimms Märchen) collection. Kassel is also the city of "documenta
Documenta
documenta is an exhibition of modern and contemporary art which takes place every five years in Kassel, Germany. It was founded by artist, teacher and curator Arnold Bode in 1955 as part of the Bundesgartenschau which took place in Kassel at that time...
" where the world’s largest exhibition of contemporary art takes place every five years.
In 1971, Uni Kassel was founded in the city of Kassel as a reform university. The University is one of the first universities to have developed an international and inter-disciplinary perspective in research and learning. Being the youngest public university in the state of Hessen, it has currently a student population of 18,113, which includes some 2,400 international students from over 120 countries.
External links
- International Winter University, University of Kassel
- University of Kassel
- International Study Center, University of Kassel
- Student Service, University of Kassel
- DAAD