There’s a lot of excitement in the higher education sector in Germany. From undergraduate degrees in engineering and applied sciences to doctorates and courses for executives, the demand for German higher education is on the rise worldwide and students from all corners of the world, including the GCC, have begun to opt for its programmes to give their careers a global edge.
The biggest reason for this recent surge in interest is that a significant number of top universities now waive tuition altogether, while others charge relatively low fees. Hans-Christoph Keller, Spokesperson, Humboldt University of Berlin, says, “The German states and national government fund public higher education to educate students for the advancement of society. Even international students are not charged tuition. The public pays these costs.” The university currently has 1,019 students from Asia on its books.
A big draw
While students from countries in South and South East Asia as well as Eastern Europe have been flocking to Germany, numbers from the Middle East, including the UAE, are also growing steadily.
“From 32 Emirati students in 2011, the number rose to 61 last year,” says Dr Frens Stoeckel, Director, Abu Dhabi Information Centre, German Academic Exchange Service (Daad).
Engineering, medicine and courses in applied sciences are the top options for international students, but the demand for programmes in the natural sciences, law, finance, logistics and business is also gaining traction. The key factors that students consider while choosing a study destination are its quality of programmes and global recognition.
“With a large number of state-accredited universities and diverse courses on offer for every academic level, Germany is an attractive study destination for foreign students,” says Tara Pillay, Managing Partner, Varsity Connections, an academic counselling centre based in Dubai Knowledge Village.
“The icing on the cake is that fees are minimal or even non-existent. We recommend students to look at the country as a study option, especially for master’s and PhD programmes.”
Dubai-based Rema Menon, Director and Founder, Counselling Point, agrees. “Germany’s decision to make higher education free for all, including international students, will definitely draw more students to its shores. I have referred several students to the Daad office in Abu Dhabi,” she says.
However, Pillay says that although the demand for German higher education is rising, many students are still unaware of its quality of education and no-fee or low-fee policy. “Another common misconception is that the language of instruction is always German,” she says.
Internationalisation is widely considered a key trend in the higher education sector in Germany. More and more universities now offer courses in English to appeal to overseas students and better equip their graduates for internatonal careers. Among 17,000 courses available in the country, more than 1,100 undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral degree programmes are offered in English.
Luise Dirscherl, Spokesperson to the President of Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU Munich), says, “We expect the number of English-taught programmes to increase further in the next few years in order to attract more international graduate students and early career researchers from all over the world.”
Right combination
The balance between theoretical learning and practical experiences also sets the nation’s education system apart from its competitors in Europe. “The German system has a strong tradition that combines extraordinary research and its application in industry and business,” says Ulrich Marsch, Head of Corporate Communications, Technische Universität München (TUM). “This is true not only for famous engineering programmes, but also for natural and life sciences and medicine.”
TUM offers 23 master’s courses and one PhD programme in English, while its overseas campus, TUM Asia in Singapore, offers six master’s and two bachelor’s degree programmes in English. “At German [technical] universities, every scientist teaches so that students get the opportunity to learn from the best researchers in well-equipped laboratories. German universities train their graduates for scientific as well as industry-specific careers,” says Marsch.
Considering that the strength of the German higher education system lies in its emphasis on self-reliance, critical and analytical thinking, practical experience and solid theoretical knowledge, the major challenge for universities is to prepare foreign students for the switch from their education system to the German method of learning.
Dr Dieter Janssen, Vice Director/Head of Division, International Office, Admission and Social Affairs, RWTH Aachen University, says, “Most international students are used to memorising formulae or paragraphs from handbooks. Our education system expects more from students, especially in terms of their ability to work in teams and critically analyse problems to provide solutions.” The research university has more than 40,000 students in its current academic year, of which 23 are from the GCC.
