Bielefeld University of Applied Sciences

The Hochschule Bielefeld – University of Applied Sciences and Arts (Hochschule Bielefeld) is the largest state university of applied sciences in East Westphalia-Lippe. The main location of this educational institution is in Bielefeld. Other locations are in Minden and Gütersloh. The range of courses includes bachelor's and master's degree programs, as well as certificate programs in six subject areas. At present, 10,200 students are taught by 300 professors and teaching staff at Bielefeld University of Applied Sciences, while 650 employees provide administrative support.

Bielefeld University of Applied Sciences and Arts was founded on August 1, 1971 as the Bielefeld University of Applied Sciences and was one of the first universities of applied sciences in Germany. It was created by the merger of several educational institutions, including the State Engineering School for Mechanical Engineering in Bielefeld, the Municipal Werkkunstschule Bielefeld, the Landeshauptmann-Salzmann-Schule & Higher Technical School for Social Work, the State Higher School of Economics Bielefeld and the State Engineering School for Civil Engineering Minden. The aim of this integration was to promote practice-oriented academic training in the region of East Westphalia-Lippe.^[1]

Prof. Dr. Germanus Wegmann was the first rector of the Bielefeld University of Applied Sciences.^[2]

Over the years, the Bielefeld University of Applied Sciences expanded its range of courses and opened additional locations in Minden and Gütersloh.

On April 19, 2023, Bielefeld University of Applied Sciences was renamed “Bielefeld University of Applied Sciences and Arts (HSBI)” to reflect its broad range of subjects and its claim to be a modern university of applied sciences.^[3]

Today, Bielefeld University of Applied Sciences and Arts is the largest state university of applied sciences in East Westphalia-Lippe, with over 10,000 students, and offers a wide range of courses in six faculties.

Bielefeld University of Applied Sciences and Arts (HSBI) is located at three sites, each offering different focuses in research, teaching and practice. The main campus is in Bielefeld, while the additional campuses in Minden and Gütersloh offer specialized courses of study. This geographical distribution enables links with the respective regional economic and research structures.

The university's main building is located at Interaktion 1. This location is the center of the university and houses the majority of the faculties, including Engineering and Mathematics, Bielefeld School of Business, Health and Social Sciences.

The Minden Campus is a specialized location of the Bielefeld University of Applied Sciences and Arts and focuses on the fields of architecture, civil engineering, Computer Sciences, Industrial Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and Electrical Engineering.^[4]

The Gütersloh Campus specializes in dual study programs and offers a unique model in which students can gain practical experience in partner companies while studying. Degree programs such as Industrial Engineerung, Mechatronics, Digital Technologies and Software Engineering are based here.^[5]

Bielefeld University of Applied Sciences and Arts is divided into six faculties, each offering a specific range of practice-oriented courses and research fields. The university's range of courses is supplemented by the Minden and Gütersloh campuses, which function as specialized campuses. The university's faculties are described in detail below:

Practical training is the primary objective at the Faculty of Engineering and Mathematics. Course content is constantly updated to correspond with economic requirements and changing occupational fields. The faculty provides excellent teaching based on outstanding research. Cooperation with partners from industry and commerce enables innovative work. The personal atmosphere in the faculty, the well-equipped laboratories, and the individual supervision and support provided by professors guarantee an optimal study environment.

In the main building on Bielefeld Campus and on Gütersloh Campus, the Faculty of Engineering and Mathematics has over 3,000 students and 24 bachelor and master programmes. STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) combine Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, Mechanical Engineering, Mechatronics, Industrial Engineering and Management, Applied Mathematics and Apparative Biotechnology. As an alternative to conventional classroom study programmes, work-integrated studies, collaborative and part-time study models are also offered. Two of the three research institutes of HSBI – the Institute for System Dynamics and Mechatronics (ISyM), and the Bielefeld Institute for Applied Material Sciences (BIfAM) engage in successful research and development in the faculty.^[6]

Studies at the Faculty of Design and Art aim at the development of conceptual, creative and technical skills. Students learn to craft the entire range of communicative processes as creative people. A further essential feature of the courses is the dialogue between the four study areas of Digital Media and Experiment, Photography and Visual Media, Communication Design and Fashion and the dialogue between design and science. Every year, the fashion show and the photography symposium are two of the highlights in Bielefeld’s calendar of events. The faculty enjoys a high national and international reputation, largely due to its research activities and interests in “Perception forms of Photography.” ^[7]

Thanks to an extensive network of companies and universities, teaching and research are practice-oriented and have an international focus. Work placements and study-related projects prepare students for an optimal start into their professional career. Small classes allow for close contact between students and teaching staff.

In numerous bachelor and master programmes from Business Administration to Business Law and from Business Information Systems to Business Psychology, students can study all aspects of business and economics full-time or part-time while holding a job. The faculty’s bachelor programme International Studies in Management is also partly taught in English and the master programme International Business Management is taught in English only.

Bielefeld School of Business teaches fundamental interrelationships and methods in sub-fields such as management, marketing, accounting, human resources, taxation and business information systems. ^[8][9]

At the Faculty of Social Sciences, professional and managerial staff are trained for social and pedagogic work. The Faculty of Social Sciences offers two bachelor programmes: Social Work and (Early) Childhood Education, as well as the master programme in Social Transformation Studies. The fundamental components of all the different sciences that lead to a degree in Social Work or (Early) Childhood Education are practical orientation and study-related work placements. The master programme that follows the bachelor’s degree is multidisciplinary and application-oriented. Research, application and profile development are the central elements of this course.^[10]

At the Faculty of Health, students are qualified to take on special tasks in ward teams and inpatient care. The dual-qualification programme in Nursing is offered in Bielefeld and also on Minden Campus. The Faculty of Health also qualifies prospective teachers in health professions. The research institute for educational and health-care research in the health sector – called InBVG – is part of the faculty. ^[11]

Studies at Minden Campus are characterised by a high degree of practical orientation, sandwich courses and a wide variety of subjects, ranging from Architecture to Civil Engineering and Project Management, and Computer Science. Students appreciate the personal atmosphere on Minden Campus and the individual guidance and support provided by teaching and administration staff.

Around 1,500 students are enrolled in the bachelor and master courses dedicated to Architecture, Civil Engineering and Computer Science as well as the practice-integrated study programmes Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and Business Administration and Engineering.

Thanks to intelligent computer-aided construction technology, the new premises, which opened in 2015, meet the demanding requirements of Energy Efficiency Class A. The building itself also serves as a research object for intelligent construction technologies.^[12]

HSBI holds six research institutes:

At our Institute for Educational and Health-Care Research in the Health Sector (InBVG), researchers from the Faculty of Health work together with different focuses of activities in nursing science, therapy sciences, health sciences, science of midwifery as well as vocational education and medicine.

The research topics at our Institute for System Dynamics and Mechatronics (ISyM) focus on the development of systems that are capable of performing complex tasks efficiently and – if applicable – autonomously, thanks to their ability to interact, adapt and cooperate. In the design of sustainable mechatronic systems, using interdisciplinary approaches provides the fundamental added value. Thanks to its focus on intelligent systems, human mechatronics & medical technology as well as connected mobility, ISyM is involved in designing future-oriented solutions for applications in the industrial, healthcare, and mobility sectors.

The Bielefeld Institute for Applied Materials Research (BIfAM) addresses current challenges in materials science through a natural science and engineering approach. By combining different disciplines, BIfAM enables a holistic research methodology along the scientific value chain. Research and development focus on developing innovative and sustainable solutions to social and industrial challenges.

The Institute for Building Intelligence (ibi) conducts research and development in many areas of application. Its work focuses on complex systems, processes and data in the building industry and industrial facilities, sustainability and the circular economy as well as social aspects of the built environment.

The objective of our Institute for Technical Energy Systems (ITES) is to investigate and find solutions for interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary issues relating to the technical integration of systems as well as the economic and ecological optimisation and social integration of decentralised energy systems.

The Institute for Data Science Solutions (IDaS) has a main focus on artificial intelligence, optimisation, simulation and data science. These topics are dealt with in various application domains (environment, economy, technology, society) from a wide range of perspectives (in particular, applications, procedures, modelling, software engineering, security and risk management).

Additionally, there is an associated institute at HSBI: our Competence Center Technology-Diversity-Equal Opportunities e. V. . The Competence Center is known for organising the annual national Girls’ and Boys’ Day.

Besides the research institutes, HSBI also has other research networks that are internal to the university but also reach beyond it. HSBI is decisively involved in these networks.

CareTech OWL is an interdisciplinary centre for transdisciplinary research at HSBI. Besides researching and developing technologies for healthcare, nursing and social work, the focus is mainly on user-oriented, participatory research. For this reason, structures are being established in collaboration with many partners that enable a practical approach. These include CareTech HUBs, living labs, a common Care Data Infrastructure and fixed panels of test persons.

As part of the Smart Recycling Factory, the landfill location Pohlsche Heide will be developed into an efficient storage and processing centre for recyclable materials in the coming years. In the best-case scenario, these materials will be 100 per cent recyclable. Interdisciplinary teams from universities, transfer partners and administrations will generate innovations for a truly circular economy, with as little downcycling as possible. Besides Entsorgungswirtschaft Minden-Lübbecke Anstalt öffentlichen Rechts (EMiL AöR) , also HSBI, OWL University of Applied Sciences and Arts (TH OWL) and the German Institute for Standardisation (DIN) are involved.

On RailCampus OWL in Minden, the focus is on research and further training for railway technology of the future. This is where Campus OWL universities engage in sustainable joint activities in teaching, research and transfer. With the expansion of a strong cooperation network, the entire ‘railway innovation chain’ is represented at RailCampus OWL.

Bielefeld University of Applied Sciences and Arts (HSBI) aligns its research profile with global societal challenges and places particular emphasis on the areas of climate and energy, health, mobility and communication.

HSBI aims to provide its researchers with professional support in terms of processes and structures, create greater relief and other forms of incentives for research and offer the best possible conditions. Additionally, it is a concern of HSBI to make its numerous and diverse research achievements at the university more visible, thus highlighting the university’s impact in the region and beyond. This research strategy (see infobox for download) is a strategic concretisation of the objectives formulated in the university development plan. This is another strategic element, in conjunction with other strategies at HSBI, for transfer, international affairs and the Act2Sustain sustainability programme.

The university maintains partnerships with over 150 universities worldwide. It also works with around 350 companies, particularly in the OWL region, to ensure practical training and research.^[13]

• Official website (in English)

52°02′07.79″N 8°30′11.34″E / 52.0354972°N 8.5031500°E / 52.0354972; 8.5031500