Study in Magdeburg

Finding your way on the campus of Otto von Guericke University is relatively easy. The buildings and research labs are numbered, and there are over 30 altogether. In order to prevent any possible confusion, there are labels in large letters on each building describing what goes on inside - e.g. physics, chemistry or thermal engineering. Looking at these labels, it quickly becomes clear that this university is technically-oriented. Many of its students study subjects like information technology, mechanical engineering or electrical engineering. The other focus here is general medicine, with special courses in system biology and neurobiology. And of course, there is also a large faculty for humanities, social science and education science. The lecture rooms of this faculty - and also those of the medical faculty - are not on the large central campus. But the distances between the various complexes are only a few hundred meters.

Relatively short academic tradition

The city and its university have a relatively short academic tradition to look back on. Magdeburg, together with the city of Halle, was and is one of the most important economic centers of Saxony-Anhalt. Already in the 19th century, machine construction businesses established themselves here, and their operations laid the foundation for the "City of Heavy Equipment Industry," as Magdeburg was labeled in the times of the German Democratic Republic (GDR). In the 1950s, many well-educated engineers and doctors left the GDR to move to West Germany, leaving behind a skills shortage in their sectors. This prompted the establishment of a university in Magdeburg. This took place in 1953, with the founding of a university specializing in heavy equipment engineering, followed by a medical academy and a university for education science. These three fields form the university's humanities base to this day. In 1993, they united to create Otto von Guericke University.

International and modern

The university has nine faculties altogether. Many courses have a lot of students, but they are not as overcrowded as at some other German universities. Most of the lecture rooms and classrooms have been renovated in recent years. The research labs are well equipped and there's a new library right on the campus grounds. The university presents itself as modern and open. The percentage of international students is growing slowly but steadily. Currently, around 10 percent of the students here are foreigners. Most of them come from China, Ukraine and Bulgaria.

Author: Ronny Arnold
Editor: Greg Wiser