Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences

Mission Statement

Creative Future Lab
We combine forward-looking approaches from various disciplines with the aim of developing innovative solutions. The two creative degree programmes are embedded in a diverse faculty. We try to think of communication design as a discipline that not only provides design ideas for finished products and services, but is also integrated into the research and development processes of science and industry at an early stage. 

The internationality of the university fits in with this approach. All classes are taught in the English. International students make up about half of the student body. Internationality is also to be understood as a programmatic decision: The diversity of influences can be rewarding for the creative work. The department is characterised by an open, non-dogmatic culture.

International Role

The international orientation is one of the essential characteristics of the university. At no other university in Germany is the proportion of students from abroad and the number of international professors and employees as high as at Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences. More than half of the 7,500 students at Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences come from 122 different countries. 

More than 90 international partnerships worldwide offer students a semester abroad: from Copenhagen to Kuala Lumpur, from Paris to Poznan or from Salamanca to Shanghai – to name but a few places. These stays are supported by the European ERASMUS programme and other scholarships from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD). 

More information: https://www.hochschule-rhein-waal.de/en/international

National Role

Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences is one of the most newly-established universities in the academic sector of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW). Taking into account its more than 7,000 students from over a 100 different countries it is, at the same time, one of the most international universities of Germany.

In essence, Rhine-Waal University strives to link the Lower Rhine region to a larger global network by not only providing an innovative contribution to the existing range of degree programmes offered by other universities of applied sciences in Germany, but also by promoting internationally-oriented academic research and teaching.

Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences maintains numerous collaborative contacts with private industry in a variety of fields and sectors, for example: chemistry, energy, material sciences, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, IT, logistics, life sciences, agricultural sciences and biotechnology.

Main Focus

Our bachelor’s degree programme focuses on Communication Design (Visual Identities, Information Design, Interface Design, Editorial Design and other areas). 

In the master’s course, designers and computer scientists work together. Professors and Students from both fields collaborate in developing innovative solutions by sharing their knowledge right from the outset and the idea generation stage.