Hof University of Applied Sciences sees itself as a cosmopolitan and internationally oriented educational institution. The topic of internationalization is firmly anchored in the university’s mission statement and contacts are maintained with more than 130 partner institutions worldwide.
The university and Satbayev University from Kazakhstan have now signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). This declaration of intent forms the basis for future joint cooperation projects in teaching. Research topics were also identified with the representatives of the research institutes.
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Anke Müller, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering, answered three brief questions from the campuls editorial team about the planned cooperation with the Kazakh university.
How long has the Faculty of Engineering been in contact with Satbayev University?
Last year, I went on a tour of various universities in Kazakhstan together with Prof. Dr. Sebastian Leuoth, Head of Information Systems. I got to know the representatives of the engineering sciences at Satbayev University. The Faculty of Computer Science already maintains close contacts with various other Kazakh universities and offers several double degrees. The recommendation to take a closer look at Satbayev University actually came from the Kazakh Consul General Denis Rogov. Satbayev also has a broad engineering portfolio in the Bachelor’s and Master’s area, has strong collaborations in automotive engineering, additive processes and is interested in energy technology and environmental issues. The memorandum of understanding that has now been signed is the first step towards joint projects in teaching and research.
What specific goals have you agreed in the Memorandum of Understanding?
First of all, we would like to attract exchange students for the Faculty of Engineering and, if this works well, we would also like to offer a double degree with Satbayev in the future (we are planning an English-language engineering course) – like the Faculty of Computer Science – i.e. both partner universities will award one degree – in other words, two degrees. But one thing at a time… The first request for an exchange student for the coming winter semester has already been received.
Looking to the future – what does the cooperation with Satbayev University currently look like?
We currently have a visiting professor from Satbayev University at the university, Zhannat Beklabotova. She stayed for a whole week and taught, for example, electrical engineering with Prof. Dr.-Ing. Mario Schenk and Sustainable Water Management with Prof. Günter Müller-Czygan.
We also welcomed a group of Master’s students who are studying and researching at the Hof campus for two weeks.
Higher education is very important in Kazakhstan and the country is a very interesting country for exchange and international cooperation in teaching, science and research due to its development (population growth, major investments by international companies in Kazakhstan, such as Svevind, Siemens Energy etc., dominant topics such as green energy). The university will therefore continue to explore further opportunities for cooperation with Kazakh universities and colleges in the future.
