Departments

Oldenburg, Elsfleth Dept. of Architecture Dept. of Construction and Geoinformation Institute of Hearing Technology and Audiology Dept. of Maritime Sudies (Location Elsfleth)
Emden, Leer Dept. of Technology Dept. of Social Work and Health Dept. of Business Studies Institute of Nautical Science (Location Leer)
Wilhelmshaven Dept. of Engineering Dept. of Economic Science and Management Dept. of Engineering and Management

General Information

Architecture and Construction

In the construction material test lab is where students from the construction field may for instance test a block of concrete they made a few weeks earlier for rigidity and breaking behaviour. They clamp the block into a pressure testing machine. The measured values are recorded on the computer to be subsequently evaluated.

Anybody looking for a drawing board among students of architecture is likely to be disappointed. Designs for buildings are made on the computer. Once an object is digitally complete, a large plotter prints out the drawings. Then the students get to work hammering and sawing in the workshop, following the plans. After a long planning and construction phase, some models finally end up on display in the entrance hall in Oldenburg.

The future architects write their dissertations in a creative atmosphere in the loft of the university building, where some have set up their own little offices.

The Infothek on the Oldenburg campus is an example of what practical studying can look like. The building is a construction project designed by students and built by them. The modern building serves as a cafeteria for students and is also used as an exhibition space.

Economics

Another major area at the "Fachhochschule" is devoted to economic studies. With its broad range of courses in Emden and Wilhelmshaven, the University of Applied Sciences also runs economics-based courses such as business studies, economic engineering and international economic relations. Alongside their theoretical courses, students also attend classes in which they can practically apply the knowledge they have gained about marketing or management.

A link to the engineering field is provided by the economic engineering course. So it’s not rare to find an economics student puzzling over an electro-technical problem. Students of tourism are in the meantime putting together their first drafts for a tourism website. The important factors here are an attractive design and of course the content relating to tourism. Once they have graduated, the youngsters can find jobs e.g. in travel agents’.

Many students supplement their normal course work with cooperation in additional projects that can give them valuable experience. For instance, students at the Faculty of Economics in Emden have developed a service card specially for the local town council that the town now uses for its customer services work.

Geographic Information and Surveying

Students in the geographic information and surveying areas examine environmental circumstances in small practice groups. For instance, they study the flow behaviour of water in the hydraulic engineering lab. This reveals to them the best way to design bridge piles in the water or how to build safe and effective locks.

In the environment technology lab they’re learning the best ways to recycle paper by dissolving old newspapers in various liquids. In another practical group, surveying students can create computer scans of objects. That gives them a depiction of the surface structures of objects. Survey engineers call this an infrared reflectology study.

In the same department, students are taking 3D scans of objects of everyday use. To do this, they train a special camera exactly onto the object to be measured. This produces a three-dimensional image on the computer screen that students can work on digitally in a realistic manner.

The Hearing Technology and Audiology course also offers its own special features. Studying in a separate building complex, the students conduct experiments on all aspects of the human ear and acoustics. Students also need good craft skills.

Mechanical Engineering

The mechanical engineers at the University of Applied Sciences Oldenburg/Ostfriesland/Wilhelmshaven in Emden and Wilhelmshaven all learn the same foundations and only specialise later in their courses. There are for instance students of production and process engineering who specialise in developments in mechanical engineering. The modern labs are equipped to meet today’s growing demands.

During the practical modules, students work intensively on the machines in order to understand them inside out. Naturally, before a student is allowed to perform not entirely risk-free welding work with this robot, he must have studied the theory. The students at the university have the use of all kinds of equipment – giving them the best possible training conditions.

Students on the product development and design course develop completely new and creative design ideas in the labs. The combination of engineering training and design makes this first course of its kind extremely successful.

Science and Technology

Elsewhere efforts are under way to create links between the natural sciences and engineering work. Students of medical technology in Wilhelmshaven work with samples in Petri dishes to find out all about the life of microscopic creatures. Meanwhile, others are confronted practically at the hospital bedside with complex medical machinery and have to perform various exercises and trials in preparation for their future working life.

Things are just as busy in the chemistry lab in Emden – this is where future chemical technicians and bio-technologists carry out their first experiments in practical modules. The chemical technicians also carry out various studies using so-called instrumental analysis. Students who are more interested in physics tend to focus on lasers here, which can even be used to cut metal. Working in these practical units, students of laser technology develop new processes for industrial applications.

Shipping

In the shipping area too, an integral part of the studies consists of a series of practical exercises and courses. In a state-of-the-art ship’s simulator, the students come face to face with real-life situations on the high seas before they are really let loose on the open sea. Then their training also includes longer journeys on the university’s training ships. That’s because a trainee captain can only find out what it means to steer a ship if he tries it out on a real bridge.

However, the younger students first have to made do with the model ship they steer through obstacles in the university’s own manoeuvring tank. Simulation on the PC is also part of the course. Correct loading of a ship is essential to avoid dangerous situations on the high seas.

Things really hot up during the traditional annual cutter race on the Hunte near Elsfleth. This event, organised by the Maritime Faculty, attracts plenty of participating teams who don’t necessarily have anything to do with marine studies. The races between two cutters provide every opportunity for contestants to try out their skills – but the healthy competitiveness is also tempered by lots of fun.

Social Studies

Naturally, the practical units in the social studies faculty are a little different. Apart from the many discussion rounds on various subjects, the students also carry out projects outside the university. For instance, they e.g. work out social sciences methods such as a social surroundings analysis. To do this, they interview children about their social surroundings to collate data for a scientific analysis. Meanwhile, another course could lee rehearsing for a special performance.

Technology

Similarly, in the Faculties of Technology in Emden and Engineering in Wilhelmshaven practical exercises are an important part of the budding engineers’ training. Practical work is essential for instance in media technology. Whether it’s work in the university sound studio or behind the camera in the TV studio next door. The mobile transmission van, equipped with all the latest professional audio and video technology, is often in use during exercises.

For IT students, practical work on the PC is essential. They can use a number of excellently equipped computer rooms for supervised practical work, but also outside the formal exercise times to build on and intensify their theoretical knowledge.