For the first time in the partnership between Fachhochschule Dortmund and UPJV Amiens, which has existed since 1971, students will receive ECTS points for attending the partner university. This is an intermediate step on the way to intensive cooperation with many advantages for students.
C'est une amitié fidèle. Every year in May, around 15 students from the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and some professors visit the Université de Picardie Jules Verne (UPJV) in Amiens for a week to attend a seminar. Thanks to the dedicated organization of the host professors, they get to know the city, its people and culture: in industrial companies and research institutions, in museums, at the Christmas market, in the stadium, at places steeped in history and while eating together.
And every year in the fall, the participants receive their former hosts at Fachhochschule Dortmund - this year it happened at the end of November. During each visit, the participants also consider how they can further develop the partnership.
The partnership becomes more intensive
Cette amitié s'épanouit. With the acquisition of ECTS points, the student participants were able to record a study-relevant achievement for the first time this year. For the first time, pupils from Amiens were also present to introduce them to study and job opportunities in the STEM subjects.
Further, larger steps are on the way. The Faculties of Computer Science and Business Studies are to be involved in initial joint research projects. The Faculty of Architecture at Fachhochschule Dortmund also has some fruitful similarities with its counterpart in Amiens.
Funding opportunities, including financial support for student participants, have been sought and found (Franco-German University, Erasmus, City of Dortmund, Franco-German Youth Office). The students are to visit each other even more frequently than before and prepare for entry into a profession with an international profile with an additional internship.
International and interdisciplinary
The overarching goal is to closely network several faculties at Fachhochschule Dortmund with UPJV for the benefit of the students. Students should be able to study at the partner university, collaborate with their French fellow students on teaching and research projects and obtain a double degree - following the best practice model of the International Business Management study program and as proof and certificate of a thoroughly intercultural and international course of study.
Representatives from the Faculties of Mechanical Engineering and Business Studies are currently working towards registering the cooperation as a "strategic partnership". In concrete terms, this means anchoring the partnership independently of the current organizers at the faculties and in the Rectorate and thus securing it for the future. Further applications for international partnerships, for example in Eastern Europe and India, will follow.
The offer for students
Participation in the exchange programs is open to Bachelor students of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering in their second semester. A letter of motivation is sufficient to apply. Thanks to funding from the Franco-German Youth Office, the Erasmus program and the City of Dortmund, participation is free of charge. This enables a cultural and academic exchange that optimally combines geographical proximity and financial support.
Dates for 2025:
- Amiens: May 11 (Sunday) to May 16 (Friday)
- Dortmund: November 23 (Sunday) to November 28 (Friday)
Prof. Dr. Franz Vogler and Prof. Dr. Vincent Marciniak (Faculty of Mechanical Engineering) are available to answer any questions.