The goal of GIF is to help prepare you for self-determined, productive and cooperative living and working in a volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous world. To achieve this goal, the study programme particularly fosters entrepreneurship (entrepreneurial mindset and action), teamworking skills and self-reliance.

GIF conveys methods, models, skills, abilities, attitudes and practical experience that help you design, plan, realise and manage demanding, innovative projects in a team. The learning environment is a real-world company that jointly belongs to all EIL students and that you develop and manage together. You learn how to lead, manage projects and teams, develop innovative business ideas, establish customer relationships and, for those who want to, set up your own company.

GIF takes a very different approach to conventional study programmes. Lectures are few and far between. Learning is collaborative and self-directed, with practical activities and reflection on the experience gained. Working and learning in teams is a central tenet of GIF. Self-directed learning means that you independently decide what you need to know or do for a project, customer, team role etc., how you learn, where and with whom.

You are supervised and supported by team coaches. They are the “teachers”, but instead of conveying knowledge, they help you help yourself, propose methods and resources, structure learning and work processes and accompany you through all the highs and lows.

GIF can be viewed as a three-year professional practice phase for entrepreneurial experimentation for learning purposes. You learn in a joint company with real customers, real money and real risks. There is no academic, theoretical foundation course for you to use as a comfort zone. But you decide how often you leave your comfort zone and how far out of the comfort zone you are willing to go, e.g. for customer meetings, start-up competitions or the assumption of managerial responsibility as a CEO or team leader.

International study programmes both inside and outside Europe work on the same (Team Academy) model as GIF. We maintain relationships with these study programmes, which you can visit, attend for an extended period or even work with on joint entrepreneurial projects. As is so often the case in GIF: the opportunities are endless, but whether you take them is up to you.

In addition to the university entrance qualification, you must provide evidence of English skills at least equivalent to level B1 of the Common European Framework of Reference with a valid certificate or your school leaving certificate. The admission requirement for foreign students is an C1 language level in German.

Admission to GIF is restricted, i.e., limited places are available. Your application must contain a written explanation of your choice of study by answering the following three questions on a maximum of three pages. Your answers help us gain a better understanding of you. They are part of the selection process:

1. Have you ever shown entrepreneurship or demonstrated special initiative? If yes, please tell us about it.
2. In the study programme, you will set up a real-world company together with other students. What do you imagine your company will look like? Why?
3. Do you believe you would be an asset to the study programme? What makes you think this?

You also need to place a cross on the application form confirming that you will be partner in a company together with other students for the duration of the study programme. This demonstrates your genuine interest in the study programme.

The Entrepreneurship, Innovation, Leadership (Gründung, Innovation, Führung) study programme admits students in the winter semester every year. The application deadline is 15 July. Admission to the bachelor’s degree programme is restricted. Application for this study programme is only possible via the dialogue-oriented service procedure. Application takes place centrally online through the Hochschulstart portal.

If you acquired your university entrance qualification outside the European Union (EU), please also apply through uni-assist. To apply through uni-assist, you need a two-part identification number comprised of the BID (applicant ID) and BAN (applicant authentication number). You receive these numbers after registering in the DoSV applicant portal - www.hochschulstart.de. To ensure adequate processing time, the application for the winter semester should be submitted to UNI-ASSIST by 30 June.

You can find further information on the application procedure on the Registration and Examination Office’s website.

GIF requires you to read numerous books, which you then dissect in essays. To get started, while also delving into the topic of entrepreneurship, we recommend reading the following texts:

* Günter Faltin (2015): “Wir sind das Kapital”. A wonderful, encouraging book full of useful ideas for potential founders.
* Hubertus Bessau, Max Wittrock, Philipp Kraiss (2017): “Machen! Das Startup-Buch der mymuesli-Gründer“. The colourfully written book about the first 10 years of the successful cereal producers.
* Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (2018) “Praxisleitfaden Soziales Unternehmertum”. Brochure on entrepreneurial solutions to social problems. Available online as PDF.