Bremerhaven University of Applied Sciences welcomes 612 new students

Orientation programme makes it easier or first-year students to start their studies

Bremerhaven University of Applied Sciences welcomed its new students at a festive welcome event in the city theatre. ‘Student life means freedom, but also personal responsibility. Enjoy your time here, make friends, celebrate and organise your day, but don't forget why you are here: to study, develop skills and competencies and perhaps become a better version of yourself’. With these words, Rector Prof. Dr Dr h.c. Alexis Papathanassis welcomed the new students and shared personal memories of his student life with them in his welcoming speech. 

Prof Dr Patrick Frohberg, Vice-Rector for Studies and Student Services, provided important information about starting their studies. He advised the new students to network well with each other, familiarise themselves with the university's infrastructure and take the opportunity to get to know all the important contacts at the service point fair. Personal responsibility plays a very important role during the degree programme. It is therefore also important to know your own rights and obligations as a student.

In his role as 1st Chair of the General Students' Committee (AStA), Fabian Lignitz presented the work of the student body and called on interested students to get involved in the annually elected StuRa, for example.
Prof Dr Dieter Heimann, Dean of Studies of Faculty 2, and Claudia Krieten, representative for inclusive studies, presented the international football club. It provides all students with an ideal opportunity to play sport, let off steam and have fun. Language plays a subordinate role here. Fair play, diversity, respect, teamwork, fun and playing football together in an international group take centre stage.

Activities organised by students for students were presented by members of StudiTalk and the Queer Feminist Committee. StudiTalk helps students to network with each other. Various groups were set up for this purpose, for example on the topics of mental health, studying with disabilities or language tandems. The Queerfeminist Committee supports people who have experienced discrimination and is a point of contact for people who feel they belong to the queer community.

Ulf Abbes from the Verein zur Förderung der Hochschule Bremerhaven e.V. also welcomed the new students. The event was moderated by Quality Manager Christine Renske Müller, who welcomed the new students to Bremerhaven with a warm ‘Moin’. 

As of 7 October 2024, 612 students have enrolled for the winter semester 2024/25. This is slightly higher than the figures for the last two years. Further enrolments are still being processed. ‘We are delighted that we have been able to record a slight increase in enrolment figures despite the challenging demographic development and the current financial restrictions, and we are optimistic that this trend will continue in the long term,’ says Rector Prof. Dr Dr h.c. Alexis Papathanassis. The admission-restricted degree programmes Digital Media Production, Physician Assistant and Social Work were also particularly popular this year. Business Administration, Biotechnology of Marine Resources, Engineering and Computer Science recorded the highest number of enrolments in the Bachelor's degree programmes with open admissions. 

The week before the start of the course is traditionally reserved for arriving and getting orientated at Bremerhaven as a place to study. During this year's orientation week, numerous information offers await new students, such as a service centre fair, a library presentation and tutorials on the digital infrastructure. These will provide orientation in the degree programme with their own offers. There will also be plenty of fun: in addition to the popular AStA parties, highlights include the cinema premiere of the film ‘White Cherry’, which was produced by students on the Digital Media Production degree programme. 

Further information on the programme can be found at www.hs-bremerhaven.de/moin-erstis