University Mission Statement

We offer bachelor and master degree programs, which evolve alongside the interests of applicants and the requirements of an ever-changing professional world. We facilitate lifelong learning by offering continuing education programs that fit into the schedules of working professionals. Master‘s graduates at RWU are qualified to continue on to a PhD program should they choose to do so. Our lecturers keep their professional and didactic knowledge up to date.

We view internationalization as a strategic goal. That‘s why we specifically design our courses and programs so that international students and teachers can find an academic home at RWU. We also help our students, lecturers, and staff gain international experience, be it through a semester abroad, staff exchange programs, or cooperations with partner universities around the world. We offer language classes and intercultural training to all university staff.

We provide our students with a wide range of soft skills. A special emphasis is placed on critical thinking and problem-solving skills, i.e. the ability to analyze, understand, and overcome complex challenges.

We give our students the tools they need to follow their own professional and personal paths. We facilitate lifelong learning via a wide range of continuing education programs. Many of our graduates later return to RWU with professional experience and share their knowledge as experts with subsequent generations of students.

These are the five aspects that characterize teaching and learning at our university. See our „Good Teaching and Learning“ mission statement.

RWU has a walkable campus, friendly staff, and small class sizes. Supporting our students with personalized counselling is very important to us.

We augment face-to-face teaching with blended learning. That means we use didactic best practices to combine different methods and media from in-person instruction as well as e-learning to create added value for our students.

Our teachers illustrate current research topics by incorporating their own applied research into the courses they teach and enabling students to participate in research projects.

As a public university, one of our goals is to contribute to overcoming the challenges currently facing our society. We draw from our various fields of expertise to advise organizations and corporations and support them in their research and development projects. In doing so, we also seek to strengthen the broader Lake Constance and Upper Swabia region as a place to live and do business.

We treat each other with mutual acceptance, regardless of hierarchies or group affiliations. We listen to each other.

We communicate openly and make decision-making processes transparent. We give constructive feedback. The knowledge and commitment of all university stakeholders are the foundation of our success.

We provide everyone at the university with the opportunity to participate in university committees, projects, and various forms of feedback. We take the diverse perspectives of RWU’s different stakeholder groups into account when making decisions.

We see the extensive diversity of our university and student bodies as both an opportunity for a lively, rich university culture as well as an obligation to realize equal opportunities and to protect against discrimination. To these ends, we seek to strengthen what unites us and promote openness, empathy, and appreciation.

We work diligently and reflect on the impact of our actions. We emphasize compliance with legal requirements and adhere to agreed-upon work processes.

We see change as an opportunity and encourage our teachers and staff to try out new things and to develop processes critically and creatively. We deal openly with mistakes and use them as an opportunity for improvement.

We base our actions and the distribution of resources on the best interests of the university as a whole and not just on the interests of individual departments. We work together as a team in a solution-oriented manner. We identify with our university community and the goals of RWU.

The principle of sustainability guides our actions in ecological, social, and economic issues. We see sustainability not only as the reduction of energy consumption and emissions, but also for example as an important perspective in shaping a positive working climate, in procurement, and in the distribution of resources. Incorporating sustainability in an ideology-free, scientifically-oriented way into our teaching, research, and administration is important to us. We integrate the topic of sustainability into all our degree programs and work together on it across faculties. We specifically promote research with a sustainability perspective.

We teach up-to-date course content using modern infrastructure, technology, and methods. Our premises are contemporary, inviting, and equipped with state-of-the-art technology. Work and study spaces are available for both individuals and teams. Our administrative processes are fast, streamlined, and optimized with the help of digitalization.

Quality management is a cornerstone of our teaching, research, continuing education, and administration. We think and act in a quality and service-oriented way. This includes measures such as reliable evaluation processes, regular student counseling, quick responses to student inquiries, as well as performance reviews measured against many different benchmarks. Continuous improvement is an integral part of our mindset. Teachers and employees take ownership of their own professional development.

Research is an important part of university life for both teachers and students. Our students are active participants in research projects, especially at our research institutes. RWU teaches cutting edge content and pioneers new didactic concepts.

We promote student initiatives, projects, and start-ups, which give our students the opportunity to discover and test their talents and professional interests.

Autonomy and self-determination are features of every position at our university. We offer the opportunity to work remotely in order to promote productivity and employee satisfaction, as well as be a family-friendly workplace. The leadership principles at RWU are practiced throughout the university and contribute to the collaborative achievement of goals as well as to a positive working environment. Regular, constructive feedback and the promotion of employee health are integral to our workplace culture.

We foster the interests and talents of our teachers and staff through targeted professional development, continuing education, and training. We encourage employees to participate in university committees and projects.

As a family-friendly university, we offer our students, lecturers, and staff customized solutions in order to achieve the greatest possible compatibility between school/work and family responsibilities.

We are a respected and sought-after partner for cooperations and research for companies in the region and beyond. We maintain active cooperations with numerous universities worldwide. Our students benefit from this network and contribute to it as alumni.

The range of courses we offer is unique in the region. It sets us apart from other universities of applied sciences. The courses we teach reflect the future needs and challenges facing our society in the fields of technology, economics, and the social sciences.

Research at RWU follows the guidelines of the German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft) and is free from undue influence from both internal and external economic and political interests. We foster a culture of frank and open discussion without prejudice and promote critical thinking and ideology-free debate on research topics and trends. Our professors are active contributors to this research culture and regard research as a natural and important part of their work at RWU. This includes participation in international research groups and networks, among other activities.