University of Applied Sciences Wismar is a state university with over 100 years of tradition. HSW has 3 faculties – Engineering, Business and Architecture & Design. The enrolled students in 2018/19 amounted to 7.979 students, approximately the half of it in distant or blended learning forms. HSW has 428 staff members. The special strength of the education at the HSW is the scientific-based and application-orientated approach. As closely with the business sector in developing and delivery practice-orientated study offers. The collaboration with business and industrial partners is also an integrative part of our applied-research approach towards providing practical solutions for pressing societal challenges. Research is part of the mission statement of our university and focuses on application-related joint projects in the triangle education-research-innovation. Within the faculty of engineering, the Department of Mechanical and Process Engineering offers currently a bachelor’s degree in process, energy, environment and biological engineering and a master’s degree in process and energy engineering is offered. The research focus of the Department for Process Engineering of Biogenic Raw Materials is:
• Technology development for the extraction of high purity plant substances and bio fine chemicals for the pharmaceutical, cosmetic and food industries
• Research on materials, technologies, and processes
• Development of innovative refining and isolation processes, consider the preservation of specific usable properties of biogenic raw materials
• Holistic use of renewable resources
Another area of activity relevant to this call is the vast experience in international project management. Robert-Schmidt-Institute, a subordinate of the Rectorate, is responsible since 2011 for international project management across Europe, southern Africa, Latin America and south-east Asia. More than 20,97% of HSW’s external funding sources come from international projects in different funding programmes. We have successfully coordinated international projects in the EU programmes: TEMPUS III –IV, Research Frame Programme 5-7, Interreg Baltic Sea Region, Interreg A South Baltic Cross Border Cooperation, Interreg Central Euro, ERA-Net MARTEC, EDU-LINK, ERASMUS+. To ensure efficient and structured management of external funding a separate unit for financial management / project controlling was established in 2010. Since 01.01.2011 there is the Department of Research & Innovation as a separate structural unit under responsibility of the Dean of Research. For this purpose, a staff member was nominated to work closely with project managers on the payment requests, use of funds and accounting costs on HIS FSV MBS by all cost units in the category external funding. HSW is also one of the two universities in MV province having an internal audit department.
Over the last 10 years of cooperation with academic, business and political partners in southern Africa (especially Namibia and South Africa) we have developed expertise in the development and implementation of capacity building projects for the higher education and TVET sectors. Our experience covers feasibility studies and concept development for international transfer of practice-orientated studies; Bologna-oriented curriculum development in southern Africa, co-development and implementation of work-based courses with local business partners; and advanced training modules in the area of “Employability & Leadership”; as well as training programs for trainers. At the policy level, we work together with the Ministries of Education in South Africa, Namibia and Mozambique (ERASMUS+) as well as with the embassies of South Africa and Botswana in Germany and the embassies of Germany in South Africa (project CAPE-VET) and Namibia (through close collaboration with the Centre of Business and Technology in Africa based in Flensburg).