A large practical component in which current subject-specific topics are addressed allows for an optimal preparation of students for their future careers. Practical work is often done in team-based small groups within a project setting. The degree programme is offered jointly by the departments of Computer Science and Business, with topics specific to the fields being taught by experts. A larger number and wide range of compulsory electives allows for individual study design.

Some courses are offered in English and are also open to international visiting students. The HAW Hamburg allows for semesters at cooperating universities in Europe and abroad and supports students in the planning of practice semesters abroad. There are extensive personal advisory services in this regard. Some courses involve direct cooperation with international universities, e.g. on the subject of entrepreneurship (Napier, UK) or architecture (Stockholm, SE).

Universitá Ca´ Foscari Venezia, Italien; Universite de Lorraine, Frankreich; Polytechnic Institute of Coimbra, Portugal; Information Systems Management Institute, Lettland; Avans University of Applied Sciences, Niederlande; Turku University of Applied Sciences, Finnland; Virginia Tech, USA; California State University, USA; University of Sidney, Australien; Shanghai Institute of Technology, China.

All the equipment is state of the art. Students have access to a SAP system, for example. Various specific laboratories/installations provide realistic working conditions, like the ones encountered in real life. Thus, the Business Innovation Lab realises IT-based production and logistics processes. At the HAW laboratory for application integration, students work with software system landscapes that interconnect numerous corporate software systems.

The degree course is offered by two departments. In Computer Science, more than 10 doctoral students are currently doing their doctorates on topics also related to Business Information Systems. The research focus areas are AI and Machine Learning in the Financial Industry, Auditing and Process Modelling. In business, the focus is also strongly on AI and VR/AR technologies and joint research is carried out in the Business Innovation Lab in cooperation with many companies in the region.

The university’s incubator centre offers prospective entrepreneurs comprehensive qualifications in specific workshops, individual advice and premises for the pre-seed phase. In as separate compulsory elective on entrepreneurship, students learn to develop their own business ideas. This is supplemented by a lecture series organised in close cooperation between practitioners and professors.

Our teaching is based on the concept of skills orientation. As such, students acquire skills that they will need in their future jobs. Professors reflect a balanced age structure, which combines experience with perspectives for latest technology and concepts. The programme is well integrated into the IT industry of Hamburg. Cooperation with other departments allows for work in interdisciplinary projects, such as the HAWKS Racing Team, where students work together to design racing cars that enter international competitions.