Summer University Lingen

The backbone of Germany’s economy are family-owned medium-sized companies, the so-called German Mittelstand, which not only have high revenues but are also often huge players on the global market. The area of Lingen, where our Summer University takes place, is home to many Mittelstand companies, many of which are considered Hidden Champions. The companies have strong ties to the region while at the same time operating very successfully on an international and global market. The Summer University will analyze the following questions:

• What is the structure of German economy and what are the challenges?
• What is the German Mittelstand and what is its way of operating?
• What are the key success factors of family-owned and medium-sized companies?
• How did they become internationally successful?
• How do they implement sustainability measures?

The goal of the Summer University is to analyze the key success factors of the Mittelstand companies and to gain insight into their operations and management features. Students will attend lectures on topics such as

• Features of small and medium-sized enterprises (SME)
• Business Model Transformation for Sustainability
• International Human Resource Management
• Artificial Intelligence and its Applications in Business

The program of 2024 will be published soon, it will most likely be similar to the one of 2023. Please find the program of 2023 here.

Summer University Lingen puts theory into practice!  

We will visit Mittelstand companies and their representatives and gain insight into the regional, international, and global procedures of companies in Germany, the city of Lingen and its surrounding area.

The companies are from different industries such as automotive engineering, air-conditioning technology, shipbuilding and other innovative technology branches. A couple of weeks before the start of the SUL, we will announce which company is participating in our program.

The "meet and greet" with companies is a great opportunity to get a unique insight into the company, talk to company representatives, get first-hand information, build a network with potential future employers and to find out what German employers are looking for.

During our two weeks together, you will be part of an international team to work on an assigned project together. Your team will develop business strategies and work on actual business challenges.

By attending the program, you will improve soft skills such as:  

• communication (presentations and discussions in English)  
• team work with international groups
• intercultural skills
• critical thinking

We offer you

• a small classroom and a great learning environment
• a great support team
• dedicated professors and staff
• networking with company representatives and getting to know possible job opportunities

Varous leisure activities and a weekend trip to Berlin complete this program and offer the opportuntiy to learn more about Lingen, the Emsland region as well as Germany as a whole. International participants will get to know each other during common sports activities, cultural trips, pub crawls and barbecues. The leisure activities will be organized and accompanied by our German student assistants who will offer tours through Lingen and make sure that participants feel at home quickly.

The weekend trip to Berlin is included in the program fee.

Our faculty offers 5 ECTS for attending the Summer University. The 5 ECTS are awarded for attendance of the lectures, the group work and for doing the final presentation at the end of the program. Please check with your home university whether you can transfer the 5 ECTS to your degree program.

All participants will receive a Certificate of Attendance and a Transcript of Records. Please note that attendance and successful completion of the program is required for receiving 5 ECTS and a Certificate of Attendance.

The program fee for international students is 1200 EUR  and includes:

• tuition and teaching materials
• accommodation in a shared student apartment
• company visits and transfer to the companies
• weekend trip to Berlin

If you would like to make your own housing resveration (hotel, vacation apartment), the program fee is 950 Euro. Please refer to the housing section to get more information on housing options.

The program fee does not include:

• travel and visa costs
• meals
• additional expenses for leisure activities
• health, accident or liability insurance

If you cancel your reserved space, the following cancellation fees apply:

If you cancel your reserved space before May 20, we will refund the whole program fee.

If you cancel your reserved space after May 20 and before June 15, only 50% is refundable.

If you cancel your reserved space after June 15, the program fee is not refundable.

Looking back on more than 1,000 years of history, Lingen has many stories to tell. Nowadays, 57,000 inhabitants live in Lingen’s safe and family-friendly neighborhoods and work in nearby businesses. Lingen has a rich cultural life, and both our students and staff are very active not only in participating, but also in shaping many activities. Studying in Lingen means becoming part of the community, both on and off campus.

What makes Lingen Campus special?

• teaching and learning is very practice-oriented
• small study groups
• modern learning environment with state-of-the-art facilities and equipment
• close cooperation with companies and organizations in the region

What makes the city of Lingen special?

• safe city with very welcoming and open-minded people
• city center in walking distance from campus
• a variety of restaurants, cafés and bars
• cultural offers such as theaters, cinemas and a concert hall
• great nature activities, such as bike-riding, canoeing, swimming
• good public transportation to explore neighboring cities such as Münster, Osnabrück, Bremen or even Amsterdam (Netherlands)

The Summer University Lingen will take place from July 07 until July 20, 2024. Sunday, July 07 is the offical day of arrival. Please make sure to arrive before 7 pm in Lingen so that you can attend the Welcome Dinner. Saturday, July 20 is the offical day of departure. Please note that we cannot guarantee that you can move into your student apartment before Sunday, July 07. Thus, if you arrive a day earlier, you may need to stay in a hotel that you have to arrange and pay for. The accommodation is usually also only available until Saturday, July 20 and you, again, need to make other arrangements, if you wish to stay longer in Lingen.

You are responsible for your travel arrangements to and from Lingen (Ems). Lingen does not have its own airport, but can be reached by train. Please note that we do not provide airport-pick up as part of our regular program. We will, however, pick you up from the train station in Lingen and bring you to your student apartment or hotel.

For students who would like to combine their participation in Summer University Lingen with a trip around Europe, we offer the DISCOVER EUROPE package which includes additional
assistance with organizing your travels and booking transportation tickets and hostels. If you are interested, please email us at sul@hs-osnabrueck.de

During the entire planning phase, the Summer University team is happy to help should there be any further questions on transport and arrival.

You can choose between two housing options:

Option 1: Shared student apartment
Students will be accommodated with other German or international students in student apartments near the campus. Students will have their own bedroom but will usually share a bathroom and a kitchen. The apartments are located throughout the city of Lingen and are not in one building complex .There is no cleaning service included. You are responsible for keeping your own room and the common areas (kitchen and bathroom) clean.

Option 2: Find your own housing
You can organize housing for yourself in one of the hotels in Lingen or vacation apartments. After your acceptance to the program, you will receive a list of possible hotels and apartments. You are responsible for making your own reservations.

Depending on the bilateral agreement your country has with Germany, you may or may not need a visa to enter Germany. Students from EU-countries usually do not require a visa. For all non-EU-students, the safest way to determine whether you need a visa is to check the German Federal Foreign Office's website.

There are different kinds of visa for different purposes. If you are participating in a short program of less than 90 days (e.g. a summer university or a German language course), you can apply for a “Schengen Visa” which allows you to travel in all the “Schengen Countries”. However, after 90 days you must leave the country. For more information, please consult the German embassy or German consulate in your country of residence. You can find the addresses on the website of the German Federal Foreign Office.

Please make sure to inform yourself which visa you need to apply for and check with the Federal Foreign Office (Auswärtiges Amt). 

The visa application is to be submitted to the German Embassy or the German Consulate in your country of residence, preferably as early as possible. The application procedure in general takes about 8 weeks (counted from the day of submitting the visa application). Thus, please make sure that you allow enough time for the application procedure.

Please note that participants have the responsibility to obtian health, accident and liability insurance on their own. Please be aware that participants of the Summer University Lingen are not insured by Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences and that the university does not assume any liability.

Non-EU students have to obtain travel health insurance. It might be possible to extend the travel insurance so that it covers the whole duration of your stay in Germany. We strongly recommend that you inform yourself in detail before your departure about your insurance coverage abroad and if required, obtain the necessary insurance.

As an EU student you should ask your health insurance company at home if your complete stay in Germany is covered. Usually you do not have to obtain an additional health insurance policy, but you can obtain a "European Health Insurance Card" (EHIC) or an equivalent from your insurance company.

• How to get here with Deutsche Bahn (German Railway): Deutsche Bahn

• How to get here with Dutch Rail: Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS)

• Nearby airports are, for example, Düsseldorf (DUS), Münster/Osnabrück (FMO), Hanover (HAJ) or Amsterdam (AMS)

• Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences and Lingen Campus

• City of Lingen