Hochschule Niederrhein – The region’s think tank

The Hochschule Niederrhein is a University of Applied Sciences with a long-­standing tradition. Although it was only founded in its current form on 1st August 1971, its history reaches back to the 19th century. A total of eight technical schools, three schools of engineering and the famous Werkkunstschule were combined to form the University. Of the previous facilities, the State School of Textile Engineering (Staatliche Ingenieurschule für Textilwesen) founded in Krefeld in 1855, had the longest tradition of all. Today, the Hochschule Nieder­­rhein’s Faculty of Textile and Clothing Technology, along with the Research Institute for Textile and Clothing and the Official Textile Testing Institute (Öffent­­liche Prüfstelle für das Textilwesen) are European leaders in training textile engineers and developing innovative high-tech textiles. With its range of services, the Official Textile Testing Institute sup­­ports industry, traders and consumers throughout the entire textile supply chain. Cooperation with the German North-West Textiles Research Centre (Deutsches Textilforschungszentrum Nord-West) com­­­pletes the textile research landscape in the Lower Rhine region.

Approximately 13,600 young people study at ten different faculties in Krefeld and Mönchengladbach after choosing from among 79 Bachelor’s and Master’s degree programmes. In addition, the Hoch­­schule Niederrhein has been offering its Cooperative Studies based on the Krefeld model for over 30 years. In this programme, students study for a Bachelor’s degree while also completing an apprenticeship in a company. After eight semesters, they have not only acquired a Bachelor’s degree, but are also fully trained in their respective professions.

As well as teaching, the University has also made consistent progress in the field of research and knowledge transfer. Research is focused on the fields of Functional Surfaces, Applied Health and Nutrition, Information Technology and Logistics Concepts, Innovative Prod­­uct and Process Development, Socio-­Economic Innovations and Energy Efficiency. A total of nine research institutes work on this wide range of pri­­­or­­­ities, making the University not only the region’s think tank but also a top name among Germany’s Universities of Applied Sciences. Knowledge transfer is another topic very close to the University’s heart. The Hochschule Niederrhein passes on knowledge to the companies in the region, thereby living by its guiding principle of overcoming boundaries.