Heidelberg: An International University
Founded in 1386, Heidelberg is Germany’s oldest university and one of the most research-intensive higher-education institutions in Europe. Its success in the Excellence Initiative devised by Germany’s federal and state governments, its involvement in a large number of externally funded integrated research ventures and its participation in European research programmes have made Heidelberg a front runner among the renowned universities with worldwide research and teaching links. In its endeavours to produce young scientists and scholars and to support outstanding young researchers, Heidelberg University focuses on research-based teaching and does everything in its power to assure the excellent quality of its carefully structured doctoral programmes.
Heidelberg University has always been international in its scope. Today it is integrated into a worldwide network of cooperative research and teaching ventures. It operates exchange schemes with over 300 universities all over the world. Nineteen university partnerships, five international graduate and doctoral programmes and participation in European networks like the Coimbra Group or the League of European Research Universities testify to the highly outward-looking nature of Heidelberg University’s educational policies. In addition, it is involved in a large number of cooperative research and teaching agreements at faculty, department and chair levels.
Some 20 percent of the undergraduates at Heidelberg University and about one-third of its doctoral students come from other countries. The University has also established its presence in Central and Eastern Europe, Latin America, North America and Asia with liaison offices and study programmes. With funding from the Federal Foreign Office and in conjunction with Chilean partners, the Heidelberg Center for Latin America, a postgraduate and continuing education centre in Santiago de Chile, is now being expanded to form one of four German “Centres of Excellence in Research and Teaching” in various parts of the world.
