Festive start to the record-breaking semester

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First-semester event in GiessenThe winter semester at the Giessen -Friedberg University of Applied Sciences has begun with 1,919 new students. Of these, 1,098 have enrolled in Giessen and 821 in Friedberg. The total number of students has reached an all-time high of 9,571 in the university's history. 5,766 students are enrolled in Giessen and 3,805 in Friedberg.

At both campuses, the orientation days for new students began with a formal welcome ceremony. The university's presidium , staff members, student representatives, and city officials greeted the first-year students. University President Prof. Dr. Dietrich Wendler and Vice President Hajo Köppen confirmed that the young people had wisely set the course for their professional futures by choosing to study. Dietrich Wendler stated: "Everyone knows that unemployment in Germany is high. Last year it stood at 11.2 percent. However, depending on one's educational background, the risk of not finding work or losing one's job varies considerably. For people without vocational training, unemployment was more than twice the average. Those with an academic degree have far less to fear in terms of being unable to support themselves. The unemployment rate for those with a university or university of applied sciences degree was only 4 percent in 2004." 

Giessen 's mayor, Heinz-Peter Haumann, conveyed the city administration's best wishes to the new students of the university of applied sciences. He announced that the planned "super project campus expansion" would bring about an improvement in quality for students and lecturers at the university in Giessen .

First-semester event in GiessenFriedberg's future mayor, Michael Keller, expressed his delight "that the university is thriving so much." He stated that the university is an important factor in the town's attractiveness and expressed his hope for an even stronger connection between the students and the town.

Jutta Müller and Dr. Friedrich-Wilhelm Mollenhauer from the Central students advisory service explained the support services available at the university for students with questions about their studies and personal problems. International Officer Silke Wehmer addressed the topic of internationalization. She noted that international students make up approximately 10 percent of the student body at Giessen -Friedberg University of Applied Sciences. She encouraged local students to consider studying abroad. The International Office is available to anyone interested in scholarships, exchange programmes, and partner universities. Dagmar Hofmann presented the university's sports programme, which includes around 50 courses. Ronni Helms, representing the students, welcomed the new students to Giessen and invited them to a central information session organized by the General Student Committee (AStA). Ralf Leichner and Stefan Ogroske presented the services offered by the Friedberg Student Union. The big bands of the Liebig School Giessen and the Burggymnasium Friedberg provided the musical start to the semester, which was continued at both locations with introductory programmes from the individual Department .