3 October 2025

The Thuringian Minister President, Mario Voigt, visited Nordhausen University of Applied Sciences on 30 September to gain an impression of the university's current developments, prospects and innovative strength. Together with University President, Prof. Dr Jörg Wagner, State Secretary, Prof. Dr Steffen Teichert, Chancellor, Jan Funke, Vice President for Studies and Teaching, Prof. Dr Cordula Borbe, and Prof. Dr Thomas Hühn, the focus was on topics such as student numbers, new study formats, research priorities and the university's future role in the field of artificial intelligence.

Minister President Mario Voigt learnt about current developments and future projects at Nordhausen University of Applied Sciences. (Photos: Tina Bergknapp)

University President Wagner began by presenting Nordhausen University of Applied Sciences with its wide range of courses and referred to the pleasing development in the enrolment of new first-year students: compared to the previous year, an increase of 40 per cent was recorded. "This shows that our new study formats and the consistent further development of our programme are meeting with interest. We are thus making an important contribution to the educational landscape in Thuringia," emphasised Wagner.

He also emphasised that teaching is continuously being adapted to the current requirements of the labour market. At the same time, the university has been experiencing a growing dynamic in the area of research for years.

Artificial intelligence (AI), which is playing an increasingly important role in teaching, research and transfer, was also a key topic. "We want to qualify all lecturers in the field of AI, because our students need this knowledge to successfully start their professional future," explained Prof Dr Cordula Borbe.

Important impulses from research were also presented. Prof Dr Thomas Hühn presented the quantum research project Q-net-Q, which underlines the university's aspiration to position itself in forward-looking fields and actively contribute to technological progress.

Minister President Voigt emphasised the importance of future-oriented university funding. The current framework agreement will initially be extended by one year, but this time must be used to set a fundamental course. He suggested that the Thuringian higher education landscape should be viewed more as an overall system, processes should be more closely interlinked and synergies should be utilised. University President Wagner added that he could envisage special islands of expertise at the individual universities in order to further sharpen their respective profiles and build on their strengths in a targeted manner.

Another important item on the programme was a visit to the hike - University Incubator for Entrepreneurship. The project manager, Prof. Dr Lutz Göcke, presented the incubator's wide range of services: from funding programmes such as the Incubation Programme and EXIST to innovation workshops and a dedicated workshop for the practical implementation of ideas through to special training courses in the field of artificial intelligence. In addition, hike supports close networking between students and companies, for example through formats such as the HIKEathon.

Minister President Voigt was impressed by the work of the hike team: "Entrepreneurial spirit is promoted here, creative solutions and innovative start-ups are created that have an impact far beyond Nordhausen. The hike is an important building block for Thuringia's innovative strength."

The university made it clear that the current funding of the hike by the federal government would expire at the end of 2025 and that its cancellation would mean a major step backwards for the region and the university. This made the news from the Minister President all the more pleasing: The continuation of the hike is assured for a transitional period of 2026/2027 by the state, in cooperation with the university, in order to also give the university the opportunity to tap into new funding opportunities.

President Wagner sees this decision as a strong signal: "This commitment secures the work of the hike in the long term. We can continue to offer founders an outstanding infrastructure and comprehensive support in the coming years. This is a gain for the entire region and a clear commitment to promoting innovation in Thuringia."

Minister President Voigt concluded by emphasising: "Nordhausen University of Applied Sciences impressively demonstrates how research, teaching and start-up support can be interlinked. With hike as a driver of innovation, an environment is created that encourages young people to develop and realise their own ideas - which is exactly what Thuringia needs."