RWTH Aachen
| RWTH Aachen University | |
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| Motto: | Zukunft beginnt bei uns (German) |
| Motto in English: | Future starts with us |
| Established: | 1870 |
| Type: | Public |
| Endowment: | US $0.91 billion |
| President: | Ernst Schmachtenberg |
| Staff: | 8,868 (academic: 2,297) [1] |
| Students: | 31,431 (2008)[2] |
| Location: | Aachen, NRW, Germany |
| Campus: | Urban |
| Colors: | Blue and White |
| Affiliations: | IDEA League, German Excellence Universities, CESAER, TIME, UNITECH International Society |
| Website: | www.rwth-aachen.de |
RWTH Aachen University is a large university located in Aachen, Germany. "RWTH" is the abbreviation of Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule which translates into "Rhenish-Westphalian Technical University". However, officially, "RWTH" remains untranslated. The university is part of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, a society of Germany's leading research universities.
The RWTH Aachen University has an excellent reputation in chemistry, electrical and mechanical engineering and has partnerships with leading institutions worldwide. The university is member of several cooperations like the IDEA League, the TU 9 (German Institutes of Technology), the Euregio-University-Cooperation ALMA and the TIME-network.
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Campus
The RWTH is not a campus university. Instead, its buildings are spread over some parts of the city. There are two core areas (midtown and Melaten district), though they are not very distinct. The Main Building and the Kármán Hall are 500 m away from the city centre with the Aachen Cathedral, the Audimax (biggest lecture hall) and the main refectory are 200 m farther.
The RWTH has external facilities in Jülich and Essen and owns, together with the University of Stuttgart, a house in Kleinwalsertal in the Austrian Alps.
The university is currently expending in the city center and Melaten district. The SuperC, the new central service building for students, was opened in 2008. The groundbreaking for the new Campus-Melaten will be in 2009.
Reputation and internationality
In 2007 the RWTH Aachen was promoted to the status of University of Excellence by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research. According to national rankings the university is one of the leading technology universities in Germany [3].
Double degrees and student mobility are promoted with other technology universities through the TIME (Top Industrial Managers for Europe) network. Furthermore the RWTH is member of the IDEA League, which is a strategic partnership among five of Europe's leading research universities, including TU Delft, Imperial College London, ETH Zürich and ParisTech [4] and was the first German university starting an Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program in 2008.
Compared to other German universities the RWTH Aachen received the highest amount of funds granted by third-party donors in the last years[5].
Almost 5,200 international students are currently enrolled within the undergraduate, graduate or PhD programme. Compared to other German universities the portion of international students at the RWTH Aachen is higher-than-average[6]. The proximity of Aachen to the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg combined with the subsequent exposure to a variety of cultural heritages has placed RWTH Aachen University in a unique position with regards to the reflection and promotion of international aspects and intensive interaction with other universities.
Organisation
RWTH Aachen is run by the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Since the summer semester of 2004 the state of North Rhine-Westphalia allowed universities to request a maximum of 500€ per semester as tuition fees. Starting with the summer semester of 2007, all students enrolled at the RWTH Aachen will have to pay these 500€, if they are not exempt for one of several reasons put forth by the State of North Rhine-Westphalia. In the past, tuition fees applied solely for long-term students and second studies. Almost all basic lectures are held in German, but an increasing number of graduate programs are offered in English.
The RWTH is divided into nine (previously ten) faculties:
| Faculty 1: | mathematics, computer science, and natural sciences |
| Faculty 2: | architecture |
| Faculty 3: | civil engineering |
| Faculty 4: | mechanical engineering |
| Faculty 5: | geological resources and material sciences |
| Faculty 6: | electrical engineering and information technology |
| Faculty 7: | philosophy (actually all humanities) |
| Faculty 8: | economic sciences |
| Faculty 10: | medicines (including the Klinikum Aachen) |
Faculty nine was pedagogical sciences, but it was abandoned in 1989. Teacher education, however, continued[7].
Fraunhofer-Institutes
The university cooperates with the Fraunhofer-Institutes situated in the Melaten district of Aachen. The institutes offer workshops, courses and lectures for the students of the RWTH Aachen.
- Applied Information Technology (FIT) Sankt Augustin and Aachen
- Fraunhofer-Institute for Laser Technology ILT
- Fraunhofer-Institute for Production Technology IPT
- Fraunhofer-Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology
Jülich Aachen Research Alliance (JARA)
The Jülich Aachen Research Alliance (JARA) was found by the RWTH Aachen and the Jülich Research Centre in 2007 [8]. Four sections are coordinated by the research facilities yet:
- JARA-Brain (Diagnosis and therapy of neurologic sickness)
- JARA-Fit (Fundamentals of future information technology)
- JARA-Sim (Simulation Sciences)
- JARA-Energy (Energy research)[9]
Faculty and Students
There are 260 institutes with chairs, totalling 450 professors. The scientific staff consists of 4000 people. [10]
Today, approximately 30,000 students attend RWTH Aachen, including graduate as well as post-graduate students, although the number has been subject to some variation. About two-thirds of the student body is male.
Approximately 20% of the students are of non-German nationality, coming in large part (more than 150 students each) from Pakistan, China, Turkey, India, Bulgaria, Cameroon, Greece, Belgium, Iran, Poland, Luxembourg, Morocco, Indonesia, Russia, and the Netherlands.
Annually, 2,200 students graduate and 800 are granted PhDs.
Associations
- RWTH Aachen - North American Alumni Association Prof. Dr. Burkhard Rauhut, former president of the RWTH, and Prof. Dr. Laszlo Baksay, President of the newly founded "Association of Alumni, Friends and Supporters of RWTH Aachen University in North-America" signed the founding statement for a new branch of the RWTH Alumni Community in Melbourne (Florida) in May 2006. Ever since, the association has proven to be a valuable source of job and internship offers as well as a reliable organizer of entertaining yet informative alumni meetings in the US, Canada and Mexico.[11]
- Pakistan Student Association: provides peer counseling and advice to Pakistani students; promotes Pakistan's traditions, values, and the diversity of its people; plans and coordinates social and cultural activities, independently and with other organizations.[12]
- AStA (Students' Union)
- AISA (Assoc. of Indian Students in Aachen)[13]
- GATS (Association of Thai Students in Aachen)[14]
History
In 1870 the "Royal Rhenish-Westphalian Polytechnical School of Aachen" was founded. Its primary purpose was to educate engineers for the mining industry in the Ruhr area. At its beginning there were 32 teachers and 223 students.
In 1880 it became a "Technical University" (or college, as there was still a non-'universal' technical bias) and was abbreviated "RWTH". In 1899 it was granted the right to bestow PhD degrees.
World War I was a serious setback for the university, but between 1925 and 1932 was a period of prosperity and expansion. Previous student numbers were reached again and many new facilities were built.
During the Third Reich (1933–1945) RWTH was – like all other institutions – assimilated by the Nazis: The freedom of research and teaching was limited, leading lecturers were forced to quit and many students had to leave the university. Due to the vicinity of the borders to the Netherlands and Belgium the university was closed for a year during World War II.
After the war, the RWTH recovered and expanded very quickly. Some new faculties came into existence.
In 1995 the RWTH was haunted by Third Reich history. It turned out that the previous rector "Hans Schwerte" (rector for the short duration of 1970 - 1973) had a fake identity. In reality he was Hans Ernst Schneider, an SS member who had worked for the Ahnenerbe. Ironically, "Hans Schwerte" had a reputation as a liberal. His pension rights, academic title, etc. were revoked. Summary of the events, in German.
Today the RWTH Aachen, is together with the TU Munich, and the TU Berlin one of three largest engineering schools in Germany.
Future
RWTH Aachen University plans a fundamental enlargement and restructuring of its campus for the close future. The new campus areas shall provide space for clusters of research institutions and industry partners to offer a better integration of research and technology. Approximately 10,000 new jobs are prospected to be created. Current plans state that construction activities shall begin in 2009. The total investment is believed to be about 750 Million €.
Notable faculty and alumni
RWTH Aachen University has produced several notable individuals. 5 nobel laureates are associated with the university. The scientist and alumni of the RWTH Aachen played a major role in chemistry, medicine, electrical and mechanical engineering. Nobel laureate Peter Debye received a degree in electrical engineering in Aachen and is known for the Debye model and Debye relaxation. Furthermore Helmut Zahn and his team of the Institute for textile chemistry were the first who synthesised Insulin in 1963.
References
- ↑ RWTH Zahlespiegel 2007
- ↑ Press Release: "Studierendenzahlen der RWTH Aachen steigen weiter an"
- ↑ Ranking Report RWTH Aachen
- ↑ IDEA League - What is the IDEA League?
- ↑ Research Funding at RWTH Aachen University
- ↑ RWTH Aachen - International Office
- ↑ http://www.rwth-aachen.de/go/id/las/scol/3/sasc/1/pl/20/pn/3 (Note the degree of 'Lehramt', i.e. the certification to teach at Gymnasium level)
- ↑ Jülich Aachen Research Alliance (JARA)
- ↑ JARA Energy
- ↑ Statistics
- ↑ RWTH Aachen - North American Alumni Association
- ↑ Pakistan Student Association
- ↑ Association of Indian Students in Aachen
- ↑ Association of Thai Students in Aachen
External links
- RWTH Aachen (English version)
- University Hospital (English version)
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