Blog

On December 6th, 2023, we hosted our annual holiday party at the German House. Every year, the New York liaison offices of German universities, including University of Cologne, Campus OWL, UA Ruhr, University of Heidelberg, University of Freiburg, UAS7 and the German Research Foundation (DFG) celebrate a joint holiday celebration for friends, partners, and alumni.

Consul General David Gill warmly welcomed UAS7 friends, alumni, and other German universities to the anticipated annual New Year's Reception held on February 9th, 2023 at the Consul's residence. This event was a perfect occasion to connect, network and celebrate the new year in style. As always, the gathering was buzzing with excitement and provided a fantastic opportunity for UAS7 alumni in the greater New York area to reconnect and form new connections. It was truly an unforgettable experience that left everyone with a sense of renewed energy and enthusiasm for the new year!

On December 7, 2022 the Alumni Holiday Gathering had its comeback after two years. Together with the liaison offices of German universities located in New York City, the German Research Foundation (DFG), and the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) we organized our well missed event at the Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany New York. Friends and alumni of various German universities and institutions came together to kick-off the holiday season.

At the 2022 AIEA Annual Conference, UAS7 had the pleasure to share their first year Virtual Academy experiences on a panel entitled “Taking Virtual to the Next Level”, jointly with Ben Brisch, Director of the DAAD North America Office, Ann-Kristin Matthe, Head of Section Digitalisation for Internationalisation at DAAD Germany, and Annette Richie, Director of Global Academic Programs at our partner University at Albany.

The UAS7 Virtual Academy brings students together across continents for virtual collaboration: Students from Munich University of Applied Sciences developed a dice game with a 3D printer in their "3D Printing & Design" lecture as part of the UAS7 Virtual Academy. Their fellow students from the US partner university SUNY Canton are now working on a production concept.

„A match made in heaven“, this is how Prof. Dr. Sonja Klose from HWR Berlin kicked off her virtual collaboration, a Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) project, with her counterpart Prof. Daniel Korschun from Drexel University in the US. 70 students from both universities came together for a joint virtual project.

We recently had a chance to present at the fabulous IVEC Conference hosted by our partner Drexel University and East Carolina University. The topic was the UAS7 Virtual Academy, which is the virtual pillar among UAS7's internationalization instruments.

During the COVID-19 pandemic the International Office like other members of the HWR Berlin has had to rethink how it engages with our international partners and incoming exchange students. Thankfully the virtual tools at our disposal have meant that we could engage in creative solutions for the onboarding of students involved in online international exchange. The HWR Berlin’s participation in the UAS7 Virtual Academy has also allowed us to continue international exchange activities online with partners from countries where in-person exchange was unfeasible during the pandemic.