Development of the Language Center

The Language Center at the Technische Hochschule Nürnberg Georg Simon Ohm is a project launched in 2006 by the University Management as part of its university internationalisation programme.

At the start of the project in the winter semester of 2006/2007, around 200 students took up the offer. By the winter semester of 2008/2009, over 2000 people were regularly benefiting from the Language Center’s courses.

As a consequence of this great success, the “Language Center” project was set up as an independent university institute in the summer of 2009 and affiliated to the Faculty of Applied Mathematics and Physics.

The university’s full range of language courses has been brought together under the Language Center, and developed and expanded to include programmes to foster the internationalisation of the university. This includes all the required languages in degree programme curriculums at Nuremberg Tech as well as a comprehensive range of electives for all students, irrespective of their chosen degree programme.

The LC now has partnerships with the Lutheran University of Applied Sciences Nuremberg and the Nuremberg University of Music.

A further pillar of the services offered is the assessment and qualification of international study applicants, as the Language Center is also a certified test center for the German Language Examination for University Admission (DSH). As one of the largest examination centers in Bavaria, the Language Center has multiple sessions per year for up to 160 international study applicants to sit the DSH or take an intensive language course in preparation for the exam.

Currently, the Language Center has a team of 13 employees and two associated professors from the Faculty of Applied Mathematics, Physics and Humanities. Around 50 highly qualified teachers offer more than 250 courses per semester under the LC’s management.

On average, one quarter of all students at the Ohm now takes a language course each semester, either as a required course or an elective, as part of their studies. This comes to around 3000 participants per semester.

In addition to its comprehensive range of offerings for students, the Language Center has also become a driving force for the internationalisation of the university. The language courses form an integral part of internal professional development, and are open to employees of the Ohm. The Language Center is an important source of advice for matters associated with foreign languages and intercultural skills for the Faculties and departments at the Ohm. In addition, the Language Center advises and supports the university in English-language publications, and translates internal documents for regular university administration.