What Students Can Expect
News from the TUHH Cosmos at the Start of the Semester
09.10.2025
Photo: Isadora Tast
In one week, the first lectures will begin. The winter semester 2025/26 is starting and brings with it a breath of fresh air – not only for first-semester students. A particularly pleasing new development: This year, once again more young people have decided to pursue a Bachelor's degree at the Hamburg University of Technology. There are significantly more than 1,300 freshmen. The numbers speak for themselves. Over 100 of them have chosen an orientation program, more than ever before. In recent years, TUHH has increased its number of freshmen by more than one third. With a rise of around 35 percent over the past five years, it clearly stands out from the nationwide trend.
Professor Dr.-Ing Andreas Timm-Giel, President of TU Hamburg: “I warmly welcome all new Bachelor students to our TUHH. You have made an excellent choice: to work together on technical solutions to combat climate change and its consequences, to experience outstanding and award-winning research up close, to enjoy genuine campus life, and to start a career in the best profession in the world. That is what awaits our new students. And: At one of the best technical universities in Germany, in the most beautiful city in the world. These are all reasons to be proud today and to look forward to the future. I wish all our new students a wonderful start to their studies.”
Lively and Practice-Oriented
“A great development,” also says Prof. Dr. Thorsten A. Kern, new Vice President for Education, who took over the position freshly on October 1, 2025, from his predecessor Prof. Dr. Dr. Wolfgang Kersten. “We not only feel fortunate about this large influx but can also offer our students excellent career prospects. In recent years, our graduates have practically been snapped up by industry,” he explains, while also emphasizing that the number of students alone is not sufficiently meaningful. His goal is rather to support as many first-semester students as possible successfully through to graduation. The head of the Institute of Mechatronics in Mechanical Engineering wants to particularly strengthen student orientation and places great value on lively and practice-related teaching. An aspect that TUHH highly prioritizes and which has attracted attention: The ceremonial openings of the two new CampusLabs “Global Soil Health, Water and Climate” and “Circular Economy”. These real-world labs are dedicated to pressing sustainability topics such as soil research and circular economy and enable students to engage in hands-on collaborative research. For TUHH President Andreas Timm-Giel, this is a successful fusion of research and teaching in line with Humboldt’s educational ideal, which he wants to further strengthen and develop under the guiding concept of “Humboldt 4.0.” The research platforms are also open to society, especially to inspire interest in STEM subjects among young people.
Future-Oriented and International
TUHH particularly focuses on (international) young talent when it comes to future-oriented expansion of its degree program portfolio: The new international Master's program “Computational Methods and Machine Learning in Engineering,” taught in English, is multidisciplinary and combines engineering, computer science, and applied mathematics. Students learn simulation techniques, numerical modeling, and algorithm development, allowing them to analyze and solve complex physical problems and becoming highly sought-after graduates on the job market, for example, in aerospace, automotive industry, or academia. The program starts in the winter semester 2026/27, with the application phase beginning December 1, 2025. The new TUHH program in cooperation with the Northern Institute of Technology Management (NIT), “Business Analytics and Artificial Intelligence”, is scheduled to start in the summer semester 2026 as an advanced Master’s program. By combining theoretical courses and practical projects, students learn how to use AI to analyze complex data sets and solve real business problems. The application phase will start soon and ends on January 15, 2026. TU Hamburg is particularly pleased about the extension of funding for the European Erasmus Mundus Joint Master program “Interdisciplinary Mathematics” for another five years. A special flagship for TUHH, which offers this program alongside only four others in Europe.
The innovation potential that TUHH graduates unleash is always impressive. On November 19, everyone is encouraged to keep their fingers crossed: The Hamburg-based company traceless materials GmbH, which originated as a startup at TUHH and can replace plastic on a large scale with its innovative material, has been nominated for the German Future Prize 2025, one of Germany’s most prestigious science and innovation awards.
Coveted and Informative: The Freshmen Bags
One more practical tip for all “freshies”: On October 14, they can pick up their freshmen bags at the marketplace Am Sand in Harburg. The bags are filled with coveted items and informative news that will help ease the start of studies. This is made possible by sponsors such as Tempowerk, ContiTech, Sparkasse Harburg-Buxtehude, the TUHH Alumni Association, the TUHH Foundation, and jointly organized by Harburg Marketing and TU Hamburg’s Marketing. We wish you a great start!
At the same time, direct sales of TU Hamburg merchandising items will begin. Just drop by the campus shop in the heart of the TUHH campus.
Good to Know from the Start: Top-Level Research
And last but not least: In 2023 alone, TU Hamburg secured the third-largest amount of third-party funding per professorship among all German universities. This is a fantastic figure that demonstrates the high standard and performance capability of research at TUHH. High third-party funding income is also an indicator of good teaching, as both are statistically directly correlated. It shows that “Engineering to Face Climate Change” is a vibrant program that both consolidates TU Hamburg’s research activities and serves as a curriculum focus for teaching.
TUHH - Public Relations Office
Ruediger Bendlin
E-Mail: bendlin@tuhh.de
Phone: +49 40 428 78 3330
