Rhein-Waal University of Applied Sciences (HSRW) began the 2025/26 winter semester with 1,291 first-year students. This means the university has attracted significantly more new students than in the previous year.
Since the 2020/21 winter semester, student numbers in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) have been falling. This makes it all the more gratifying for Rhein-Waal University of Applied Sciences that the trend here is moving in the opposite direction. Enrolment figures this year have been significantly more positive than in the previous winter semester. “This marks the start of an important turnaround,” said Prof. Dr Oliver Locker-Grütjen, President of Rhein-Waal University of Applied Sciences. “Although we narrowly missed our target figure for the winter semester, thanks to high demand in the summer semester we are in a very strong position in terms of our targets for the year as a whole.”
The university president views developments at HSRW as positive overall: “The world is changing rapidly. Digitalisation, artificial intelligence, sustainability, social justice – these are all issues that will be crucial in the coming years. Here at HSRW, we have designed our degree programmes to be future-proof and are preparing our students for the challenges of the future.” There have been particular innovations this winter term in the Faculty of Technology and Bionics. Here, the content and methodology of the Bachelor’s programmes have been revamped. In addition, the Sustainable Tourism degree programme at the Faculty of Society and Economics has been conceptually revised. The new programmes have met with keen demand.
With its future-proof degree programmes, the university is helping to ensure a supply of skilled workers in the region and beyond. Surveys of HSRW graduates show that 71 per cent remain in North Rhine-Westphalia after completing their studies (88 per cent remain in Germany); among international graduates, the retention rate for North Rhine-Westphalia stands at 46 per cent (73 per cent for Germany). In the 2025 academic year, a total of 789 students graduated from the HSRW.
The coming year will be particularly challenging for all universities in North Rhine-Westphalia, as the (re)introduction of a nine-year grammar school system instead of eight will effectively mean the loss of an entire Abitur cohort. Across the whole of NRW, universities expect significantly fewer young people to commence their studies at that time. This is unlikely to affect the HSRW as severely, as over half of its students do not come from NRW; many come from countries outside Europe. Locker-Grütjen is optimistic about the future: “Thanks to the international focus of our degree programmes, our student numbers will be less severely affected by the transition from G8 to G9. Furthermore, our proximity to the vocational colleges in Kleve, Geldern and Wesel – which are not affected by this change – helps us.”
