FWI: an international faculty with a vision for the future

International teaching, innovative partnerships, interdisciplinary degree programmes – the Faculty of Business and Engineering at THWS has always taken a broad approach. What students particularly value about the faculty is its practical focus. The degree programmes taught in English – with the option to obtain a TWIN certificate. And the freedom to make informed decisions about one’s future thanks to the wide-ranging curriculum.

Published on 10 September 2026

Anyone who takes a closer look at the Faculty of Business and Engineering at the Technical University of Applied Sciences Würzburg-Schweinfurt (THWS) will quickly realise that here, people think outside the box. An interdisciplinary approach runs through everything. In every area, thinking goes a step further and horizons are constantly broadened. This is underlined by the developments that have taken place over the past decade or so.

FWI paves the way for students from all over the world

The international teaching approach plays a key role in this: more than a decade ago, FWI began to mirror its range of bachelor’s degree programmes – all of which are now also available in English. Since then, the modules in the Business and Engineering, and Logistics degree programmes have been taught with identical content in their English equivalents, i.e. in the corresponding TWIN programmes; these are therefore titled ‘Wirtschaftsingenieurwesen’ and ‘Logistik’. Students who can demonstrate C1-level proficiency in both English and German and who complete an intercultural module can obtain the TWIN certificate – thereby demonstrating to future employers that they have worked at an international level during their studies and have communicated and learnt in multiple languages.

It took a great deal of organisational effort to translate all the documents, forms and course content into English. However, a lot has happened since the programme began in 2014: “Eleven years is quite a long time. When I think back to the early days, we initially struggled to get everything translated and to get used to communicating in English – but now all of that comes naturally to us. All communication and teaching within the faculty now takes place in both German and English,” reports Professor Dr. Peter Meyer, Dean of the Faculty of Business and Engineering. But the effort has been worth it. “We were pioneers when we started offering degree programmes in Business and Engineering and Logistics in English as well. Many other faculties then followed suit, setting up English-language twin programmes. In Schweinfurt, Mechatronics, Robotics, Applied Mathematics and Mechanical Engineering were added, and our model formed the basis for this,” says Professor Dr. Meyer.

It has been a groundbreaking change of direction that has paved the way for international students from all over the world to come to THWS and FWI. The faculty currently has around 1,500 students, more than half of whom are international – from around 80 countries worldwide, to be precise. Most of them are from India, which is partly due to the so-called preparatory classes, for example at the RV College of Engineering in India (more on the preparatory classes in Fokus Orange).

Inside FWI: interdisciplinary module plans and cross-faculty practical projects

One student who attended RV College is Shaunak Bhave. He is in the final stages of his Business and Engineering degree and took the initiative to go to Germany a few years ago. He is also familiar with the interdisciplinary curriculum at FWI: “I never just take engineering courses; I always take business courses as well. In our projects, we work alongside many different professional groups. After graduation, you can go into finance, sales, marketing or, indeed, engineering,” explains Shaunak Bhave. “That’s what I like best: during my studies, I can continue to discover what works best for me and what the future holds.”

However, FWI does not merely collaborate with relevant external partners – close cooperation with the other faculties in Schweinfurt also enables courses to be brought in from fields such as electrical engineering, mechanical engineering and the applied natural and human sciences. “What’s more, these collaborations also give rise to interdisciplinary courses,” says Dean Meyer. “In the field of business and engineering, I’m thinking in particular of the development project run in conjunction with the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering. Here, students from both faculties work together on the development of a product over the course of a semester.”

Initiatives to foster a sense of community

Shaunak Bhave got to know his current friends through the modules and projects. Another event he attends regularly has also provided him with some interesting encounters: FWI regularly organises Board Games Night in Schweinfurt to help students at the campus network more effectively. And even here, guests from larger local companies such as ZF, SKF, or Schaeffler Technologies AG & Co. KG sometimes drop by.

Board Games Night is one of several initiatives designed to help students socialise. Quite a few connections have also been made at the table tennis tables or the outdoor chess set on the Ledward Campus in Schweinfurt. The language café has also proved its worth in specifically strengthening the bonds between international and national students. Shaunak Bhave talks about this and shares another idea of his own: “The language café is one of the most effective initiatives. It’s where people from different countries meet to chat and learn languages. This simple format opens the door to deeper conversations.” He adds that group work and joint projects also help to bring people together. Lecturers could also encourage students to mix the groups. “When we get students to work together towards a common goal and recognise each other’s strengths, relationships form that would not otherwise have developed,” says Shaunak Bhave.

The faculty’s range of subjects is set to become even broader in future: in 2026, for example, a new English-taught degree programme in Engineering Science will be launched. Not only will this mark the launch of the faculty’s first online degree programme, but it also brings with it another distinctive feature: during the first few semesters, it lays the foundations for all other engineering disciplines, meaning that students can transfer from there to one of the on-campus engineering degree programmes.