Frankfurt builds bridges

This is a city with no lack of titles to its name – “Hanseatic city”, “university city”, “scientific city”, “the city of Henrich von Kleist”, “the city of the three bridges” – all these appellations bear testimony to the rich and varied history of Frankfurt an der Oder.

As early as the 14th century Frankfurt merchants had their own fleets of trading ships on the Baltic. Up to the late 1500s the mercantile centre was a member of the powerful Hanseatic League. The foundation of the Brandenburg University in 1506 makes Frankfurt one of the oldest university towns in Germany. Its roll call of famous students include the Humboldt brothers, Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, Thomas Müntzer and the favourite son of Frankfurt, Heinrich von Kleist.

In 1991 the city revived this illustrious tradition with the foundation of the Europe University Viadrina. Just a few years after its establishment and the university has already made a major international reputation for itself as can be seen not only in the sharp rises in the number of enrolments from no less than 76 different countries, but also in the number of famous scholars and scientists it now attracts. President of the university Prof. Dr Gesine Schwan emphasises the particular kind of understanding the university promotes, “Many students consider the opportunity we offer to study alongside students from Poland and many other countries in Europe and the world to be a particularly enriching experience. This human potential is a very precious asset we endeavour to support and maintain.”

East European studies and hands-on interdisciplinary academic disciplines are written high on the Viadrina agenda. The university entertains close ties with the Adam Mickiewicz-University in Poznan (Poland) and is joint host of the Collegium Polonicum in the neighbouring town of Slubice, directly on the other side of the river Oder. New media too have their part to play in transcending traditional borders and opening up new horizons: Viadrina received € 576,000 funding from the ERDF for the “Multimedia in Higher Education” project.

At the Institute for Solar Energy and the IHP Institute for Semiconductor Physics, there is also a search for new directions. Students can use the so-called “clean room” of the IHP for their own research projects. Frankfurt has its own tradition of high-tech research. A semiconductor plant was established here as early as 1958. The technological expertise the city has attracted has not only succeeded in giving students a wider understanding of the world but also translates into tangible economic results. A case in point is Gärtner Electronic Design (GED) which for ten years now has been a leading developer of application-specific integrated circuits, better know by their acronym ASICs. The ambitious support and development program run by GED is designed to help young engineers obtain proper qualifications. Apart from the award of student internships and degree theses, GED also offers student loans in the fields of electrical engineering and computer sciences.

Companies from the small and medium-size enterprise sector make up the main economic backbone. But Frankfurt is also increasingly becoming a center for trade fairs and commerce. Founded in 1993 the Frankfurt World Trade Center has close connections with counterpart cities in the World Trade Center Association.

And the city also has a reputation for sport: Frankfurt was the base from which Henry Maske and Axel Schulz boxed their way to world fame. With its Olympic Center, Federal Training Center, Armed Forces Sports Group plus no less than 13 regional sporting associations and 83 different sport clubs, Frankfurt is truly home to the sporting spirit. What’s more, all these clubs and associations share a common ambition – to bring yet more medals and titles home to the city!