The Ludwigshafen University of Business and Society (HWG LU) and the German vocational school abroad FEDA Madrid signed their international cooperation agreement today. The aim of this German-Spanish cooperation is to internationalize the dual Bachelor's degree course in logistics at HWG LU and to create study opportunities for particularly high-performing trainees at FEDA Madrid following German dual vocational training in Spain.
The Ludwigshafen University of Business and Society is located in the economic powerhouse of the metropolitan area Rhine-Neckar and, with a focus on business administration, social and health care and currently around 4,600 students, is an educational institution with excellent regional, national and international networks. In the field of logistics, HWG LU offers a broad portfolio of courses: in addition to the dual Bachelor of Logistics, Ludwigshafen offers a Bachelor of Logistics, a Master of Logistics and two MBAs - the German-language distance learning MBA Logistics - Management & Consulting and the English-language MBA Logistics - International Management & Consulting.
FEDA Madrid is one of the 140 German schools abroad that are supervised by the Central Agency for Schools Abroad (ZfA) of the Federal Office of Administration on behalf of the Federal Foreign Office and has been training forwarding and logistics specialists in Spain for 40 years together with the German Chamber of Commerce for Spain (AHK) and companies such as Transfesa Logistics/DB, Kuehne+Nagel, Andreas Stihl, Logwin, Lidl, Primafrio and Thyssenkrupp Elevators. The dual Bachelor's degree course at the Ludwigshafen University of Applied Sciences offers a tailor-made follow-up course, particularly for this apprenticeship, but also for industrial clerks and wholesale and foreign trade management clerks.
Bernd Hullerum, Chairman of the School Board of FEDA Madrid, sees the advantages of the cooperation in particular:"We are very pleased to officially launch the cooperation with HWG LU today. The offer enables students to continue the proven combination of practice and study and at the same time build on the knowledge they have acquired in their training through a shortened study period. An additional major advantage is that the students can continue to complete their practical phases at their training company in Spain, while the study phases take place at the university in Ludwigshafen. This means that the apprentice/company tandem can be successfully continued after the vocational training has been completed."
"In addition, the cooperation agreement also serves as a best practice model for other German vocational schools abroad for their graduates with dual commercial vocational training and strengthens Germany as a study location," says Ingo Winter, Principal of FEDA Madrid.
Prof. Dr. Peter Mudra, President of the Ludwigshafen University of Business and Society, sees the cooperation agreement as an example of cooperation in practice in the European Union. He emphasizes the current relevance of the cooperation: "Especially in times when criticism of the EU and its institutions seems to be at the forefront of public perception, this joint project with our Spanish friends makes it clear what we in Europe should be particularly concerned with: The coming together and cooperation of people from different nations and cultures in the spirit of the great European idea."
Prof. Dr. Joachim Schmidt, Head of the Dual Degree Programs in Logistics (B.A.), is also very positive about the further cooperation with FEDA Madrid: "Internationality is one of the most important characteristics of the logistics industry. We are therefore particularly pleased that we have been able to take a further step towards the operational implementation of our international course orientation by signing the cooperation agreement with FEDA Madrid," says Schmidt.
First successful graduate/student
Even before the agreement was formally signed, the cooperation between the two educational institutions was launched in a pilot project: Leticia Romero began the dual study program in logistics in Ludwigshafen in the winter semester of 2017 after completing her training as a freight forwarding and logistics services clerk at Transfesa in Madrid, a subsidiary of DB Cargo AG. Thanks to the training she had completed and the practical phases in Spain, she was able to successfully complete the course in 2.5 years together with DB Cargo BTT GmbH in Mainz. For Leticia Romero, studying in small semester groups and the individual support she received during her degree programs were important aspects for her choice of study location, in addition to the professional qualification in logistics. Today, she works as a Junior HR Manager at DB Cargo in Mainz and is responsible for the selection and support of trainees and dual students.
Natascha Lenk, who started her studies in Ludwigshafen in October 2020, is also enthusiastic: "The cooperation gives me the opportunity to continue working at my training company Primafrio S.L. in Murcia, Spain, and at the same time to gain further qualifications with a dual study program at HWG LU. This opens up great career opportunities for me in Europe."
More information at: www.feda-madrid.de and www.hwg-lu.de/studium/bachelor/logistik-dual
