The International University Centre "Alexander von Humboldt" - IUZ for short - at TU Bergakademie Freiberg is the first port of call for students and university staff who want to learn a language or gain experience abroad, or who come from abroad to study or conduct research at TUBAF. The IUZ celebrates its 25th anniversary in 2026. Throughout the year, the IUZ team will draw attention to its work with various events. The employees' message is that good teaching and science only works if people exchange ideas and are prepared to leave the beaten track. And the economy also benefits from international mobility.
For 25 years, the IUZ has been opening doors to new cultures - in many directions: Students and staff can choose between courses in ten foreign languages and get to know the programmes offered by international universities. International students learn German so that they can manage their studies and/or everyday life in Freiberg. "With our festive year, we want to radiate in both directions," explains Dr Julia Sishchuk, Director of the International Office of the IUZ, "we want to signal to German students that they will benefit enormously from one or two semesters abroad, not only for their studies but also for their lives. We make it easier for international students to start their studies and accompany them through their studies with various counselling services." The same also applies to TUBAF employees, some of whom come from abroad. Conversely, the IUZ encourages local university staff to gain experience abroad, for example through programmes such as ERASMUS+.
Stimulus for the German labour market
The work of the new Rectorate is also increasingly focusing on internationalisation at TU Bergakademie Freiberg. Professor Jutta Emes, Rector of the university, took over the chairmanship of the Rectorate Commission on Internationalisation at the beginning of her term of office in 2025, which is dedicated to developing an internationalisation strategy, among other things: "TU Bergakademie Freiberg has a charisma that has attracted young, knowledge-hungry people from all over the world since it was founded. Some of our international graduates take the scientific knowledge they have gained here back to their home countries. Those alumni who decide to stay in Germany after their studies provide important impulses for the German labour market and German society. We know from a recent study by the German Economic Institute that each year of international students contributes around eight times more to public budget revenues in the long term than the state invests in them." And so the university is already supporting its future students and specialists for the Free State of Bavaria in preparing for their studies at TUBAF. At the university's own preparatory college, the students not only develop their German language skills, but also receive specialised tuition in mathematics, physics, chemistry and computer science, attend trial lectures at the faculties and get to know companies in the region as part of specialist excursions. Since the summer semester of 2026, the TUBAF preparatory college has been enrolling students twice a year and a new group of future specialists has just started their studies. The young people come from Morocco, Uzbekistan, Nepal, India, Iran, the United Arab Emirates and China and will begin their specialised studies at TUBAF in the summer semester of 2027 after passing their final exams.
Internationality has a long tradition in Freiberg
Students from various countries around the world have been studying at the Bergakademie since 1771, contributing to international networking and cooperation. The IUZ is named after one of the university's most famous graduates, the natural scientist and world traveller Alexander von Humboldt, who studied at the Bergakademie in Freiberg from 1791 to 1792. Internationality is therefore a tradition in Freiberg and the IUZ would like to emphasise this with various events and activities this year. These include, for example, a photo competition, podcasts with students and graduates, activities as part of the Night of Science, the university sports festival and the central celebratory event on 3 November 2026. All events can be found on the IUZ anniversary website.
