Applied Computer Science

Digitalization is a key driver of innovation and success across all industries. Applied Computer Science is obviously a key element in these processes. At the same time, there is a substantial change in the way daily work is organized and carried out. The share of home office and remote work increases, e.g., to collaborate with team members who are distributed around the world or to control, monitor, and maintain facilities and processes from a distance. While offering a lot of opportunities in terms of convenience for employees and reduced costs for employers, this new normal of working also requires different skills and knowledge of the related tools and methods, which are addressed by this program.

Furthermore, online education is changing the higher education landscape in profound ways. It caters for specific needs and interests of students, especially in terms of the flexibility in which they can carry out their studies. And it is a natural option to prepare them for the new normal of remote work.
Students of Applied Computer Science participate in online courses with pre-dominantly asynchronous lectures and exercise material, which are complemented by tutorials and hands-on sessions. Students are guided and supported by faculty as well as experienced tutors and lecturers to transfer the acquired knowledge into practice. The hands-on elements include high amounts of collaboration with other students, use of tools and concepts to engage in distributed work from different places in potentially different time-zones, and remote access to physical devices and set-ups.

The Computer Science core of the program is complemented with Management and Leadership modules in the second and third study years. Students will not only be trained in programming and software development, but will also acquire fundamental knowledge in business and learn how innovations can be transferred into a marketable product. Furthermore, they may take part in interdisciplinary courses in which problems are tackled from a wider perspective challenging them to think outside the boundaries of their discipline.