Start of the new academic year at the University of the Arts Bremen

On Monday, 16 October 2023, the University of the Arts Bremen officially opened the winter semester 2023/2024. 182 first-year students were welcomed at the opening event in Speicher XI A in Bremen's Überseestadt, with 37 more to follow in the coming weeks. This means that 118 freshmen are studying in the Faculty of Art and Design and 101 in the Faculty of Music. More than 2,190 prospective students applied. Around 1000 young artists and musicians are enrolled at the University of the Arts Bremen.

45.7 percent of all students moved to Germany for their education and enrich the university’s community. Among the foreign freshmen, most students come from China (16 percent), South Korea (eight percent) and Taiwan (three percent). They are closely followed by Japan, Poland, Portugal, Russia and Ukraine, each with two per cent.

"Experience and shape our university as a place of encounter," Prof. Dr. Mirjam Boggasch urged the students during the semester opening event. "The University of the Arts Bremen is an art and music university at the same time, regionally rooted and internationally oriented. The University of the Arts Bremen is spread over several, very different, locations in the city. These extraordinary framework conditions can be challenging, but at the same time open up great possibilities for your personal and artistic development - and above all for a diversity of personal encounters," said the president.

The start of the winter semester is also a festive occasion to present awards. Among others, the scholarship holders of the Scholarship and Support Programme (STIBET) of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) were honoured. These are: Jiye Lee (Fine Arts), Dorsa Eidizadeh (Fine Arts), Eghbal Joudi (Fine Arts), Minjeong Park (Fine Arts), Youngjae Cho (Electroacoustic Composition), Gretel Jazeron (Piano), Grigorii Titov (Recorder), Chien-Wei Yan (Orchestral Instruments / Violin), Zwe Oak Seo (Digital Media) and Martina Körbes Bracht (Violin).

In addition, the DAAD Prize for Outstanding Achievement by International Students was awarded to Andrii Smirnov, who is in his third semester studying for a Master's degree in Integrated Design. Andrii Smirnov was born in Ukraine and successfully completed his Bachelor's degree at the Kharkiv State Academy of Design and Art. "The most important things that drive me in my studies are professional teachers and a good, mixed team of students," saird Smirnov and added "we have the complete freedom to decide what we want to do. I want to help open up borders and media, because that's what the future of designers is all about."