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Nachrichten, Termine, Experten
Nachrichten, Termine, Experten
Private higher education has long been considered an outlier in Germany and Europe as a whole, yet its rapid growth in scale, diversity and impact over the past decades suggests an increasingly prominent and promising role. Against this backdrop, Constructor University has announced a new PhD scholarship dedicated to researching the historical evolution, current trends and societal contributions of private universities in Europe.
Announced at the annual meeting of the German Association for Private Higher Education (VPH), held April 23 at Constructor University in Bremen, the funding will support a three-year, full-time research initiative aimed at bringing greater empirical and conceptual clarity to a sector on the rise.
“Private higher education is an instrumental part of Europe’s changing academic and research landscape, whose scientific, economic and cultural contributions to countries like Germany are often overlooked and underestimated,” said Constructor University Chancellor Turgut Tülü. “Rigorous study is needed to understand and quantify the true scope of its development and impact, particularly as we work to enhance our role at the frontiers of new research and technology. Constructor University is proud to move this mission forward through our scholarship program.”
Over the past 25 years, private higher education in Europe has become more visible, more diverse and more relevant to national education systems like Germany’s, where approximately one in eight students now enroll in private universities. This expansion can be seen as a response to factors like demographic changes, evolving student demand and learning needs, internationalization, and digital transformation. The proposed doctoral project will investigate these trends in depth while also examining how private higher education contributes to access, workforce relevance and institutional innovation.
"The impact of private universities like ours on Germany's education system is often underestimated,” said Chancellor Tülü. “Yet it is precisely these institutions that have been a vital part of Germany's learning and innovation landscape for centuries. All private universities in Germany, including Constructor University—which is poised to double its enrollment to 5,000 students by 2030 and currently hosts students from more than 120 countries—serve as a vital bridge connecting the country and its economy to a global marketplace of talent, research, and innovation," he added.
Constructor University’s own unique history is a poignant anecdote for the evolving role of private universities in Germany, lending credence and significance to the initiative as it celebrates its 25th anniversary. Founded in 2001 and previously known as International University Bremen and Jacobs University, Constructor University was the first private full university (“volluniversität”) established in Germany, with the express mission of creating an international, English-language research institution in Bremen. The new scholarship will connect that heritage to a forward-looking research agenda focused on one of the most dynamic areas in higher education today.
The scholarship will be awarded through a competitive process and situated within Constructor University’s Observatory of Higher Education Innovations, where it will contribute to a broader comparative project on private higher education in Europe. The research agenda includes trends in enrollment, institutional models, digital innovation, funding structures, and the changing role of private institutions in national higher education systems. Admission details are available on the university’s website.
https://constructor.university/25-years-decision-making - Constructor University 25 Years of Decision Making webpage
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