Starting University in English, entering the job market in German

As part of the DAAD’s Campus-Initiative for International Talents, an innovative teaching format developed by Sabine Schmidt-Bender, German lecturer at the TUM Language Center, was presented as an example of good practice. She introduced her approach in early December 2025 to a nationwide audience of higher education professionals at the event “FIT Fokus: Sprungbrett Deutsch – Practical Impulses for Language Support at Universities.”

The starting point of the concept is the close integration of language instruction with real-world corporate collaboration: instead of working with fictional case studies, students collaborate with start-ups from the TUM ecosystem.

The format addresses a key challenge: many international students wish to remain in Germany after graduation, yet often face language barriers during the job application process.

Link to the article: “Mit Englisch ins Studium, mit Deutsch in den Arbeitsmarkt” (only available in German)

Further information on the DAAD’s Campus-Initiative for International Talents
Further information on "FIT" - Promotion of international talents for integration into studies and the labour market