An international, practice-oriented university of applied sciences for the digital age

Humboldt, applied.

Nexwave European University is a new international university of applied sciences in Potsdam-Golm. We educate computer scientists, microelectronics engineers and business informatics specialists for the European labour market, and we prepare them to make Europe their home.

Explore programmes Meet the founding team

NEU was founded to address the growing shortage of skilled specialists in rapidly expanding industries such as the semiconductor industry.

First intake: Summer semester 2027 (planned)
Language: English-taught · German to B2/C1
Supervision: approx. 1 : 20
Format: Campus · blended learning
Seat: Potsdam-Golm, Brandenburg
Status: In formation (i. Gr.)

Why a new university

Europe is short of engineers. We are building the place to educate them.

The German-speaking region faces an acute and lasting shortage of specialists in computer science, microelectronics, electrical engineering and business informatics. Digitalisation, automation, AI and the expansion of the semiconductor industry are widening the gap.

NEU is founded to close part of it: by qualifying international talent for the European labour market, and by integrating them into it. The university sees itself as a complement to the existing higher-education system, not a copy of it.

The Humboldt ideal

Critical thinking, scientific reflection and personal development. We educate people, not only skill sets, and expect our graduates to take responsibility in society as well as in industry.

Consistently applied

Problem- and project-based learning, mandatory laboratory work and close cooperation with industry and technology companies from the first semester onward.

Integration by design

German language to B2/C1 built into every programme, a campus inside a science region and a clear route into European employment.

A bridge between international talent and the European labour market. Founding concept, Nexwave European University i. Gr.

Programmes

Two departments. English-taught. Built for the technologies that will define the next decade.

The university opens with two departments and two master's programmes, and grows into bachelor's programmes and microelectronics from the second year. Every programme is taught in English and includes German language qualification.

Department IComputer Science & Electrical Engineering / Microelectronics

Department IIEconomics & Management (Business Informatics)

Founding phase

From summer semester 2027 (planned)

M.Sc.

Computer Science

Department: I · Computer Science & EE / Microelectronics
Language: English
Scope: 120 ECTS · 4 semesters
Format: Campus · blended learning
Start: Summer semester 2027

M.Sc.

Business Informatics

Department: II · Economics & Management
Language: English
Scope: 120 ECTS · 4 semesters
Format: Campus · blended learning
Start: Summer semester 2027

Expansion

From winter semester 2028/29 (planned)

B.Sc.

Computer Science

Department: I · Computer Science & EE / Microelectronics
Language: English
Scope: 180 ECTS · 6 semesters
Start: Winter semester 2028/29

B.Sc.

Business Informatics

Department: II · Economics & Management
Language: English
Scope: 180 ECTS · 6 semesters
Start: Winter semester 2028/29

M.Sc.

Electrical Engineering / Microelectronics

Department: I · Computer Science & EE / Microelectronics
Language: English
Scope: 120 ECTS · 4 semesters
Start: Winter semester 2028/29

All programmes are subject to state recognition of the university and to programme accreditation. Credit and duration figures show the planned standard structure and may change during accreditation.

What every programme includes

A blended teaching concept combines intensive supervision with didactic flexibility. The supervision ratio of around one to twenty is a design decision, not an outcome.

Problem- and project-based learning
Mandatory practice and laboratory components
Close cooperation with industry and technology companies
Integrated German language qualification, target level B2/C1
Blended learning: intensive supervision with didactic flexibility
A supervision ratio of around 1 : 20

Campus · Potsdam-Golm

A campus inside one of Brandenburg's largest science and research locations.

NEU is a presence university in campus format. Its seat in Potsdam-Golm places students next door to Max Planck and Fraunhofer institutes and to the University of Potsdam's Golm campus, less than an hour from Berlin.

The setting is part of the concept: research on the doorstep, industry within reach, and a region that is actively expanding its technology base. The carrier's office is already located in the science park, at Am Mühlenberg 11.

Science Park Potsdam‑Golm · BrandenburgAm Mühlenberg 11 · 14476 Potsdam

Potsdam-Golm≈ 10 minPotsdam Hbf≈ 25 minBerlin Hbf

Regional rail, approximate journey times

NeighboursMax Planck Society, Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, University of Potsdam (Golm campus)
RegionBrandenburg, a science and innovation location NEU sets out to strengthen
FormatPresence university in campus format with blended-learning elements

Founding team

Led by people who have built institutions before.

Dr.-Ing. Carsten S. Schröder

Designated Founding Chancellor · Managing Director, accelera GmbH and Nexwave GmbH

Science manager, entrepreneur and expert in technology and innovation transfer with more than 25 years at the interface of science, industry and policy. Founding managing director of acatech, the German National Academy of Science and Engineering; founder of the German Academy for Digital Education (DADB), which has carried German engineering education into growth markets such as India since 2017; managing partner of s2m GmbH. Six years of research at Fraunhofer IPK and a Dr.-Ing. from TU Berlin in technology and innovation management. Board plenipotentiary of the KPM Berlin foundation.

Prof. Dr. Frank Behrendt

Founding team · Academic development

Professor of Energy Process Engineering at TU Berlin from 2001 to 2025 and Dean of the Faculty of Process Sciences (2022–2025). President's Commissioner for International Affairs, Fundraising and Alumni at TU Berlin; Director of the Climate Change Centre Berlin Brandenburg (2023–2025). Member of acatech and of the Swiss Academy of Engineering Sciences (SATW); Consulting Professor at Beijing Institute of Technology; Chinese Government Friendship Award 2024. Around 50 doctoral candidates supervised.

Carrier and governance

Privately carried. Academically free.

The carrier of NEU i. Gr. is accelera GmbH, Potsdam. Its sole shareholder is Nexwave GmbH, the German subsidiary of an Indian talent-management group, represented by Managing Director Dr.-Ing. Carsten Schröder. The shareholder structure combines entrepreneurial, technological and science-related expertise.

The founders are convinced that a sustainable supply of specialists is only possible through high-quality academic education, international cooperation and a close link between university, industry and society.

The carrier secures the financing of the founding phase. It does not interfere with the academic freedom of teaching and research.

2026

Founding phase

Carrier company, founding concept, recognition process and founding team.

Summer semester 2027

First intake (planned)

M.Sc. Computer Science and M.Sc. Business Informatics open in English.

Winter semester 2028/29

Expansion (planned)

Bachelor's programmes in Computer Science and Business Informatics, plus M.Sc. Electrical Engineering / Microelectronics.

What NEU contributes

International orientation, practical relevance and a clear set of values: the university combines academic quality with responsibility for the region it is founded in.

A sustainable supply of specialists for high-technology and future industries
Successful integration of international students into German working and everyday life
Strengthening Brandenburg as a science and innovation location
Knowledge transfer between university, industry and civil society

Contact

Be part of the founding cohort.

Ahead of the first admissions round we are collecting interest from prospective students, industry partners, academics and press. Leave your details and we will write to you when the next step opens.

Prospective students

English-taught master's programmes from summer 2027, German language integrated, a campus inside a science park.

Industry and technology partners

Project-based curricula, laboratory cooperation, thesis topics and access to international engineering talent.

Academics

A founding faculty for two departments, built around small groups and a one-to-twenty supervision ratio.

Founding office accelera GmbH Am Mühlenberg 11 · 14476 Potsdam +49 172 84 555 99 accelera@nexwave.eu

Contact person Dr.-Ing. Carsten Schröder Designated Founding Chancellor · Managing Director, Nexwave GmbH carsten.schroeder@nexwave.eu