Dear partners, dear friends of our university,

Christmas is just around the corner, and with it comes a time to pause briefly before we start 2026 together. I wish you and your families a restful and peaceful holiday season. May you find the peace you need to recharge your batteries and look forward to the new year with confidence.

Looking back on 2025 on behalf of the entire university management, I see a year that challenged us, but also brought us enormous progress. We overcame the difficult start with budgetary hurdles due to the provisional budget freeze in the first half of the year and were able to concentrate on our core issues again.

Our university: growth and development

I am particularly proud of the positive response our university has received. The number of applications has continued to develop positively and, with around 3,500 students, TH Wildau has achieved a 5.6% increase over the previous year. This shows us that we are an attractive place for young people who want to shape the future. Our research strength is an equally strong sign of confidence: with third-party funding at a stable high level of around 14.5 million euros, we are demonstrating how closely and successfully we work with you, our partners from industry and science. These collaborations are the backbone of our transfer to the region.

In terms of content, we are constantly evolving, because new degree programmes in the fields of mobility, logistics and administration are not only extremely exciting, but above all contemporary, combining technology and management in the best possible way. I am therefore looking forward to the launch of the new dual degree programme ‘Mobility and Administration’ and the newly bundled programme ‘Mobility, Environment and Logistics’. We are also broadening our international reach, for example by offering the Master's programme in Photonics in English in future.

This is flanked by our ‘TH Wildau 2030’ strategy process, which is now taking effect in the background. As a ‘space for innovation’, we are strengthening the connection between technology and management and creating space for genuine interdisciplinarity with new structures.

Our campus: an anchor for encounters and experiences

Our campus continued to thrive on encounters in 2025: whether at the graduation ceremony for our graduates, Wildau Homecoming Day, the Children's University or the International Afternoons – these moments are what define our community. In a world full of global challenges, our stance remains clear: We are committed to peaceful coexistence based on our democratic constitution and hope that reason and humanity will once again prevail in international conflicts.

From autumn 2026 onwards, we will be celebrating ‘35 years of TH Wildau’. We are not planning a single large-scale event, but will be integrating the anniversary wonderfully into our existing formats until 2027. Let us surprise you with the insights into our history that we have in store for you, some of which may be virtual.

Our review: varied and diverse

To look back on the best moments of 2025, I cordially invite you to visit our Christmas review page: CLICK. There you will find my Christmas-greeting video (with English subtitles) and impressions of an eventful year.

I would like to thank you for your trust, the good cooperation and the many personal encounters that make our university so lively. Let us shape 2026 together – with reason, optimism and an eye for the essentials.

With best wishes /
Mit den besten Wünschen

Ihre Ulrike Tippe