Academic Success
Many students find the transition from high school to college challenging – but starting your studies in another country can be even more so! Besides being a big move emotionally (leaving family and friends, living on your own), the workload for your classes can also be a big challenge. That’s why the IKZ has set up a series of workshops and events to ease your transition to the HTWG Konstanz and help you get ahead in your studies. Our offers include:
Warming-Up Event
Our orientation program for our new bachelor’s and master’s students – with an intercultural touch
Strong in Studies and Beyond (SSB)
A series of interactive workshops led by HTWG staff and external coaches and trainers focusing on essential study skills
Buddy Program
A learning partnership between new international students and an upper-class student– we pair you, the new international student, with a 2nd or 3rd semester in your major

Warming-Up “Studying at a University of Applied Sciences”
The Warming-Up event is a one-day orientation event for all first semester students (both domestic / German and international). The goal of this event is to familiarize you with the different aspects of university life before you start your studies.
You get to know other first semester students, learn about basic study skills, get advice from upper-semester students about how to get off to a good and relaxing start, and get a short introduction to intercultural topics!
The summer semester 2022 workshops will take place on March 8 + 9. 2022 –both online and in person!
Strong in Studies and Beyond (SSB)
The SSB is a workshop series to help you improve your study skills and prepare you for starting your career. This series, a collaboration between the IKZ and the Equality Team, offers eight different 3-hour workshops each semester. The SSB workshops are open to all HTWG-Konstanz students – and you can even earn ECTS credits!
These workshops, led by HTWG staff and external coaches and trainers, cover a wide range of topics from preparing successfully for exams and academic writing skills to time management strategies.
ECTS credits: Participate in 6 of the 8 offered workshops and receive 2 ECTS points (or 1 for the price of 3!) towards your degree.
Registration: Please register for the workshops via moodle. And also note: Registration is binding, meaning we then expect you to actually come to the workshop.
Buddy Program
The Buddy Program is a learning partnership between you, the new international student, and a 2nd or 3rd year HTWG student. You, the new international student, are paired up with another student to help you navigate the campus and your new studies. Sounds good? It is.
Buddy students help by:
- Sharing experiences about classes
- Answering questions about their majors
- Helping to understand and manage course requirements
- Helping to deal with administration issues on campus
- Giving an introduction to student life in Konstanz
