Federal Foreign Office awards prize for "Guest Studies Plus"

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(Short Film about Project on Youtube)

Our university has been awarded with the Federal Foreign Office's award for excellent support for international students in Germany. Our programme "Guest Studies Plus for Music, Dance and Theatre Students from Ukraine" received the award, which is endowed with 30,000 euros. The prize from the Federal Foreign Office is one of the most important awards for supporting international students in Germany.

The programme "Guest Studies Plus for Music, Dance and Theatre Students from Ukraine" was launched at HMTM in April 2022, shortly after the start of the Russian war against Ukraine. With the aim of quickly integrating refugee Ukrainian students in the fields of music, dance and theatre into everyday university life in Munich, support and assistance was established in various areas. For example, the students quickly received individual artistic tuition and were able to take part in specific courses. HMTM also provided support in the form of accommodation, free meals, repairs and the provision of instruments, as well as a German-Ukrainian mentor network and language courses to help the Ukrainian students to settle in.

New university partnership with Stellenbosch University in South Africa

Partnerschaft Stellenbosch c HMTM

Photo (left to right): Prof. Markus Bellheim, Prof. Mario Nell, Prof. Lydia Grün, Dr. Bridget Rennie-Salonen, Martin Zenker, © HMTM

The University of Music and Performing Arts Munich (HMTM) has established a partnership with the music faculty of Stellenbosch University (SU) in South Africa. On June 5, 2023, Prof. Lydia Grün (President of HMTM) and Prof. Markus Bellheim (Head of the International Office of HMTM) met with Prof. Mario Nell (Dean of the Music Faculty of SU) and Dr. Bridget Rennie-Salonen (Head of the Woodwind Department of SU) to sign a Memorandum of Understanding.

Prof. Lydia Grün: "This new partnership lays the foundation for faculty and student exchanges, research and joint projects with Stellenbosch University, an educational institution that enjoys an outstanding reputation within South Africa."

Prof. Markus Bellheim: "The new partnership with Stellenbosch University is a great enrichment for HMTM. The planned mobilites of teachers and students will enable valuable exchanges of experience, and mutual acquaintance with the musical cultures in Germany and South Africa through master classes, workshops and joint concerts."

Stellenbosch University is located about 50 kilometres east of the centre of Cape Town. More than 100 years after gaining university status in 1918, SU now consists of 10 faculties with more than 30,000 students. SU's Faculty of Music is one of the most important educational institutions for music on the African continent.

Expansion of Partnership with Gakugei University of Tokyo

Partnerschaft Gakugei Tokio c HMTM

Photo (left to right): Rebecca Gürster, Dr. Masayuki Nakaji, Prof. Lydia Grün, Prof. Markus Bellheim, © HMTM

A partnership between our university and the Gakugei University of Tokyo, the most important university in Japan for pedagogical studies, exists since 2004. This partnership included exchanges among teachers and scientific exchanges. Now the partnership will be further expanded.

On Wednesday, May 24, 2023, Dr. Masayuki Nakaji, Professor of Music Education at Gakugei University, Prof. Lydia Grün, President of HMTM, and Prof. Markus Bellheim, Head of the International Office at HMTM, agreed to increasingly focus on student exchanges in the future. Teacher training students and students of artistic-pedagogical courses from Munich will now have the opportunity to gain experiences in Japan.

Rebecca Gürster will be the first HMTM student to travel to Tokyo and study at Gakugei University in the upcoming winter semester 2023/24. Rebecca Gürster is studying to be a high school teacher at HMTM, majoring in piano. She has already learned Japanese for her exchange. She is particularly looking forward to immersing herself in Japanese culture: "For me, this includes not only musical aspects such as Japanese musical instruments, but also everyday things such as living in an international dormitory. I would like to participate in regular music classes at one of the schools on campus, as I'm particularly interested in how Japan approaches teaching music."

Gakugei University Tokyo was founded in 1949 through the merger of four state schools for teacher education. Since its founding, the university has become a renowned institution in educational training, being named a "Flagship University for Teacher Education" by the Japanese Ministry of Education and Science in 2022.

Publication of Internationalisation Strategy

Menschen halten versch Flaggen hoch Oliver Reetz DAAD

Photo: Oliver Reetz | DAAD

Our university explicitly considers herself as an international educational institution. On July 12, 2022, this was confirmed by the Senate through the unanimous passing of the Internationalisation Stratefy of the University. Important key points are the expansion of mobility numbers and strategic university alliances as well as the support of international students within our university.

You can read and download the Internationalisation strategy here.

DAAD-funding: Exchange with Mongolian State Conservatory has been extended for another two years

ISAP Verlängerung

Photo (left to right): exchange students from Mongolia, Prof. Purevkhuu Tsogbadrakh (president MSC), Prof. Dr. Bernd Redmann, exchange student from Mongolia, Prof. Markus Bellheim

The Mongolian State Conservatory in Ulan Bator (MSC) and the University of Music and Performing Arts Munich (HMTM) have again obtained funding from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) to extend their existing partnership for another two years. 

Since the academic year 2020, both universities have a close cooperation – especially in the areas of Jazz and Folk Music. The presidents of both universities, Prof. Purevkhuu Tsogbadrakh (MSC) and Prof. Dr. Bernd Redmann (HMTM), have emphasised the particular value of the partnership for both institutions during their meeting on March 25th, 2022 in Munich. The meeting was also attended by Prof. Markus Bellheim, who is the Head of International Office and responsible for the exchange, as well as by three students from Mongolia.

Within the current cooperation, each academic year, three students from HMTM were able to study in Ulan Bator during the spring semester. In return, three students from MSC spend the whole academic year in Munich. Additionally, twelve short-term lectureships (three weeks) were financed during that period. The funding also supported language courses, staff travels and a student tutorial. The project is coordinated by musician and lecturer Martin Zenker who has supported this partnership since its beginning.

The exchange scheme is now extended for another two years. Funding will support bilateral student exchanges, a total of eight short-term lectureships, as well as language courses, staff travels and a student tutorial. The corresponding application from the International Office at HMTM was approved by the evaluation commission in March 2022. The DAAD grants 96,694 € for the academic years 2022/23 and 2023/24.

The DAAD supports this partnership with funds from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research through the programme “International Study and Training Partnerships (ISAP)”.

Applications for students and staff of HMTM are now open. For further information, please contact Prof. Markus Bellheim, Head of International Office (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).