Visiting faculty and staff
Olga Junek, Victoria University in Melbourne, Australia
My first visit to HM was in 2016, and since then I have been teaching at the Department of Tourism for several years. The experience of teaching at HM has been overwhelmingly positive – the staff (both academic and administrative) have been invaluable in organising my teaching and stay in Munich, and in making sure everything runs smoothly.
The culture at HM is very collegial and collaborative. It is easy to team-teach with other professors, which results in enhanced understanding of our two countries. Students are very committed to their studies and have always been a pleasure to teach.
HM offers many opportunities for staff to get involved in various events (I even went kayaking!) and really is a warm and exciting place to be and work.
I very much enjoyed all my trips to the lakes around Munich. In summer, there is nothing like swimming in these lakes, followed by a cool beer and lunch at a beer garden. Munich is full of tradition but also lots of young vibes with many different ethnic restaurants, bars and places to meet – a very special German city.
Behnam Ghalamchi, Cal Poly, USA
This was my first time teaching at HM’s Summer School. I was drawn to the idea of working with a diverse group of students from various educational backgrounds and teaching them core engineering topics. I knew it would be challenging, but I was excited to take it on—and I’m very glad I did. It was a fascinating and rewarding experience.
The Summer School was very well organized. I knew exactly what was expected of me as an instructor, which allowed me to focus on delivering a high-quality learning experience.
Collaborating with colleagues as co-instructors was a great experience. Communication was excellent. I believe it was also valuable for students to gain insight from two professionals presenting different perspectives on similar problems.
The atmosphere was very positive. Academically, students were engaged and curious. On a personal level, it was great to hear students talking and bonding outside the classroom, which is a key part of the Summer School experience. The diversity of the students, their motivation, and the commitment from both the organizers and the participants were definite highlights for me.
Bongumenzi Mncwango, Durban University of Technology (DUT) in Durban, South Africa
Teaching at Hochschule München was an enriching and really rewarding experience. As a lecturer in Industrial Engineering, I was thrilled to engage with highly motivated students and share insights into 3D printing and design. The academic environment was dynamic, innovative and closely tied to industry, while on a personal level, it was warm and inclusive. I was grateful for the support from both the International Office and the Department of Engineering and Management – everything was thoughtfully organised, from the initial welcome to access to labs, facilities and resources.
Collaborating with German and international colleagues was a highlight, exploring the Nano-3D Printing Lab with Prof. Matthias Rebhan. Discussions on a potential COIL project demonstrated the strong possibilities for long-term collaboration.
My personal highlights were Visiting Linderhof Palace, joining the graduation celebration, and visiting Linderhof Palace, which gave me a deeper appreciation of Bavarian history and culture. I also thoroughly enjoyed experiencing traditional Bavarian cuisine, which added a memorable cultural dimension to my stay.
Martin Eerme, Tallinn University of Technology, Tallinn, Estonia
International cooperation plays a vital role in higher education and research, and I am truly grateful for the opportunity to teach at HM in Munich for the past fifteen years. In recent years, I have been offering the course Modelling and Testing of Products and Processes at the HM Faculty of Applied Sciences and Mechatronics.
It is always a pleasure to engage with the bright and motivated students at HM, as well as with the dedicated and inspiring faculty. Every visit leaves me with fresh insights and ideas that I bring back to Estonia.
Munich is a wonderfully liveable city with its abundant green spaces, excellent food and drink (the German „Weißbier“ is a personal favourite) and a rich variety of cultural experiences. My stays in Munich are always memorable.
I deeply value the ongoing partnership between Hochschule München and Tallinn University of Technology, and I am thankful to the HM staff and faculty for their warm hospitality and continued collaboration.
Cooper Minehart, Cal Poly, USA
This is my second summer teaching at the Summer School “Engineering for Sustainability”. Living and working in the US, I have a very US-centric experience with energy production and sustainability. Having the opportunity to research and teach international policy gives a broader perspective on the global challenges that we face.
The students are motivated, smart, and interested in the material. It is amazing to see the international perspectives, how people from all over the world view energy sources, emissions, and climate change. The program is well run and provides a great balance between culture, classroom learning, and exploring the city.
The collaboration with your German and international colleagues is my favourite part. Getting to understand the perspective of international colleagues on modern pedagogy, climate change, and energy policy is fascinating and important.
My personal highlights? Teaching! And the Deutsches Museum! And the Gelato! And the Kaesespaetzle! And collaboration! And the cycling!
I absolutely think Munich is a good fit for this Summer School. Coming from San Luis Obispo, it reminds me of home if we traded our ocean for mountains. I’m excited to come every year.
Jennifer and Steffen Peuker, Cal Poly, USA
It has been a wonderful experience so far at HM and Munich. The colleagues at HM are terrific, very supportive, knowledgeable and experts in their field. We enjoy the interaction with the highly qualified German students as well as with the international students. We see now why HM is highly ranked within Germany and why HM is an ideal partner university for Cal Poly for exchanges, both for students and faculty. The staff in the International Office is very supportive and knowledgeable and made our transition smooth and easy. Munich is a great city with lots to offer in all segments such as food/drink (Oktoberfest!), culture, shopping, events, etc. as well as locations close to Munich such as Neuschwanstein, the Alps, parks and Legoland (important if you have a six-year-old). Although we only spent half a year here now, we already know it was one of our best decisions to come to HM and it will be a sad moment when we have to leave at the end of July, but we hope to come back to HM in the future.
Chih-Kuang Lin & Mark Anthony Reynolds
Prof. Dr. Chih-Kuang Lin (National Central University, Taiwan): To me, Munich is a city just about the right size compared to other major cities I have visited. Munich has a great integration of arts, culture, architecture, science, industry, commerce, higher education system, and sports. It is also a very safe city. As many Bavarian cultural traditions are still carried on in this city, no wonder Munich is called “a village of million people.” I truly agree with this saying and have the same feeling after I have been living here for a month and experienced the Oktoberfest. Thanks to the convenient transportation system, I can easily access diverse leisure activities in Munich and surrounding areas.
Prof. Dr. Mark Anthony Reynolds (Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Florida, USA): Munich is great. I arrived in the middle of Oktoberfest, and it was crazy sometimes! But I prefer the "Biergarten" around München. People are very relaxed and enjoying themselves. I have also ridden my bike around central Munich, and I like the buildings, like Alter Peter.
Prof. Dr. Madhumeeta Sinha, EFLU Hyderabad, India
After a first short stay in Munich, I decided to come back for an entire semester. People here are very friendly and curious about my home country, India. In particular, I like that my classes about Indian culture and English language bring together students from various disciplines and cultures. With its mix of tradition, culture and modernity, Munich has become a second home to me.
Prof. Dr. Franz J. Kurfess, Fellow from Cal Poly, USA
Having been in "exile" in California for about 15 years, I greatly welcomed the opportunity to spend a semester in my home country at HM, teaching two courses on Artificial Intelligence and Human-Computer Interaction. The students are well-prepared and highly motivated, pretty much in line with ours at Cal Poly. There are plenty of opportunities to enhance and initiate collaborations with Cal Poly, especially with the strategic partnership between the two universities funded by the DAAD. With excellent support from the International Office and the Department of Computer Science and Mathematics, my stay so far has gone very well, and it will be difficult to leave Munich.
Regena L. Scott, Ph.D., Purdue University, Indiana, USA
Teaching as a fellow at HM has been a very special and meaningful experience. The faculty in my department has gone out of their way to include and befriend me. They shared their resources, knowledge, and time, and after I purchased a “dirndl” they awarded me honorary Bavarian status before I left. The International Office staff and administrative personnel consistently went the extra mile to help solve the very few problems that arose and worked hard to make my stay in Munich very special. Finally, my students were incredible! My classes were comprised of a truly internationally diverse group of students, and we had a great deal of fun getting to know each other while blending learning and teaching styles, and cultures. Thanks to the HM community for being so inclusive.
Dr. Charles Krusekopf, Royal Roads University, Canada
Munich is a great place for families with kids. We have explored the city by bike taking advantage of the bike lanes, compact nature of the city and flat terrain. Some favourite places include: the Olympiapark which is very near the Lothstrasse campus, Schloss Nymphenburg, and the Englischer Garten. Bikes are available in the central train station for short term stays, or at several second-hand stores for longer stays. On the weekends we have enjoyed visiting the many lakes near Munich and the alps for hiking, biking, swimming, and beer gardens. Lakes such as the Starnberger See, Ammersee, Staffelsee and others can all be reached in about an hour by train from the central station, and Garmisch or Mittenwald are just over an hour away and offer access to numerous hikes in the alps.
Elisabeta Zelinka, Ph.D., West University Timisoara, Romania
München welcomes you from moment one. You needn’t be a historian to notice her grand, royal air, her people’s warmth, and their dignified cultural flamboyance… a refined yet touching mélange of grand imperial past and postmodern warped-up pragmatism. An inspiring cultural and academic atmosphere is also the distinguishing feature of HM Hochschule München University of Applied Sciences. Open-mindedness, warmth, and welcoming smiles go hand in hand with academic excellence in class. Collaborating with students and teachers at HM was an eye-opening experience. No matter where you come from, at Hochschule München you will find welcoming embraces, cosmopolitanism, "reasoning out of the box", professionalism and the world-famous German discipline.
Dr. Patrick Lemieux, Summer School lecturer, Cal Poly, USA
My experience teaching at HM has been amongst the most fulfilling and rewarding of my professional life: the camaraderie between faculty and students is productive and informal; the staff is always helpful; the facilities are state-of-the-art; and the cultural diversity and impact second to none. All this taking place in a venue, Munich, that has to be one of the most pleasant and easy-to-be-productive cities on Earth. What a treat! The summer teaching program, in an accelerated format over 2 weeks, is both necessarily focused and challenging. Because of all these reasons, I am actively planning to continue participating in this program year after year, and to encourage my colleagues at Cal Poly to join me in this one-of-a-kind, life enriching experience.