History

Baden-Wuerttemberg Cooperative State University traces its roots back to the University of Cooperative Education BA BW (Berufsakademie Baden-Wuerttemberg) founded in 1974. Today the university continues to carry on the acknowledged and highly successful model of dual education, which involves the integration of academic theory and practical experience in a dual course of study.

More than 40 years ago, this model was initiated by such renowned companies as Robert Bosch, Daimler-Benz and SEL. Consequently, the Federal State of Baden-Wuerttemberg, in cooperation with many prominent companies, developed a professional education model for school leavers (holding the German Abitur) in 1974 alongside traditional tertiary education institutions.

In 2009, taking into consideration its outstanding performance over the past decades, the German Federal State of Baden-Wuerttemberg granted Berufsakademie Baden-Wuerttemberg the legal status of a university. Further on, the corporate university status means the institution can grant academic degrees. One of the main innovations is the ability to implement cooperative research projects, thus tightening the bonds with the  partner enterprises and institutions and bringing academic studies on a more up-to-date level.