International Teaching Week 2026: The world comes to FIW
If you want to get a taste of international higher education, you don’t always have to travel abroad. This is precisely what the International Teaching Week organised by the Faculty of Computer Science and Business Informatics (FIW) at THWS demonstrates: as part of the ‘Internationalisation@home’ initiative, guest lecturers from international partner universities come to Würzburg every year to deliver a week of English-language courses for students at the faculty.
International Teaching Week 2026 was the largest edition of the event to date. The keen interest shown by partner universities and students demonstrates just how important on-campus international teaching programmes have become for the faculty. Around 180 students from the Faculty of Computer Science and Business Informatics took the opportunity to immerse themselves in English-language modules, gain an understanding of international perspectives and explore specialist topics from a new angle. In addition, students from partner universities in Sheffield (UK) and Kaunas (Lithuania) took part in the courses on offer.
The courses ran all day from Monday to Friday and concluded on Friday afternoon with an exam. For students from the sixth semester onwards, the courses can be counted towards their compulsory subject-specific modules (FWPM).
The 2026 course programme once again covered a broad range of subjects. Topics ranged from ‘Business Data Visualisation with Power BI and AI’ and ‘Emotional and Persuasive Design in E-Commerce’ to ‘Next-Generation Ethical Hacking and Cyber Forensics’, ‘Quantum Computing’ and ‘Agentic AI’. This gave students an insight into current issues in computer science, business informatics, e-commerce, IT security, artificial intelligence and autonomous systems.
Special thanks go to the guest lecturers whose dedication made International Teaching Week 2026 possible:
- Paulius Baltrusaites, Kauno Kolegija, Lithuania
- Prof. Dr. Bishnu Prasad Gautam, Suwa University of Science, Japan
- Prof. Dr. Marcel Kyas, Reykjavík University, Iceland
- Sami Lanu, LAB University of Applied Sciences, Finland
- Prof. Dr. Manikandakumar M, Christ University, India
- Petteri Markkanen, LAB University of Applied Sciences, Finland
- Prof. Dr. Minal Moharir, RV College, India
- Siavosh Haghighi Movahed, Sheffield Hallam University, UK
- Prof. Dr. M. S. Divya Rani, Presidency University, India
- Prof. Dr. Beaulah Soundarabai, Christ University, India
- Dr. Jaani Väisänen, LAB University of Applied Sciences, Finland
In addition to the lectures, the supporting programme also provided opportunities for socialising and exchanging ideas. One highlight was the International Lunch held midweek. Students and lecturers brought dishes from their home countries and regions, creating a varied buffet together. This fostered an open atmosphere in which not only academic topics but also personal experiences, cultural backgrounds and international perspectives were shared.
The FIW is delighted with the success of International Week 2026 and the keen interest shown by partner universities, visiting lecturers and students. The next International Teaching Week will take place from 10 to 14 May 2027.
Contact:
Technical University of Applied Sciences
Würzburg-Schweinfurt
Prof. Dr. Peter Braun
Münzstraße 12
97070 Würzburg
peter.braun[at]thws.de
