Not far from the Student House and the recently opened House for Innovation and Transfer, the symbolic ground-breaking ceremony marked the start of construction work on the new building. It is named after the former ‘Johannes Kepler Polytechnic’ - the predecessor institution of today's OTH Regensburg. With the new building, the university is not only building on its roots, but also consistently developing its internationalisation strategy further - in a building that unites exchange, encounters and global learning in terms of architecture and content.
The three-storey building is being constructed on the university's campus site in Seybothstraße/Universitätsstraße. It will be completed by mid-2027 and will serve as a new home for central institutions of international cooperation: the International Office, the Teaching and Didactics Service Centre as well as work and meeting rooms for foreign visiting academics, students and staff.
Building the future: Internationality becomes visible and alive
"With the Johannes Kepler Building of International Services, we are sending a strong, forward-looking signal - for internationalisation, for the attractiveness of our campus and for academic exchange across national borders. It is therefore a central component of our university development plan," said Professor Dr Ralph Schneider, President of OTH Regensburg.
"Especially in this day and age, we are sending a visible signal in favour of respectful, tolerant and diverse coexistence, in which all people can live, study and work safely and with respect. This building should be a place where trust between cultures can grow, where people from different countries can teach, learn and research together - and listen to each other with an open mind. In this sense, it is an architectural expression of our attitude."
The initiative for the new building goes back to the Regensburg entrepreneur and benefactor Dr Johann Vielberth, who is significantly supporting the project with a donation of three million euros. The total cost of the building is 14.5 million euros.
‘Dr Vielberth's main concern is to provide young people with an international education and to offer visiting academics from all over the world a professional environment,’ explained Dr Lothar Koniarski from the Vielberth Foundation. ‘We are convinced that this building will provide a decisive impetus for the further internationalisation of OTH Regensburg - and that not only the university but also the entire region will benefit from this.’
Global impetus for the region
Building Director Gerhard Haslbeck, Head of University Construction, emphasised the importance of the construction project from the perspective of the state building construction administration: "The Johannes Kepler Building acts as the gateway to OTH Regensburg and will also enrich it in terms of urban development. The modern building in hybrid construction fulfils the requirements for sustainability and sets a further architectural accent on the OTH campus." With the 1000 square metre building, OTH Regensburg is consolidating its pioneering role in the field of sustainability. The building will be heated using geothermal energy, the flat roof will be greened and a photovoltaic system will be installed.
Dr Tobias Haaf, Head of Department at the Bavarian State Ministry of Science and the Arts, emphasised the strategic integration of the project into the state's university construction planning: ‘The Johannes Kepler Building embodies the central strategic goals of Bavarian university policy: internationalisation, securing skilled workers, digitalisation in teaching and research transfer.’ Bavaria wants to be at the forefront of the competition for the brightest minds and these need the best infrastructure, which students, teachers and researchers will find here.
Haaf referred to the High-Tech Agenda (HTA) Bavaria - with this offensive, the Free State of Bavaria is funding professorships, key technologies, refurbishments and the digital transformation with a total of 5.5 billion euros.
Regensburg's Lord Mayor Gertrud Maltz-Schwarzfischer recognised OTH Regensburg as an important international player in the city. The university is actively involved in European projects such as the ARTEMIS university alliance and contributes to the cultural life of the city with events such as the Europavox Campus Band Competition. The new infrastructure will further strengthen Regensburg as a high-tech location.
A place for encounters, innovation and networking
The International Office will form the centrepiece of the building in future. It will have modern office space, counselling structures and event areas and serve as a central point of contact for international students, lecturers and partner universities. The Teaching and Didactics Service Centre will also move in with studios for digital formats, a VR room and a virtual conference centre.
‘In future, our International Office will be based here - the organisational and strategic centre of our international activities,’ explained Professor Dr Oliver Steffens, Vice President for Research and International Affairs. The staff at the International Office not only manage around 200 university partnerships worldwide, but also support students and teaching staff with mobility programmes, coordinate guest stays and develop new ways of international cooperation.
"One such way is our OTHBridge project: its aim is to offer international students who are aiming for a degree at OTH Regensburg an increased range of support services throughout the entire student life cycle - i.e. before their studies, during their studies and during their transition into the German labour market - and to network them with companies from the region at an early stage. Our participation in the European university alliance ARTEMIS also underlines the fact that we are not only developing our internationalisation strategy locally, but also on a European scale."
Steffens also announced that student initiatives such as ‘Campus Friends’ will also be moving into the new building: ‘Campus Friends stands for what this building is all about: intercultural encounters, joint learning and mutual support - with a great deal of commitment, organised directly by students.’
Regensburg model becomes spatially visible
The Johannes Kepler Building will also provide a space for the so-called Regensburg Model - an innovative approach to recruiting skilled labour, particularly in the STEM subjects. International students receive targeted support through German-language programmes, practical semesters and cooperation with regional companies.
The building offers eleven offices for the International Office, multifunctional and event rooms, nine offices for international visiting academics, three offices and digital studios for the Teaching and Didactics Service Centre, technical rooms, storage, waiting areas and group work areas.
The general planner is Altmann Ingenieurbüro, the general contractor is the construction company Josef Rädlinger.
