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Frequently asked Questions

FAQ and Guidance

What is the difference between "Studium Generale" + "Studium Specific" + "Practical Seminars" + "Dialogue Rounds"?

“Studium Generale” refers to an academic tradition that focuses on imparting broad general knowledge. It represents a comprehensive academic education that goes beyond subject-specific training and offers participants a broad spectrum of knowledge and skills.

The main features of the Studium Generale are:

Interdisciplinarity: It usually includes courses from different disciplines to give students a broad educational foundation.

General education: Rather than focusing exclusively on subject knowledge, Studium Generale emphasises general education and critical thinking.

Personal development: It aims not only to impart knowledge, but also to develop participants’ personalities and prepare.

Target group:

The main target group for Studium Generale are students at colleges and universities as well as those who want to get a taste of university life. Either for the first time or as a refresher. It is designed to enable them to look beyond their own subject and to broaden their education through exposure to different disciplines. The courses and events offered as part of Studium Generale are also open to the general public, allowing people of all ages and backgrounds to broaden their knowledge and education.

You do not need to be a student to participate in Studium Generale: Science education is for everyone.

“Studium Specific” refers to an academic tradition that focuses on providing in-depth and specialised knowledge in a particular subject area. Unlike the Studium Generale, which aims to provide a broad education, the Studium Specific offers an intensive and in-depth study of a specific topic or subject area.

The main characteristics of the specialised programme are:

Subject-specificity: it focuses on a specific subject or field to provide experts with an in-depth understanding.

Specialised knowledge: The Studium Specific emphasises detailed and specialised knowledge, which often requires a sound prior education or at least a basic understanding of the subject area in question.

Expert training: It aims to provide students or experts in their field with in-depth information and repetition, as well as to equip them with skills and knowledge to (continue to) be leaders in their field.

Target group:

The main target group for the Studium Specific is usually students and professionals who already have a basic knowledge of the subject and would like to deepen their knowledge. However, as it is also open to the public, anyone who is interested and willing to take up the challenge can participate. Everyone is welcome to try the Specific Study and be inspired by the specialised knowledge transfer. You have nothing to lose.

“Practical seminars” are application-oriented, alternating and sometimes repetitive short lectures with discussions or exchanges or with short exercises for mental and physical health.

The “dialogue rounds” are aimed exclusively at “people who are currently affected”.

Life always brings us into difficult situations that can be challenging for a while. The open, anonymous dialogue sessions offer support to those affected.

You can register under a pseudonym and keep your webcam offline.

Important: Dialogue rounds are not lectures or practical seminars that impart knowledge or practical applications.

Out of respect for those affected, we ask that you only participate if you are currently affected by the issue and need advice/support.

During the dialogue rounds, an expert will be available in the Zoom room. In a similar way to group counselling, group therapy or family groups, you can express your concerns and receive suggestions and support from the facilitator and other participants.

Conditions of participation

Absolutely.

That is our goal and our concern. Scientific education for all.

With Studium Generale you will find lectures for which you do not need any previous knowledge.

With Studium Specific you will find lectures that are easier to understand if you already have some prior knowledge. The best thing is to try it out.

Certificates of Participation

Yes, you can create individual certificates of attendance in your account.

Under the menu item “Create certificates of participation” you can choose whether you would like to have a certificate issued automatically after attending five lectures or whether you would like to collect your attendances and manually create individual certificates or certificates with five events.

It is not possible to reissue a certificate of participation.

Correct the name under which you registered under “Profile” so that your name will appear on all future participation certificates.

Your participation certificate will always be sent to you by e-mail and will also be on file in the customer area of the AW portal. This means that even after your subscription has ended or your allocation has been exhausted, you will always have access to all your participation certificates.

Your first and last name will always appear on the certificate of attendance. As you can only access events when you are logged in, the system extracts your name.

You can receive a certificate of participation for live participation in lectures and practical seminars. Separate certificates are issued for the different types of events.

Lecturers

Since the majority of the lecturers have been working for the AIHE Academic Institute for years, we know about their professionalism.

When we appoint new lecturers, they first go through a screening process. Obtaining references, etc.

Of course, it can happen that a lecturer does not suit you. That is why we offer a three-question survey after each event. In particular, we ask about compliance with our Code of Conduct (discriminatory behaviour, respectful behaviour, etc.). The results are evaluated at our weekly QA meetings. If necessary, disqualification takes place immediately.

In addition, our lecturers send us their presentations in advance, which we check against various criteria.

You can always send anonymous feedback directly to our Managing Director, Prof Dr Andrea Gensel.

Yes, after each session there is a 30 minute dialogue between the lecturer and the audience.

If the event is very well attended, not all questions can be answered and not everyone can participate in the discussion. Sometimes it is helpful to ask the lecturers if you can get their email address so that you can ask questions afterwards.

At the moment we offer the possibility that the Zoom rooms remain ‘open’ after the exchange with the lecturers. This gives you the opportunity to stay in the room and interact with other participants.

Media Centre

Yes, this is possible in principle.

In our CAMPUS media centre you will find recordings of some evening events (lectures and practical seminars) as well as the PDF files of the presentations for download. The discussion round after the lectures will not be made available.

If a video has not yet been uploaded to our CAMPUS media centre two working days after the event, the lecturer has not authorised its publication.
 
You will not receive certificates of participation for viewing recordings.
 
If you can be seen in a recording in the media centre, you can immediately and informally request that you be made unrecognisable or cut out of the recording.

Mark asterisk

You can use this function if you are logged into the portal. The advantages for you are:

  • If you mark an event with the asterisk, you will receive a clear list under the menu item “Your CAMPUS programme”, in which only the events you are interested in are listed.
  • Two hours before the live events for which you have activated the asterisk, you will receive a reminder email. If you do not wish to receive these, you can deactivate them under “Profile”.
  • Due to increasing demand in 2024, we will be limiting the number of participants at some events. If you tick the asterisk, you have “secured a place” for this event.
  • Spontaneous participation is still possible, but not 100% guaranteed (if you secure a place (activate the asterisk), you will not use up any quota).
  • If an event is cancelled, we can also inform you at short notice by e-mail. If you have not activated the asterisk, this is not possible.

Discounts or cost allocation

Yes, that is correct.

The cost of your annual subscription or/and the cost of a quota will be credited 100% to private payers.

If you are an employee of one of our corporate partners, you will receive a 10% discount when you enrol in a distance learning course with the AIHE Academic Institute.

Yes, that’s right.

If you are an employee of one of our corporate contractors, you will receive a 10% discount on all distance learning courses when you start a distance learning course with AIHE Academic Institute.

Miscellaneous/Current

Absolutely and most welcome:

To the anonymous feedback form.

Yes, with some restrictions.

You will receive a pdf file of the presentation one working day after the event you have attended.

In exceptional cases, a lecturer may not agree to give it out. In these cases we will keep the pdf file.

At least two years after the end of our contractual relationship.

These current terms and conditions incl. codes of conduct always apply: General-terms-and-data-protection

Code of conduct

Our Code of Conduct can also be found in the Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy and has been accepted by you as part of the registration process.

The following rules of conduct apply to participation in an online event:

  • You may only participate as an individual.
  • Only one person per contingent can participate visually and audibly. Multiple participants behind a screen who have not booked an online event are not permitted.
  • Digital and/or analogue recording of the online seminars is not permitted and will be prosecuted in accordance with §§ 15 ff. UrhG (German Copyright Act).
  • All events are recorded and archived for quality assurance purposes. The recordings are viewed if a review is necessary, e.g. in the event of allegations of discrimination.
  • By participating in our online events, you agree that they will be recorded. Parts of the recordings may later be published in the CAMPUS Media Centre. The subsequent discussion will not be visible in the CAMPUS Media Centre.
  • The procedure for raising questions and speaking should be agreed with the lecturer. Speeches should be made using the ‘show of hands’ function or the chat function in consultation with the lecturer, and the microphones should be briefly activated. The microphone will be activated before a speech and then immediately muted.
  • Concerns lectures and seminars: All participants who wish to receive a certificate of participation should attend with video enabled. Privacy can be protected by using a virtual background or the blur function. It is possible to present oneself in Zoom with a pseudonym – instead of the real first name and surname (participation is automatically recorded via the email address and not the first name or surname, in addition to a check by AIHE staff).
  • Concerns dialogue sessions: It is possible to participate without a webcam and with a pseudonym.
  • Lecturers and all participants treat each other with respect. This includes paying attention during the event. Respectful treatment of all participants extends to the digital space, so any form of abusive and discriminatory behaviour or other forms of digital bullying are prohibited. Participants are aware that any deviation will result in immediate exclusion from the online space and may lead to immediate termination.
  • It is not allowed to pass on the access data to a third party.

Distance learning programmes of the AIHE Academic Institute for Higher Education

Yes, that is correct.

The cost of your annual subscription or/and the cost of a quota will be credited 100% to private payers.

If you are an employee of one of our corporate partners, you will receive a 10% discount when you enrol in a distance learning course with the AIHE Academic Institute.

All AIHE degree courses are recognised in Germany by the Zentralstelle für Fernunterricht (ZFU – Central office for distance learning) and the Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Culture. Not only this, but the degree courses and our Institute are accredited or validated according to applicable national requirements.

To what extent your employer and/or state authorities recognise a master’s degree from Germany, Austria, Great Britain or the USA or other countries cannot be determined in general. 

There are so many countries around the world where one can study and gain academic degrees (https://de.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liste_der_Listen_von_Universitäten). 

There are also as many countries, and therefore more than 40,000 different combinations governing whether country X recognises a degree from country Y. However, even this is not enough, as it is necessary to dig deeper to differentiate what is meant by “country” in the question. If the question is: “Is the degree obtained abroad recognised in country XXX?”,“country”could refer to public or state services, businesses or universities. And all three also have different guidelines. To answer your question professionally and seriously, the question must be as follows: “Is the master’s degree from university X recognised in country Y (the country in which I want to work) by Z (businesses, public institutes, universities for doctoral studies…)?”

There is also the question of whether you already have a bachelor’s degree or whether you have started the master’s degree course without a first degree. Some employers expect candidates to have completed a degree course of at least four to five years (first the bachelor’s and then the master’s degree). For others, professional experience is more important and they think a wide range of practical skills is more relevant.Seek information from your employer or the relevant state authority about recognition of degree courses taken abroad before signing up for a degree course at AIHE GmbH.

No. You are enrolled for a master’s degree course and can therefore only obtain the academic title for this degree course.

Degree courses offered by AIHE GmbH with a partner university in various languages are officially registered as different degree courses. It is therefore not possible to study in one language and to obtain the title in another language.

AIHE offers further education degree courses. The term “further education” means that the starting position for our degree courses is the assumption that previous education has been completed – either academic or practical in nature. It also explains why the average age of those studying at AIHE is 40 years old and that the students have professional experience, often also in management. The motivation for our target group is not to acquire the basic training for a specific professional field, rather, students choose our offer for the following reasons:

  • they want to be able to put their existing practical activities on an academic footing and explain them using theories and models in order to work more professionally.
  • They have succeeded in reaching their current position without an undergraduate degree thanks to plenty of hard work and commitment and they are now striving for an academic degree.
  • They have a bachelor’s degree and want to achieve a master’s degree before launching their career. This target group is smaller.

Master’s programmes provide support in deepening and expanding knowledge that students can apply in their professional lives. Naturally, the master’s degrees from our partner universities can also be helpful in standing out from the competition thanks to an additional qualification. It is not possible to give a generic answer concerning the extent to which employers choose a graduate with a master’s degree from an AIHE partner university. If you have a specific position in your sights for which you wish to become qualified with an AIHE degree course, we would recommend that you get in touch with the relevant company/employer before starting your studies.

For doctoral studies, admission decisions are made on a country- and institution-specific basis. Find out about the applicable conditions (doctoral degree regulations) in the country in which you wish to obtain a doctorate or directly from the university where you wish to study for a doctorate.

Various universities in Europe expect at least five years of academic further education, i.e. a three-year bachelor’s degree and a two-year master’s degree. This means that beginning one of our degree courses without an undergraduate degree may make it difficult to obtain a doctoral position. In Germany, all 16 federal states have different admission criteria which universities must adhere to when awarding doctoral places. Universities use this as a basis to develop doctoral regulations for each specialist area and decide on a case-by-case basis who is admitted for doctoral studies.

According to German law, universities are also allowed to admit graduates holding bachelor’s degrees under certain conditions in exceptional cases. As this is not the general rule, we initially recommend a bachelor’s degree and then a consecutive or suitable two-year master’s degree or two one-year master’s degrees as a minimum – provided your clear goal is a doctorate.

General, more detailed information on doctoral studies in Germany can be found here: Framework conditions and practical information concerning doctorates for UAS degree holders and bachelor’s degree holders

In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, a bachelor’s degree generally takes three years; in Scotland it takes four years. A master’s degree generally only takes one year. In Great Britain, two-year master’s programmes are rare. Many students are concerned about whether the shorter British master’s degrees are fully recognised. In private businesses, this should not cause problems as the individual qualifications count here. In business, British master’s degrees and so-called “short masters” are generally very well-regarded.

However, it could become problematic for you if you are aiming for a qualification in the civil service, in state-regulated professions or for a doctorate. In all three fields, five years of degree-level study is almost always required, however universities are always able to make decisions following an individual case review. Bachelor’s and master’s degrees obtained in other European countries are not recognised by German universities (e.g. if you wish to study for a doctorate) without an individual case review.

Of course, our degree programs are accredited according to UK and Austrian law.

The London programmes are not BPS (British Psychological Society) accredited but QAA accredited.