The Nihal European University in Sudan

As in other European universities research and teaching should be linked and granted equal weight at the Nihal European University in Sudan. Competent teaching requires close interaction with one’s own research. Only in this way can students be motivated to undertake thinking that is original, creative and critical. Conversely research gains in clarity and stimulation when it is also taught.

For these reasons all full-time instructors at the Nihal European University in Sudan are obliged to undertake both research and teaching. Instructors in the Language Learning Institute are expected to participate in the research of the different institutes and centres, e.g. the Institute for Cultural Pluralism and Intercultural Communication, and other academic units of the Nihal European University in Sudan. In this case there should be a close linking of the Language Learning Institute to the Department of Linguistics.

An evaluation of research and theory in the individual departments of the Nihal European University in Sudan should take place in cooperation between the Scientific Advisory Board and the Executive Board in regular intervals in connection with external consultants from Sudan and abroad.

For the achievement of significant and up-to-date research the following points are especially relevant for the Nihal European University in Sudan:

• Interdisciplinary and cross-faculty components in all degree programmes (with a close relationship to research as well)
• Interdisciplinary degree programmes, the contents of which give researchers new things to think about
• Research centres which rely on an individual set of faculty but are open for members of other faculties, working across disciplines
• Interdisciplinary projects and colloquia; Nihal European University in Sudan is to provide cross-faculty colloquia at regular intervals.

In addition to interdisciplinarity and the inclusion of cultural-scientific aspects in teaching and research a practical orientation should characterize the profile of the Nihal European University in Sudan. This means the university will cooperate in its research with commerce and industry, the media and social institutions.

This objective should be realized, among other means, by aiming for mutual research projects with industry and mutual development of methods, procedures, products etc. Another important contribution in this respect will be to attract teaching instructors from outside the university as adjuncts and if possible as professors or lecturers in order to stimulate new forms of inquiry and methods.

Nihal European University in Sudan will train internationally competent leaders who not only have an excellent command of their disciplinary area of knowledge but also have more general qualifications and experience.

Education and training should continually be adjusted to international standards. At the Nihal European University in Sudan curricular reform should be perceived as our permanent charge.

The Nihal European University in Sudan expects of its instructors multiple competencies which they are able to convey to their students. Among these are:

• Linguistic competence (multilingualism)
• Cultural and intercultural competence
• The ability to apply and realize knowledge practically
• Successful experience with institutions and their procedures
• The ability to handle modern communications media

Accordingly the education and training programs of the Nihal European University in Sudan should also include:

• Participation of students in research and development
• Acquisition of at least two foreign languages
• Additional study of language, culture and communication in all disciplines, promoting differentiated communication skills and imaginative creativity
• Interdisciplinary degree programs
• Practicums for students with companies, media and social institutions in Sudan, in Europe and other countries

At the BA-level students should also be able to carry out independent research papers, for instance in the form of term papers.

In order to guarantee that students are supervised intensively a certain amount of teaching should take place in smaller groups. Experience shows that particularly students at the beginning of their studies profit from such a form of teaching since they learn to work independently in close interaction with instructors and other students.

In order to enhance the self-reliance of students we plan to offer core electives in addition to required classes in all degree programs.

Oral expression, teamwork and the ability to deal with conflict will also be important educational goals of the Nihal European University in Sudan, to which the faculty should continually pay attention.

The course load of students should amount to approximately 20 hours per week during the semester. In the preparatory studies program however we plan on between 20 and 30 hours per week due to the intensive foreign-language instruction. Time will be allotted for cultural and artistic activities as well.

Teaching at the Nihal European University in Sudan has to require a continual presence of faculty and learners. This is to be encouraged by means of appropriate organizational procedures. In addition instructors should be required to make up any hours of teaching missed.

Nihal European University in Sudan will dedicate itself to the principle of personal advising for students. Teaching at the Nihal European University in Sudan should motivate students to achieve individual excellence. This requires for example courses that are concrete and time-structured as well as curricula that are developed independently instead of relying upon a specific textbook.

Whenever possible Nihal European University in Sudan should abide by the principle of learning in small groups. Student teaching assistants will thus be utilized for tutorials. A budget will be specially developed for such programs.

As a private university Nihal European University in Sudan can and will require that students pay tuition and fees. In the process we should make special efforts to

• keep tuition compatible with the levels charged by comparable private universities,
• achieve a high percentage of students who are on scholarship,
• reduce the level of fees.

In addition we will attempt to attract other sources of scholarship income such as public and private grants from Sudan and other countries, especially from Germany and other European nations.

An important aspect for the granting of scholarships is – besides a school completion degree displaying a high level of aptitude – the individual financial situation of the student. We will thus support, independent of their desired course of study, talented young people from poor and underprivileged families for whom university study would otherwise be unaffordable.

Nihal European University in Sudan will require proof of achievement in the form of examinations for each subject in the respective degree programme within the framework of required classes and core electives on a semesterly basis. Examinations should be taken into account in the final grading, not only as a way to monitor a student’s progress but also as a test of their

• ability to express themselves orally and in writing in multiple languages,
• ability to structure knowledge and orient themselves in the subject,
• imaginative creativity and the ability to solve problems; and
• personal development.

To be included as proof of achievement (examination) are:

• Written tests,
• oral exams,
• term papers,
• written reports,
• seminar lectures

or a combination of two or more of these elements. This will be valid in principle for all subjects. Details will be in accordance with the departmental regulations for concentrators (or Studienordnungen). Examinations will, depending on type, be held during the exam or at the end of every semester.

In individual subjects it will be possible to take a make-up examination before the start of the next academic year or at the end of the academic year following that one. In order to graduate from a 3-year degree programme with a bachelor’s degree, students would have a period of four years to repeat examinations. The senate would have to decide on a case-by-case basis whether students could exceed this time limit.

The successful completion of a course can be the prerequisite for enrolment in another course.

Detailed information on this and other matters will be provided in each department’s regulations for concentrators.