The 1st University Day was held in October 2010 to celebrate the renaming of the establishment to the University of Vechta, making it an independent, self-confident university. The University’s profile, with a clear, attractive and distinctive range of courses, is very visible. The University of Vechta consciously focuses on issues for the future that are relevant to society: education, ageing, social and cultural change and rural areas open up prospects for research and teaching.

By focusing on rural areas, clear boundaries are drawn to urban spaces, opening up an additional research perspective at the international level. With this strategic orientation, the University of Vechta shapes a profile that offers space for intensive debate in research and teaching with political, social and individual challenges of our post-modern societies, in which technology and science dominate the discussion and much of the research landscape.

Research and teaching at the University of Vechta are based on many years of experience in teacher training, with a wide range of 16 subjects leading to a Bachelor or Master of Education degree. Another key area is Social Services, comprising Gerontology, Social Work and Services Management for Social Services. Multidisciplinary focal areas in research and teaching are represented by Cultural Sciences, Agricultural and Nutritional Sciences, Regional Development and Landscape Ecology.

The University of Vechta is committed to modern university management. Actively implementing the Bologna Process in teaching and academic programmes, the University consciously meets the challenges required by new organisational and management structures. The University puts its faith in flat hierarchies and close cooperation between the areas of science and services. Grouping subjects into institutes rather than faculties encourages scientific, interdisciplinary work in research clusters, involving the institutes, subjects, centres and research posts.