All courses are taught in English (100%). Participants have to write all assignments, reports and their Master's theses in English.
(Please note: At UACh (Chile), the language of instruction is Spanish.)
The SPRING programme starts at the beginning of October.
There are no tuition fees at TU Dortmund, but SPRING Dortmund charges a service fee of 550 EUR.
The partnering universities charge tuition fees at varying rates:
SPRING combines intensive training in development theories and strategies, planning concepts and methods, and implementation and monitoring tools with practice-oriented field studies aimed at elaborating regional development plans and programmes in Africa, Asia and Latin America. The programme focuses on the specific cultural and socio-economic contexts in the developing world.
SPRING places its emphasis on development management at the level between macro-regional and community-based planning.
Development planning is seen as a problem-oriented management tool with the following objectives:
The SPRING programme is composed of 10 modules (see below) that comprise lectures, seminars, exercises, workshops, and field trips. The course structure of the first year, which is offered at TU Dortmund University, follows three phases (analysis, planning, implementation), simulating an ideal planning cycle. Each phase converges into a one-week workshop which integrates the various subjects. The second year, which takes place at the partnering universities, offers applied field research, project and thesis work. The submission of a Master's thesis is a compulsory component of the final examination.
First year
Module 1 Planning Approaches and Key Skills for Planning (8 CP)
Module 2 Workshop - Planning Practice (12 CP)
Module 3 Planning in Developing Countries and Physical Infrastructure (20CP)
Module 4 Planning Tools (6 CP)
Module 5 Concepts and Theories for Planning (7 CP)
Module 6 Socio-Economic Development Planning (7 CP)
Second year
Module 7 Planning and Research Methods (8 CP)
Module 8a) Policy Planning and Implementation in Ghana (9 CP)
Module 8b) Policy Planning and Implementation in the Philippines (9 CP)
Module 8c) Urban Planning an Management in Tanzania (9 CP)
Module 8d) Planning, governance and public policies for sustainability in Brazil (9 CP)
Module 8e) Policy Planning and Implementation in Chile (9 CP)
Module 9 Development Planning Workshop (18 CP)
Module 10 Master’s thesis (24 CP)
First year
Module 1: written examination (2 CP)
Module 2: three workshop reports (2 CP)
Module 3: research paper (4 CP)
Module 4: written assignments (2 CP)
Module 5: oral examination (3 CP)
Module 6: oral examination (3 CP)
Second year
At each partnering university, student progress in the modules and courses is evaluated through written examinations, assignments, reports and the Master's thesis and defence.
SPRING is a two-year programme. The first year is offered at the TU Dortmund University. Students have the option to study at one of the five partnering universities either in Ghana, Tanzania, the Philippines, Chile or Brazil during the second year of their studies.
Please note: Chile is currently not available as a second year destination.
There are no tuition fees at TU Dortmund, but SPRING Dortmund charges a service fee of 550 EUR.
The partnering universities charge tuition fees at varying rates:
TU Dortmund: 315 EUR per semester, incl. a semester ticket covering public transport in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia
Universidade Federal do ABC: no semester contribution
Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology: 187 USD (registration, matriculation)
Ardhi University: 20 USD (registration)
University of the Philippines: 816 EUR (registration)
Universidad Austral de Chile: 375 USD (registration; currently not available)
Germany: 1,036 EUR per month
Brazil: 1,171 EUR per month
Ghana: 708 EUR per month
Tanzania: 683 EUR per month
The Philippines: 1,030 EUR per month
Chile: 970 EUR per month (Please note: Chile is currently not available as a second year destination.)
High proficiency in English:
TU Dortmund
Referat Internationales
Emil-Figge-Straße 61
44227 Dortmund
Germany
Part-time employment is not possible because the SPRING programme is a full-time study programme.
At all SPRING universities, accommodation in student hostels on campus is organised by SPRING for all participants who have formally expressed their desire to stay in these facilities. This is organised well in advance in order to provide students with an affordable place to stay the very moment they arrive in Dortmund, Kumasi, Dar es Salaam, Manila, São Paulo and Valdivia. Rent for a single room in a student residence is approx. 50–340 EUR per month, depending on the country.
Additional extra-curricular trainings, seminars, online seminars and events are organised on a regular basis.
Next stop "Technische Universität Dortmund" – TU Dortmund University has its own train station which serves as the campus's main gate, only seven minutes from the city centre. Step off the train and you encounter a vibrant, village-like atmosphere, offering a wide variety of social and cultural amenities with shops, pubs and restaurants.
Student residence halls form a feeling of community in student life - commodious and quiet, yet not without their vitality. These living areas go well beyond the cliché of college dorms, especially in view of the facilities provided. All residence halls are equipped with state-of-the-art telecommunications, providing both high-speed internet access and even video conferencing facilities.
The campus serves its educational and research purposes, but its lawns, benches and beer gardens invite students and teachers to pause and relax. The campus is a living space for many people. On any given day, one will find plays and concerts, exhibitions, films, readings and guest lectures. Several times during the semester, cafeterias are turned into discotheques, departments and faculties organise graduation ceremonies, and alumni return to the university to celebrate their reunions. The annual summer highlight is the "Sommerfest" when TU Dortmund University presents its work to the citizens of Dortmund, inviting them to a day of presentations, games, art, music and plenty of food, all lasting well into the evening.
At TU Dortmund University, there are approximately 4,000 foreign students from 110 countries. Here, huge priority is placed on the international character of the university.
To investigate nature, to educate people, to accept technical challenges and to co-design the resulting cultural and social changes - these are the key tasks of TU Dortmund University. From the beginning, TU Dortmund University has been dedicated to interdisciplinary cooperation between natural/technical sciences and social/cultural sciences and their specialities with regard to research and teaching. The potentials of these specifics are to be used continually to mutually increase orientation competence, cultural competence, innovation power, critical faculties and technological knowledge and therefore to ensure even higher academic quality.
TU Dortmund University does not focus exclusively on the strengths of its individual disciplines, but also on the interdisciplinary network between its disciplines. This implies more profile-building features with regard to teaching offers and interdisciplinary research. The interdisciplinary cooperation in the university's three areas - engineering and computer science, natural sciences and social and cultural sciences - opens up innovative synergy potential in research and cutting-edge education.
Dortmund is the eighth largest city in Germany with a population of approx. 600,000 inhabitants. Its origins date back to 890 AD. The city was severely damaged during the Second World War and was completely reconstructed in the decades following its destruction. Today, it is a modern centre of business, high technology, education and culture, with renovated Art Nouveau façades shaping the architectural landscape of many residential neighbourhoods contrasting with the sleek municipal and office buildings of the city centre. One of the most pleasant features of Dortmund's environment are its open natural spaces and extensive green areas. More than half of the city area is devoted to gardens, parks and forests. In many ways, Dortmund's international population and the blend of old and new introduce the visitor to everyday life in twenty-first-century Germany. Two features of Dortmund culture, rooted in its industrial past, still shape its post-modernity: football and beer. Dortmund beer is famous all over the world, as is its football team, Borussia Dortmund. TU Dortmund University's student ticket allows our students to use the transport system of the Ruhr area free of charge, so they can explore this large metropolitan area which offers many exciting cultural activities. More than five million people live in the 53 cities of the Ruhr area, including Dortmund, Bochum, Essen, and Duisburg. The large cities of Cologne and Düsseldorf are nearby, as are the vineyards of the Rhine Valley. The excellent transportation network makes travelling convenient and connects the whole area. Formerly known for mining and heavy industry, the Ruhr area is now sometimes dubbed "Helicon Valley" because of its research in alternative energy sources and its shift to e-commerce and computer-related businesses.
