Hochschule Bremen and UMLP launch a new double degree programme in Business Administration/International Management

Hochschule Bremen (HSB) – City University of Applied Sciences, Germany, and Marie and Louis Pasteur University (UMLP), France, both partners in STARS EU, will launch a new academic collaboration within the Business Administration/International Management (BIM) degree programme, which will enable the development of a double degree programme between the two institutions.

Thanks to this agreement, students will be able to complete their studies following the so-called “two-plus-two” model: four semesters in Bremen and four at the partner university abroad, allowing them to obtain two official bachelor’s degrees.

The collaboration will take place within the framework of STARS EU, of which both universities are members alongside seven other European institutions. With UMLP joining the BIM programme as a new partner university, STARS EU moves closer to one of its key objectives: promoting joint degrees and greater academic integration across Europe.

“We are delighted to welcome UMLP as another strong partner university to the BIM network,” says programme director Leena Pundt. “This collaboration strengthens our international profile and opens up further attractive opportunities for our students to gain a truly binational education.”

Powerful linguistic approach

Julie Beugnot, professor and programme director at the French university, explained that UMLP has been working for several years to internationalise its academic offer. The university’s proximity to the German border, together with the existence of an ABIBAC double qualification programme (German Abitur and French Baccalauréat) at one of the largest secondary schools in Besançon, played a decisive role in UMLP’s decision to establish a double degree with HSB.

Ulrich Krüger, professor in the BIM degree programme and responsible for negotiating the new double degree agreement with UMLP, highlighted the importance of finding a partner university capable of helping further develop the integrated international programme. “As a member of the STARS EU alliance, UMLP is an ideal institution for offering a multilingual Franco-German double degree,” he said.

For her part, Célia Berger-Tarare (UMLP), who negotiated the agreement on behalf of the French university, explained that professors from both institutions already maintained strong links in research as well as in short-term training programmes. “We needed to build on this momentum through a long-term collaboration that would also involve students,” she noted.

This new partnership not only expands the international exchange opportunities available through the double degree programme but also brings the alliance closer to its main objective: facilitating joint study programmes throughout Europe. At the same time, it strengthens the programme’s distinctive language-based approach, as students will complete their studies bilingually in German and French while also receiving additional training in English, providing them with the foundation for a trilingual international career.