Wine Campus Neustadt in the spirit of Franco-German friendship
Around the Franco-German Day on January 22, the Wine Campus Neustadt invited French students from the Franco-German Master's degree program in Viticulture & Enology to Neustadt for two weeks of study together. The aim: to bring students from both countries closer together and thus set an example for Franco-German friendship. However, the coronavirus pandemic decided otherwise: The January event had to be canceled and the lectures held online. Mayor Weigel will therefore only welcome the students from France in the summer semester, as soon as the coronavirus situation allows.
"As German and French students are studying at their respective home universities - the Wine Campus Neustadt and the Université de Haute-Alsace in Colmar - in the first semester of the Master's degree course, we have organized this first meeting so that both groups can get to know each other before the French students come to Neustadt to study together in the summer semester," explains course director Prof. Dr. Maren Scharfenberger-Schmeer. "The time around January 22 seemed particularly suitable to us, as this day is a symbol of Franco-German friendship." The face-to-face events were planned for January 18 to 29, 2021. A supporting program was to enable students to meet outside the university and strengthen the sense of togetherness within the cohort.
Funding from the Franco-German Citizens' Fund
In addition to lectures, laboratory work and excursions, a guided tour of the old town and the historic Schlossgasse in Hambach, a film screening at the Roxy cinema and, last but not least, a welcome by Lord Mayor Marc Weigel at Neustadt Town Hall were also planned. The courses will now take place online and the supporting program, which has received financial support from the newly founded Franco-German Citizens' Fund, has been moved to the summer semester. "I welcome the introduction of the Franco-German courses offered by the Wine Campus Neustadt and, above all, the cooperation with our Alsatian neighbors, as there are many similarities between our two regions, especially in the field of viticulture. Such projects bring us closer together and Europe grows closer. I regret not being able to meet the students in person on the occasion of the Franco-German Day, but I am already looking forward to a catch-up date as soon as the situation allows," emphasizes Lord Mayor Marc Weigel.
Cross-border Master's degree program: applications now open
Anyone interested in the Franco-German Master's in Viticulture & Enology can apply for the winter semester 2021/2022 from now until 15.07.2021. The Franco-German Master's in Viticulture & Enology was launched in September 2020 at the Wine Campus Neustadt and the Université de Haute-Alsace in Colmar as a cross-border degree program. The course, which leads to a double-degree Master of Science, is divided into on-campus phases at both universities and a total of three practical phases, which are completed in wineries in the Upper Rhine region (including Switzerland). Two internships are mandatory in a company and a region of the language being studied. Through their studies and practical projects in two or three countries, students acquire solid language and intercultural skills as well as key competencies such as communication skills, teamwork and flexibility. Language courses are held at the start of the course to prepare students for their stay at the partner university and to enable those with little knowledge of French or German to get started. The course receives funding of 1.5 million euros from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) as part of the Interreg Upper Rhine program. Further information and applications at www.weincampus-neustadt.de.
The next dates:
- 24.02.2021, 13:00-14:30: Digital info day on the degree programs at the Wine Campus Neustadt
- 11.03.2021, 18:00-19:00: Online information event for the German-French Master's in Viticulture & Enology
- 29.04.2021, 13:00-17:00: Info day at the Wine Campus Neustadt
Further information & Registration at www.weincampus-neustadt.de
About the Franco-German Citizens' Fund
The Franco-German C ivic Fund was launched on January 22, 2019 with the Treaty of Aachen by the German and French governments. The Treaty of Aachen is intended to reaffirm and deepen the cooperation between the two countries that began with the Elysée Treaty of 1963. The citizens' fund has a budget of 2.4 million euros and "supports citizens' initiatives and associations, city and regional partnerships, foundations or actors from the social economy, education and science in the service of Franco-German friendship and a vibrant Europe." More information at www.buergerfonds.eu.
About the Franco-German Day
On January 22, 1963, Federal Chancellor Konrad Adenauer and President Charles de Gaulle signed the Elysée Treaty on Franco-German cooperation. The treaty, which was to become one of the most important steps on the road to reconciliation between the former "hereditary enemies", provided for the establishment of the Franco-German Youth Office (FGYO), among other things. 40 years later, in 2003, Federal Chancellor Gerhard Schröder and President Jacques Chirac launched the first Franco-German Day. Every year since then, January 22 has been dedicated to Franco-German friendship. On January 22, 2019, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and President Emmanuel Macron reaffirmed the close cooperation between the two countries with the Treaty of Aachen.