Zeppelin University

University Bridging Business, Culture, and Politics

©ZU/Florian Gehm

Why ZU?

The major ques­tions that we are fac­ing - both at pre­sent and in the fu­ture - are too com­plex and in­ter­linked to allow for a uni­di­men­sional an­swer. The in­creas­ing so­cial, po­lit­i­cal, eco­nomic, cul­tural, eco­log­i­cal, and me­dial in­ter­link­ing of our world re­quires a place of com­mon dis­course. And the uni­ver­sity is this place. It has a spe­cial func­tion in the 21st cen­tury:

LakeCampus at Seemooser Horn, located right on the shores of Lake Constance.

Foto: ZU/Ilya Mess

It has to be a place where every ques­tion is al­lowed. It has to be a place of free­dom and a place of per­sonal de­vel­op­ment. It has to be a place of in­tel­lec­tual dis­course that brings schol­ars, stu­dents, and so­ci­ety to­gether. It has to be an ac­tive part of so­ci­ety, an im­pact on so­ci­ety, and con­tribute to solv­ing so­cial and so­ci­etal ques­tions. It has to be in­ter­dis­ci­pli­nary, yet at the same time rooted in aca­d­e­mic dis­ci­plines.

This is ex­actly the rea­son why Zep­pelin Uni­ver­sity was founded - and de­lib­er­ately as a foun­da­tion uni­ver­sity. It sets it­self apart as - since its found­ing in 2003 - in­ter­dis­ci­pli­nar­ity has been en­graved into its DNA. Think­ing in a prob­lem- and so­lu­tion-ori­ented way be­tween busi­ness, cul­ture, and pol­i­tics, and not just being stuck in so­cial thought pat­terns and aca­d­e­mic dis­ci­plines opens your per­spec­tive on so­cially rel­e­vant so­lu­tions.

This is the ap­proach that de­fines us here at ZU. To­gether we start out to think be­yond bor­ders. It is a great priv­i­lege to shape this unique ed­u­ca­tional in­sti­tu­tion to­gether with other par­ties. Stu­dents, schol­ars, the ad­min­is­tra­tive staff, and our spon­sors and part­ners all act in con­cert and in open ex­change to fill this idea of our uni­ver­sity with life.

Foto: ZU/Ilya Mess

The role model for our ac­tions is Fer­di­nand Graf von Zep­pelin, after whom we are named. He was a pi­o­neer of avi­a­tion. With his strong will, he held on to his idea of con­quer­ing the skies - even though he faced set­backs. He be­lieved in him­self and in his vi­sion. And he reached his aim:"You only have to want it and be­lieve in it, and then it will suc­ceed." For us, this is more than just a nice-sound­ing sen­tence. It is the maxim that we act on.

It is our main task to offer stu­dents, schol­ars, and mem­bers of staff the unique chance to de­velop their skills in such a way that they are able to reach their own goals and to find so­lu­tions to the chal­lenges of our times. This is the ori­en­ta­tion of all struc­tures and processes of ZU: in­ter­dis­ci­pli­nary, in an in­spir­ing com­mu­nity, with a lot of room for per­sonal de­vel­op­ment, and a great pi­o­neer­ing spirit.

Whether we will be able to an­swer all ques­tions of today and to­mor­row - this is some­thing we are not sure of. Yet, we are sure that we want to try. And if we only want this strongly enough, it will suc­ceed.

Foto: ZU/Ilya Mess