Education is a competitive advantage. In Kreuzlingen, that’s a long known fact. The first town in Switzerland today offers an excellent choice of educational institutions, from the English kindergarten to the Elite Sports School and the University for Teacher Training.
A first-rate education needs good teachers. One of the first teacher’s colleges in Switzerland opened in Kreuzlingen as early as 1833. The oldest educational institution in the Canton of Thurgau has since become an A-level college with basic training in educational science, one of five of its kind in Thurgau.
A leader in e-learning!
Prospective primary school teachers study at the Pädagogische Hochschule Thurgau in Kreuzlingen – the canton’s
first university of teacher training that was inaugurated in 2004. As well as teacher training, other mainstays of the university concept are research and further education, while new media and e-learning are its beacon. The media center not only enhances teaching and learning at the university with innovative e-learning concepts, it also supports schools with smart ideas for using new media and has already made a name for itself throughout Switzerland. Podcasts, multimedia info boards and online examinations or digital learning games are just some of the many software and e-learning solutions that students at the university develop and tailor to individual schools, local authorities and companies.
Science and education across borders
As Constance University and the University of Applied Sciences in Constance are not far away (Constance was once even close to joining the Swiss Confederacy), they also count as Thurgau educational institutions. Both universities are becoming increasingly popular among students from Thurgau and their graduates are sought-after employees in companies throughout the region.
National borders do not just segregate but can also be an incentive for a special kind of cooperation, as two scientific institutes that are linked to the Constance universities but located in Kreuzlingen prove: The Biotechnology Institute conducts fundamental immunological research at the highest level, while the Thurgau Institute of Economics is dedicated to economic research and develops training concepts for banks and SMEs. What both have in common is their emphasis on application-related research. This makes them innovation hotbeds that relate to and benefit the economy directly.
Capturing synergies, fostering innovation
This is also the goal of the International University of Lake Constance (IBH) with headquarters in Kreuzlingen. The IBH is a unique amalgamation of 25 universities from 4 countries in the region of Lake Constance. The close cooperation between the universities across national borders has spawned numerous innovative training and educational concepts. In the area of teaching and research, the IBH enhances the attractiveness of the entire region of Lake Constance as a location for science and education.
Schools with a profile
Kreuzlingen is also home to several private schools: At the Rudolf-Steiner School, Swiss and German children learn together according to the Waldorf concept. For pupils with a talent for sports, the National Elite Sports School in Thurgau combines tuition with training. And the International School Kreuzlingen- Konstanz holds its lessons in English from the word go.
The oldest distance learning school in Switzerland is also based in Kreuzlingen: The Onken Institute offers distance
learning courses in technology and information technology and can look back on almost 100 years of teaching experience. Which takes us back to the topic of tradition in education. Kreuzlingen has a long history of teaching. The number of educational institutions has increased in recent years and is still growing, helping to make the town fit for the future as an attractive center for education.
Andrea Scheurlen
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