Hochschule Nordhausen University of Applied Sciences

What Hochschule Nordhausen University of Applied Sciences does

Hochschule Nordhausen University of Applied Sciences (Hochschule Nordhausen) is a public German university founded in 1998 and located in Nordhausen, Thuringia, Germany. The institution delivers internationally oriented, practice-focused degree programs, consistent with the German Hochschule model of applied higher education. Its headcount sits in the 51–100 range, and it operates as a state institution under the governance framework of German universities of applied sciences, with primary funding derived from public higher education budgets in Thuringia.

The university's most distinctive documented output is a free, modular self-study course on the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF), distributed as Open Educational Resources (OER). The course comprises five basic modules, five advanced modules, and twelve case-study modules, built with accessibility features including barrier-free fonts, high-contrast colors, and easy-language content. It was co-developed with the University of Erfurt, with input from students and people with disabilities, and funded by the eTeach Network Thuringia. There is no commercial product portfolio beyond this educational offering, and no indication of proprietary technology platforms, paid tiers, or commercial licensing.

Commercially, the institution does not operate a revenue-generating product business; instead, its economics are those of a publicly funded academic body. The OER ICF course is provided free of charge, supported through grant-style funding from regional educational networks. Its target users are students, disability advocates, and practitioners who need accessible training on the ICF framework, and it is delivered through online self-serve channels without traditional go-to-market infrastructure.

Name

Hochschule Nordhausen University of Applied Sciences

Legal name

Hochschule Nordhausen University of Applied Sciences

Website

https://hs-nordhausen.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1998

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Hochschule Nordhausen is a public German university of applied sciences in Thuringia offering practice-oriented degree programs and developing free Open Educational Resources, notably an accessible ICF self-study course for disability and health classification.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Higher Education

NAICS

Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (6113)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Online/Hybrid Lifelong Learning Platforms & Open Enrollment Programs (EDAAAEAL)

akta.pro secondary industry

Online Healthcare & Nursing Universities (Allied Health, RN-to-BSN, etc.) (EDAHALAF)

Keywords

• Higher education
• Applied sciences
• Open educational resources
• Disability studies training
• Self-study courses

Headquarters

HQ city

Nordhausen

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Public Higher Education Funding: As a German University of Applied Sciences (Hochschule), the institution is primarily funded through public/government funding rather than direct revenue generation from educational services. The ICF course is provided free of charge as Open Educational Resources.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

Hochschule Nordhausen University of Applied Sciences provides internationally oriented, practice-based degree programs and is publicly funded as a German Hochschule. Its most clearly evidenced specific deliverable is a free, modular self-study course on the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF), distributed online as Open Educational Resources (OER) and developed in collaboration with the University of Erfurt and the eTeach Network Thuringia.

Product overview

Hochschule Nordhausen University of Applied Sciences offers educational programs and resources. The primary offering identified is the ICF Self-Study Course — a modular Open Educational Resource developed collaboratively with the University of Erfurt. The course consists of three module tiers: five basic modules, five advanced modules, and twelve case-study modules, designed with accessibility features including barrier-free fonts, high-contrast colors, and easy-language content.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• ICF Self-Study Course (International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health)

Named customers2 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• eTeach Network ThuringiacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 5 March 2026eTeach Network Thuringia funded the development of the free ICF self-study course as Open Educational Resources. This represents a core funding and strategic partnership for educational resource development in the Thuringia region.
• University of ErfurtcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 5 March 2026Professor Sandra Neumann from University of Erfurt and Professor Andreas Seidel from Nordhausen University collaboratively developed the ICF course. Joint development of educational content with academic partner.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• FH Joanneum: Austrian University of Applied Sciences with comparable applied-sciences orientation, similar size, and overlapping health and social-work programs; operates in Austria rather than Germany but is structurally analogous.

Direct peers

• Technische Hochschule Deggendorf: Bavarian Hochschule recognized for Open Educational Resources initiatives; comparable German applied-sciences institution actively producing OER for online distribution, similar in mission and delivery model.
• University of Erfurt: Co-development partner on the ICF OER course; a Thuringia-based public university of comparable scale, offering degree programs and educational resources with a similar regional and applied-science profile.
• ZHAW Zurich University of Applied Sciences: Swiss University of Applied Sciences with comparable applied-sciences profile, health and social work programs, and active OER/open teaching initiatives; serves a different geography but matches Nordhausen's role and structure closely.
• Hochschule für Gesundheit Bochum: German state-funded University of Applied Sciences specializing in health professions and disability-related disciplines; directly comparable in size and applied-science focus, with overlapping content domains in ICF-relevant health and social care education.
• OTH Regensburg (Ostbayerische Technische Hochschule Regensburg): Bavarian Hochschule with a comparable applied-science profile to Nordhausen; operates public-facing educational programs and resources in a similar institutional context.
• FH Münster (Münster University of Applied Sciences): Large German Hochschule with social work, health, and disability studies programs; comparable in scale, applied-science orientation, and content overlap with Nordhausen's ICF work.

Broad incumbents

• Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin: Larger German academic medical center with extensive educational and training offerings overlapping Nordhausen's health/disability content domain, but operating at significantly greater scale and with a research-hospital focus rather than applied-sciences orientation.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Hochschule Nordhausen University of Applied Sciences