What Hochschule Weihenstephan-Triesdorf does

Hochschule Weihenstephan-Triesdorf (HSWT) is a German public university of applied sciences (Hochschule) founded in 1971 and operating under the jurisdiction of the Free State of Bavaria. The institution is structured around two campuses — Campus Weihenstephan in Freising and Campus Triesdorf in Weidenbach — and is uniquely positioned as Germany's "Grüne Hochschule" (Green University), with 38 degree programs organized across six thematic pillars: Agricultural Sciences, Digitalization & Technology, Nutrition & Food, Ecology & Environmental Planning, Climate & Environmental Protection, and Business & Management. HSWT serves a student body of 5,747 and employs 169 professors, supplemented by research and teaching infrastructure including the 57-hectare Weihenstephaner Gärten research gardens and the Promotionszentrum Sustainable Land Use Systems (SusLand), which since 2024 has conferred the institution's first independent right to award doctorates.

The university's business model is built on public higher education funding from the Bavarian state rather than tuition revenue — HSWT charges no tuition fees, only a per-semester contribution covering student transport and services. Revenue diversification comes through continuing-education certificates (Weiterbildung & Zertifikatskurse), dual study partnerships with industry (Verbundstudium, Studium mit vertiefter Praxis), cooperative master's programs with HfWU Nürtingen-Geislingen and Hochschule Ansbach, and third-party research funding via BayWISS joint doctorates and partnerships such as LfL Bayern and curiocity. Student recruitment is conducted through an event-driven and sales-supported GTM motion, leveraging open enrollment with defined application windows, on-campus information days, online info talks, education fairs, and a centralized MyCampus application portal integrated with hochschulstart.de.

HSWT's customer base is segmented into two groups: prospective university students seeking practice-oriented sustainability-focused degrees (the primary segment), and industry/practice partners in agriculture, food, energy, environmental technology, and horticulture engaging via dual study models, applied research, and graduate recruitment. The institution maintains an active marketing presence across website content, social media (Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn), virtual info sessions, education fairs, school-counselor referral, and a career service that connects students to employers through the Hochschuljobbörse job board and events such as Triesdorf Connect.

Name

Hochschule Weihenstephan-Triesdorf

Legal name

Hochschule Weihenstephan-Triesdorf

Website

https://hswt.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1971

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Hochschule Weihenstephan-Triesdorf is a Bavarian public university of applied sciences specializing in Green Engineering Sciences, serving ~5,747 students across two campuses in Freising and Triesdorf via 38 degree programs and applied research funded primarily by the Free State of Bavaria.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Freising

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Public Higher Education Funding: State-funded university financed primarily by the German state of Bavaria (Freistaat Bayern). Revenue is derived from government allocations for teaching, research, and infrastructure rather than tuition fees.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Hochschule Weihenstephan-Triesdorf is a German university of applied sciences that delivers practice-oriented bachelor, master, and continuing-education degree programs in agricultural sciences, food and nutrition, biotechnology, horticulture, environmental and climate engineering, digitalization, and renewable energy. It supplements teaching with applied research and doctoral training through the Promotionszentrum Sustainable Land Use Systems, dual-study partnerships with industry, and the Weihenstephaner Gärten research gardens.

Product overview

Hochschule Weihenstephan-Triesdorf (HSWT) is a German university of applied sciences specializing in Green Engineering Sciences. The institution offers a unified portfolio of academic programs and research services organized around six thematic pillars: Agricultural Sciences, Digitalization & Technology, Nutrition & Food, Ecology & Environmental Planning, Climate & Environmental Protection, and Business & Management. The core educational offerings consist of Bachelor and Master degree programs across both German and English instruction, supplemented by continuing education certificate courses targeting professionals and organizations. Research infrastructure includes the Promotionszentrum Sustainable Land Use Systems (independent doctoral granting authority established 2024), the Weihenstephaner Gärten research gardens, and participation in BayWISS cooperative doctoral programs. Student support services encompass the MyCampus administrative portal, Moodle learning management system, Career Service with job board integration, International Office for exchange programs, and general academic advisory services distributed across two campuses in Weihenstephan (Freising) and Triesdorf (Weidenbach).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Grüne Hochschule: The Grüne Hochschule (Green University) branding emphasizing sustainable education and research in life sciences

Products and services

• Bachelor Degree Programs (Bachelorstudiengänge)
• Master Degree Programs (Masterstudiengänge)
• Continuing Education and Certificate Courses (Weiterbildung & Zertifikatskurse)
• Promotionszentrum Sustainable Land Use Systems (Doctoral Program)
• BayWISS Cooperative Doctoral Program (Verbundpromotion)
• Weihenstephan Gardens Research Center (Forschungszentrum Weihenstephaner Gärten)

Quantifiable outcome

• 5,747 students enrolled across 38 degree programs with a top-5 ranking among German universities in the 5,000–15,000 student category (StudyCheck Awards)

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration7 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• curiocityminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 16 February 2026HSWT and curiocity announced a cooperation on February 16, 2026, likely related to innovation or research collaboration.
• Promotionszentrum Sustainable Land Use Systems (SusLand)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 July 2024Established on July 1, 2024, the Promotionszentrum Sustainable Land Use Systems is an HSWT-internal research center that received its own right to confer doctoral degrees, enabling direct doctorates at HSWT without university cooperation.
• BayWISS – Bayerisches Wissenschaftsforum (Verbundkolleg Life Sciences und Grüne Technologien)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHSWT is a member of BayWISS and hosts the Verbundkolleg Life Sciences und Grüne Technologien. BayWISS facilitates joint doctorates across Bavarian universities of applied sciences and state universities, providing networking and qualification programs.
• Hochschule für Wirtschaft und Umwelt Nürtingen-Geislingen (HfWU)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCooperative partner for the International Master of Landscape Architecture (IMLA) program, which is jointly run by HSWT and HfWU. Applications are submitted through the IMLA campus portal.
• Hochschule AnsbachminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPartner institution for the Master program in Energiemanagement & Energietechnik at Campus Triesdorf. Applications are processed through Hochschule Ansbach's portal.
• Bayerisches Staatsministerium für Wissenschaft und KunstcoreOthersState ministry that granted HSWT its independent right to confer doctoral degrees (Promotionsrecht) in 2024, and provides ongoing state funding for teaching and research activities.
• LfL – Landesanstalt für Landwirtschaft BayernminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Bavarian State Research Center for Agriculture is a regular research and event partner. HSWT and LfL collaborate on projects such as sheep wool value chains and present together at the Bavarian Landtag on digitalization in agriculture.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Hochschule Ansbach: A Bavarian university of applied sciences with engineering and energy management programs. Directly comparable as a German Hochschule focused on applied sciences, and an active HSWT partner running the joint Energiemanagement & Energietechnik master's program.
• Hochschule für Wirtschaft und Umwelt NfGU NfGU NfGU NfGU NfGU NfGU NfGU Nürtingen-Geislingen (HfWU): A German university of applied sciences also focused on agriculture, environment, and landscape. Directly comparable in institutional type, geographic focus (Baden-Württemberg), and program scope. HSWT and HfWU jointly run the International Master of Landscape Architecture program.
• Fachhochschule Kiel / University of Applied Sciences Kiel: Another German university of applied sciences with agriculture-related programs. Comparable institutional type, applied science focus, and German regulatory framework, providing overlap in green and agricultural degree offerings.
• Hochschule Anhalt: A German university of applied sciences with strong agriculture, landscape architecture, and food technology programs at its Bernburg campus. Comparable in institutional type and direct overlap in green engineering and agricultural sciences.
• Hochschule Rhein-Waal: A German university of applied sciences with faculties of Agriculture and Life Sciences and a focus on practical, sustainability-oriented programs. Comparable institutional type and significant overlap in green engineering, agriculture, and biotechnology programs.
• Hochschule Osnabrück: A German university of applied sciences with a notable Faculty of Agricultural Sciences and Landscape Architecture. Comparable in institutional type (Hochschule), applied science orientation, and direct overlap in agricultural and landscape programs.

Broad incumbents

• Technische Universität München (TUM): A leading German technical university with the TUM School of Life Sciences in Weihenstephan, sharing the same campus site as HSWT. While a full university with significantly broader scope and larger research footprint, TUM directly competes for talent and research funding in overlapping green and life science domains.
• Universität Hohenheim: One of Germany's oldest and most prominent agricultural universities, located in Stuttgart. Strongly comparable to HSWT in its focus on agricultural, food, and life sciences, but operates as a full university rather than a university of applied sciences and has a significantly larger research and enrollment footprint.
• Wageningen University & Research: Netherlands-based global leader in agricultural, food, and environmental sciences with strong applied research orientation. Comparable in core thematic focus, but operates at significantly larger scale and international scope than HSWT.

Regional players

• BOKU University (Universität für Bodenkultur Wien): Austrian university focused on renewable resources, agricultural sciences, and life sciences. Highly comparable in thematic focus on green and life sciences, but operates in a different (Austrian) market and serves a different regulatory jurisdiction.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCNZw_56nDd1ygRJ4JzIFaLw
• Facebookfacebook.com/hswt.de
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/hswt
• Instagraminstagram.com/hswt.de/?hl=de

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Hochschule Weihenstephan-Triesdorf