What Volkshochschule Arnstadt-Ilmenau does

Volkshochschule Arnstadt-Ilmenau is a public adult education institution (Volkshochschule) serving the Ilm-Kreis district in Thuringia, Germany, operating under the supervision of the Landratsamt Ilm-Kreis. The institution provides continuing education across eight core program categories — languages (A1–C2), health and wellness, culture, professional/IT skills, school-leaving qualifications, basic education, the vhs Akademie lecture series, and the Junge vhs youth programs — supplemented by Pflegekurse (caregiver courses) and the talentCAMPus holiday program. Course delivery combines in-person instruction at five physical locations (Arnstadt headquarters, Ilmenau, Stadtilm, Großbreitenbach, Gräfenroda) with asynchronous online learning and webinars through the vhs.Cloud platform. The web presence and registration infrastructure are built on a TYPO3-based system supplied by Kufer Software Konzeption.

The organization's revenue model combines per-course transaction fees (ranging from approximately €20 for short workshops to €150+ for multi-session courses) with public subsidies from the district/municipal authority. Course fees are calibrated to course type and duration, with select health courses (e.g., Hatha-Yoga, Life Kinetik) eligible for partial reimbursement through statutory health insurance providers. The customer base is a horizontally segmented long-tail of individual learners — general adults, children/youth through Junge vhs, seniors, and professional caregivers — with no enterprise or B2B anchor customers. Gift vouchers serve as a referral-style gifting channel.

Effective January 1, 2026, the institution rebranded to Volkshochschule Ilm-Kreis to reflect its district-wide service area, accompanied by a revised charter (Satzung) and a new Benutzungs- und Entgeltordnung that updated cancellation terms and discount conditions. The five-employee operational core relies on a broader network of freelance course instructors (Kursleitende) and institutional partners — including the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung, BürgerKraft Thüringen eG, Stadtbibliothek Arnstadt, and Direkt e.V. — to deliver specialized programming in sustainability, youth development, and creative education.

Name

Volkshochschule Arnstadt-Ilmenau

Legal name

Volkshochschule Ilm-Kreis

Website

https://vhs-arnstadt-ilmenau.de

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Volkshochschule Arnstadt-Ilmenau is a public adult education institution serving the Ilm-Kreis district in Thuringia, Germany, offering language, health, culture, professional, and youth continuing education courses across five physical locations and the vhs.Cloud online platform, funded by district subsidies and course fees.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Adult and Community Education

NAICS

Other Schools and Instruction (6116), Educational Services (611), Language Schools (611630)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Lifelong Learning Institutes (Osher/OLLI-style) & Senior Academies (EDAAAMAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Language & Communication Continuing Education (EDAAAEAF)

Keywords

• Adult education courses
• Language courses
• Community education
• Continuing education
• Online learning

Headquarters

HQ city

Arnstadt

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Course Enrollment Fees: Fee-based continuing education courses. Participants pay course fees ranging from approximately €20 to €150+ depending on course type, duration, and number of sessions. Discounts may be available for certain participant groups.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Volkshochschule Arnstadt-Ilmenau is a public adult education center (Volkshochschule) serving the Ilm-Kreis district in Thuringia, Germany. It delivers fee-based continuing education courses across languages, health, culture, professional development, IT, school-leaving qualifications and basic education, delivered both in-person at multiple venues and online through the vhs.Cloud platform.

Product overview

Volkshochschule Arnstadt-Ilmenau (becoming Volkshochschule Ilm-Kreis in January 2026) operates as a community education center offering a diverse portfolio of adult education courses. The organization functions as a single unified platform comprising an online learning portal (vhs.Cloud) alongside traditional in-person courses across multiple categories: languages (with courses from A1 to C2 levels), health/wellness (yoga, Pilates, fitness), culture (art, music, dance), professional/IT skills, and youth programs (Junge vhs, talentCAMPus). Additional offerings include care courses (Pflegekurse), academy events (vhs Akademie), and gift vouchers. Course delivery modes include in-person instruction at multiple locations, online courses, and hybrid webinar formats through the vhs.Cloud platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Sprachkurse (Language Courses) Language courses covering multiple languages including German, English, French, Spanish, Italian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Arabic, and Russian at various CEFR proficiency levels from A1 to C2, offered to adult learners in Arnstadt and Ilmenau.
• Gesundheitskurse (Health and Wellness Courses) Health and wellness courses including Hatha-Yoga, Pilates, Rückenfit (back exercises), water fitness, Life Kinetik, and other exercise programs, with selected courses qualifying for partial reimbursement through statutory health insurance providers.
• Kulturkurse (Cultural Courses) Cultural courses including painting, drawing, watercolor, acrylic, mixed-media, ceramics, felting, calligraphy, music, dance, and textile crafts, offered to adults at vhs locations and external venues.
• Beruf / IT Kurse (Professional and IT Courses) Professional and IT courses covering computer basics, internet usage, smartphone operation, and digital skills training aimed at adult learners seeking practical digital literacy.
• Pflegekurse (Caregiver Courses) Specialized training courses for professional and family caregivers, offered at locations in Arnstadt and Ilmenau with Dirk Schenke as the designated contact person.
• vhs.Cloud Online Learning Platform Online learning platform enabling remote course participation and webinars for students enrolled in vhs courses, providing accessibility for participants unable to attend in-person classes.
• Digitales Lernen (Online Courses) Category of online courses offered asynchronously, allowing learners to access educational content remotely via the vhs.Cloud platform and other digital formats.
• Junge vhs (Youth Programs) Programs specifically designed for children and teenagers, including language courses, art workshops, and sports activities for young learners aged approximately 7-18.
• talentCAMPus Holiday program for children and teenagers offering creative and educational activities during school breaks, including courses such as the Comic Attack - Manga zeichnen program for youth aged 12-18.
• vhs Akademie Academy program featuring lectures, guided tours, readings, and other cultural and educational events for adult learners.
• Kurs-Gutscheine (Course Gift Vouchers) Gift vouchers available for purchase at both Arnstadt and Ilmenau offices, allowing recipients to choose any course offered by the Volkshochschule.

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Direkt e.V. ArnstadtminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNon-profit organization partnering with vhs for the Comic Attack - Manga zeichnen talentCAMPus holiday program for youth aged 12-18. Provides support and venue access for the creative youth education initiative.
• Stadt- und Kreisbibliothek ArnstadtminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPublic library partnering with vhs for the Comic Attack - Manga zeichnen program, contributing resources and venue support for youth creative education.
• Heinrich-Böll-StiftungcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPolitical foundation and environmental organization partnering with vhs for the Selbstbauworkshop Photovoltaik (DIY photovoltaics workshop). Supports sustainable energy education and citizen participation in the energy transition.
• Netzwerk Nachhaltiges IlmenaucoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSustainability network in Ilmenau partnering with vhs for photovoltaics workshops. Supports local energy transition and sustainable development initiatives through educational programming.
• BürgerKraft Thüringen eGcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThuringian citizen energy cooperative partnering with vhs for photovoltaics workshops. Enables community participation in renewable energy through collaborative educational workshops.
• Landratsamt Ilm-KreiscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDistrict administration (Landratsamt) serves as supervisory authority for the Volkshochschule, providing public funding oversight and institutional governance.
• Kufer Software KonzeptioncoreTechnology or IntegrationSoftware provider delivering the TYPO3-based website and course management system (WebBasys). Handles technical implementation, web hosting, and software maintenance for the vhs online presence and registration infrastructure.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• VHS Hannover: Hanover region Volkshochschule offering parallel continuing education programs in languages, health, culture, and basic education under municipal supervision. Comparable scale and program mix.
• Volkshochschule Frankfurt am Main: Frankfurt Volkshochschule with similar multi-channel delivery (in-person plus online) and a comparable adult education portfolio including Sprachkurse, Gesundheitskurse, and Berufliche Bildung.
• Volkshochschule Köln: Cologne municipal Volkshochschule delivering comparable continuing education programs across languages, health, culture, and professional categories with online and in-person formats.
• VHS Nürnberg: Nuremberg Volkshochschule operating the same public adult education model with equivalent course categories, online platform (vhs.Cloud), and target audiences including seniors, youth, and working adults.
• Münchner Volkshochschule: Largest municipal Volkshochschule in Germany offering a comparable portfolio of language, health, culture, professional, and basic education courses. Operates as a public adult education center under the same Volkshochschule model as Volkshochschule Arnstadt-Ilmenau.
• Volkshochschule Düsseldorf: Düsseldorf Volkshochschule delivering the standard municipal adult education portfolio including integration courses, language training, and continuing professional development. Same operating model and target audience.
• Berliner Volkshochschulen: Network of Berlin Volkshochschulen delivering community adult education programs across multiple districts. Shares the same publicly funded, broad-spectrum adult education mission and curriculum categories as the subject institution.
• Volkshochschule Stuttgart: Stuttgart municipal Volkshochschule offering parallel programs in languages, health, culture, professional development, and school qualifications. Directly comparable operating model and course structure to Arnstadt-Ilmenau.
• Hamburger Volkshochschule: Hamburg's public adult education provider offering the standard Volkshochschule program spectrum from A1-C2 languages to integration courses and professional training. Operates under the same public-supervision model.

Broad incumbents

• Deutscher Volkshochschul-Verband (DVV): National umbrella organization for all German Volkshochschulen, providing shared infrastructure (including vhs.Cloud platform used by the subject institution), curriculum standards, and political advocacy. Operates broader portfolio but enables the underlying operating model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/Volkshochschule-Arnstadt-Ilmenau-372507326097286
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/volkshochschule-arnstadt-ilmenau

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 Volkshochschule Arnstadt-Ilmenau