About the FOM
History of the FOM
Everything started in 1994 with 150 first year students in a business administration course. Today, a total of about 18,000 students attend the FOM Hochschule für Oekonomie & Management University of Applied Sciences and successfully combine their study with working or completing an apprenticeship.
The FOM was founded in 1993 by the Essen Employer’s Association, the Essen Retail Association, the Essen Association of Wholesale and Foreign Trade and by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Essen, Mülheim and Oberhausen. FOM is a non-profit organisation. The founding institutions represent important enterprises in energy supply, retail and services, chemical and glass production and the metal and electrical industries – from medium sized private companies to global players. By now the FOM has become one of the biggest private universities in Germany with headquarters in Essen and study centres in Luxembourg and 21 German cities: Berlin, Bochum, Bonn, Bremen, Cologne, Dortmund, Duisburg, Duesseldorf, Essen, Frankfurt, Guetersloh, Hamburg, Leipzig, Mannheim, Marl, Munich, Nuremberg, Neuss, Siegen, Stuttgart and Wuppertal.
The FOM specialises in offering part-time courses to working people; with focus on practical experience the FOM encourages the knowledge transfer between universities and companies.
All academic degrees awarded by the FOM are officially recognised and accredited by the government: In 2006 the Bachelor and MBA programmes have been successfully accredited by the FIBAA, one of the leading academic accreditation institutions. Furthermore the “Wissenschaftsrat”, the Federal Council of Science, has accredited the FOM as a university of applied sciences in 2004.
The guiding principle of the FOMWith its offer of studying while working or completing an apprenticeship, the FOM sees itself as a completion to the German university landscape. By creating study conditions that are not only adequate for the target group but also flexible, the university provides the employees with many chances for further development while allowing the companies to adjust to the requirements that result from the demographic development and the increased demand for qualified employees.
The main research and development focus of the FOM is in the areas of career- and education research, contributions to competence development in SMEs, taxation law issues as well as institute economic analyses. Research results are incorporated into what is taught at the university.
The courses on offer are only attractive for employees and companies alike when high quality of teaching and research is complemented by an adaption of the organisational framework of study on-campus to the special circumstances of working at the same time. This also includes course fees that are affordable for employees studying independent of a company.
With its offer of studying while working or completing an apprenticeship, the FOM sees itself as a completion to the German university landscape. By creating study conditions that are not only adequate for the target group but also flexible, the university provides the employees with many chances for further development while allowing the companies to adjust to the requirements that result from the demographic development and the increased demand for qualified employees.
The main research and development focus of the FOM is in the areas of career- and education research, contributions to competence development in SMEs, taxation law issues as well as institute economic analyses. Research results are incorporated into what is taught at the university.
The courses on offer are only attractive for employees and companies alike when high quality of teaching and research is complemented by an adaption of the organisational framework of study on-campus to the special circumstances of working at the same time. This also includes course fees that are affordable for employees studying independent of a company.