Ranking for Computer Science & Electronics in Hasso Plattner Institute

Facts About Hasso Plattner Institute

The Hasso Plattner Institute (HPI) is a German educational institute focusing exclusively on information technology. The highly specialized institute belongs to the larger system of the University of Potsdam, where it academically functions as an independent Faculty of Digital Engineering.

The HPI focuses on teaching and researching IT systems-engineering and closely related fields. As such, the institute offers a Bachelor's program in IT Systems-Engineering, along with Master's programs in fields such as Digital Health, Data Engineering, and Cybersecurity. All study programs offered by the HPI are tuition-free, and the HPI is the only institute in Germany where students can get a degree in IT Systems-Engineering without paying tuition.

The institute has established a number of research schools for the further development of user-friendly IT products and services. As Europe's first innovation school, the HPI School of Design Thinking provides supplementary training programs, while the HPI Research School offers a PhD program. The HPI also offers various on-campus and online educational opportunities for high school students and working professionals in the fields of design thinking and IT systems engineering. In addition to these, the institute launched openHPI in 2010 to provide MOOCs on a diverse range of topics in information technology and computer science.

The institute was founded in 1998 by Prof. Dr. Hasso Plattner, who also co-founded SAP SE, the largest software company in Europe. To fulfill his vision of an independent faculty for digital engineering at the University of Potsdam, Plattner pushed for the expansion of HPI into the University of Potdam's official Digital Engineering Faculty. The first of its kind in Germany, HPI is currently completely financed through private donations from Plattner.

Today, the HPI continues to focus on academic excellence and research. Education at the institute has a heavy focus on practical application, and students work in small groups supervised by professors. The institute is also committed to the research and practical applications of highly complexed, networked IT systems. As such, the institute maintains facilities such as the HPI Future SOC Lab (with a focus on service-oriented computing) and the HPI Digital Health Center.

The HPI also maintains strong relationships with prominent universities all over the world, such as Stanford University. In cooperation with other universities, the institute has opened a number of international branches for its Research School, with the first branches opening in South Africa (Cape Town University) and Haifa (Technion – Israel Institute of Technology).