International Summer Academy
At the Summer Academy, more than 180 participants from all over the world spend four weeks learning about the German language and culture, getting to know the university and the city of Mannheim and exploring the region. Two thirds of the participants are exchange students who will be spending one or two semesters at the University of Mannheim. They take part in the summer academy to get a first impression of the country and its people and to improve their language skills before the lecture period begins.
The participants come from 49 countries. Most of them are from the United States, China and Egypt, but young people from Guatemala, Turkmenistan, Cuba and the Democratic Republic of the Congo have also come to Mannheim to take part in the Summer Academy. An ambitious and varied program awaits them all: In the mornings, five hours of German lessons on the schedule, in the afternoons the knowledge acquired in the morning can be deepened (voluntarily) in exercises on grammar, phonetics or oral communication, in historical or literary seminars. The students can visit several museums (Kunsthalle, Technoseum, Marchivum). The program is topped off with numerous excursions: On the weekends, they will travel to Heidelberg, Frankfurt and Baden-Baden, among other places.
The “International Summer Academy” is hosted by the International Office of the University of Mannheim, while the “German as a Foreign Language” department of the University of Mannheim Service- und Marketing GmbH is responsible for organizing the language and leisure program.