Overview
- The rector of Otto‑von‑Guericke‑Universität Magdeburg, Jens Strackeljan, said Friday he is open to debating modest, targeted fees for services aimed at international students but has not proposed a formal policy.
- Magdeburg hosts about 5,500 international students out of roughly 13,000, with many from India and some engineering courses made up almost entirely of non‑German students.
- Over the past two to three years the university has expanded structured support—German language classes, internship placement and employer networks—to help internationals access regional and European jobs.
- Strackeljan says those programs are costly to scale and suggested small fees together with contributions from companies or partners could help sustain them while he remains highly skeptical of broad tuition in Sachsen‑Anhalt.
- His comments highlight a wider choice for Germany because most other countries charge non‑EU tuition, demand for study in Germany stays high, and the issue could resurface in the political debate after the state election.