New academic year begins at the University of the Arts Bremen

On October 5, the University of the Arts Bremen held a ceremony to mark the opening of the 2026/27 winter semester. Rector Prof. Dr. Mirjam Boggasch welcomed 212 new students during the semester welcome event at the gallery on the Dechanatstraße campus. Slightly more than half of the new students are enrolled in the Department of Art and Design. The remaining first-semester students have chosen a music program. In total, over 1,000 musicians and artists from 65 countries are enrolled at the University of the Arts Bremen. About two-thirds of all students belong to the Department of Art and Design. In the current winter semester, 195 faculty members are teaching at the University of the Arts Bremen, including 56 professors. Additional vacant professorships are to be filled over the course of the semester.

Three new female professors were appointed effective October 1; they will enrich teaching at the HfK Bremen with their expertise and extensive experience. In the Department of Art and Design, Prof. Patricia Fernández Carcedo (painting) and Prof. Kerstin Hille (drawing) took up their positions, while Prof. Mayumi Kanagawa assumed the professorship in violin in the Department of Music.

According to Prof. Dr. Mirjam Boggasch, president of the HfK Bremen, it is first and foremost “the students who – each with their own strengths, abilities, and interests, as well as their backgrounds, cultures, and worldviews – together shape the HfK into a place of vibrant and inspiring diversity, while also strengthening it.”

More than 500 of them have come here to Bremen to study at the HfK as international students: “I am impressed by the international character of our student body every semester anew,” said the president.

Birte Skrzypczak from the Office for Equal Opportunity and Gender Equality, as well as the two vice principals, Prof. Alexander Sahoo and Prof. Kilian Schwoon, also introduced themselves at the welcome event; as did the General Student Council (AStA), which, as part of Welcome Week, invited students to various events – such as an International Brunch, a city tour, and the Opening Party – designed to foster interaction and exchange among the new students.

This year’s DAAD award recipient, Colma’ Ní Bhriain (violin, KPA-IGP master’s program), provided the musical performance together with pianist Jiyun Yeon. Following the performance, Ní Bhriain was presented with the DAAD Award. The laudatory address was delivered by Prof. Dr. Florian Edler, Dean or the Department of Music. 

In addition, 16 international students were honored for their outstanding academic achievements as part of the STIBET program. From the Department of Music, Seungmin Baek, Yi-Chi Chan, Yein Kim, Zofia Momot, Mauro Facundo Ortega, Monica Sanguedolce, Mayu Takahashi, and Jintao Zhu were honored, along with eight other students from the Fine Arts program. These include Mojtaba Akbari, Alvin Sihle Inensiko, Yoonyeong Lee, Marina Marcomini, Julia Ribeiro Moretti, Davari Nahal, Jamie Yzabel Santos, and Wie Nie.

The official semester kickoff also marked the start of Welcome Week, during which first-semester students attended additional introductory events in their respective programs—Fine Arts, Integrated Design, Digital Media, and Music—and got to know the university and their fellow students.