Robert Bosch United World College: Difference between revisions

UWC Robert Bosch College (RBC) is a private secondary boarding school in Freiburg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is the sixth-newest member of the United World Colleges (UWC) movement, one of eighteen colleges around the world, having started accepting students in September 2014.^[1] The mission of the UWC movement and of the school is to “make education a force to unite people, nations and cultures for peace and a sustainable future”.^[2] The college follows the International Baccalaureate (IB) curriculum, covering the two final years of high school.^[3]

The student body of around 200 students is selected by over 140 national committees worldwide, who review the applications and invite students for interviews and/or selection weekends.^[4] Each year group, divided between first years and second years, consists of about 100 students. Approximately 25% of the student body are from Germany and the other 75% are from other countries. The international student body consists of around 90 nationalities, with a diversity of religious and socio-economic backgrounds. Thanks to a wide network of sponsors and supporters and a need-based scholarship program, the national committees can select students irrespective of the financial situation of their parents. At UWC Robert Bosch College, 65% of the students receive a full scholarship, 30% are on partial scholarship, and the remaining students are self-funded.^[5]

The college’s fully residential campus is located on the newly refurbished Freiburg Charterhouse, a former Carthusian monastery dating to the 14th century.^[6] The students are housed in modernist and minimalistic cube-shaped student houses, which were designed by architect Peter Kulka and follow the city of Freiburg’s energy-efficient standards. The houses are sustainable and are powered by energy from solar panels. The student village consists of eight student houses and four houses for teachers. The student houses accommodates around 24 students. All houses are equipped with kitchens with common supplies, living room with tables, washing and drying machines, 4 bathrooms, and a storage room.

The school places a particular emphasis on environmental issues. As part of the school’s educational program, students are grapple with how technology can contribute to sustainable development and peace”.^[7]

The school is named after German industrialist Robert Bosch, founder of the Robert Bosch GmbH. The company and the Robert Bosch Stiftung foundation contributed around 45 million Euros to the project.^[8] Together with Deutsche Stiftung UWC, the Robert Bosch Stiftung is a big shareholder of the school.
Additional significant support comes from Land Baden-Württemberg, B. Braun Melsungen AG, Stadt Freiburg, Adelhausenstiftung Freiburg, the Eugen-Martin-Stiftung as well as many other individual sponsors.