Promotion of top-class sport

Dual Career - Top-Level Sports and Studies Are Compatible in Hamburg

In 2002, all state universities in a federal state joined the adh contractual framework "Partner Universities of Elite Sports" (Partnerhochschulen des Spitzensports) for the first time, and the first position for a full-time staff member for this role was created at a German university. With this contract, the signing universities commit to addressing the specific support needs of student athletes to successfully manage a "dual career" in competitive sports and academic education.

A significant amount of time and organizational effort is required to achieve peak sports performance. Competitive sports are generally pursued during the life phase when the foundational qualifications for a future professional career are established. Numerous challenges arise regarding the compatibility of both life areas. Therefore, the adh initiated the "Partner University of Elite Sports" project in 1999 with various partners to mitigate specific disadvantages faced by athletes dealing with these dual challenges. Local cooperation partners—typically the adh, universities, Olympic training centers, student unions, and sports federations—enable students to successfully complete their academic training despite the high time demands of elite sports.

The participating universities in Hamburg support student athletes from the Hamburg/Schleswig-Holstein Olympic Training Center who hold a squad (Kader) status within their legal possibilities and offer a variety of measures for study flexibility in close collaboration with the career counseling of the Olympic Training Center.

Elite Sports Quota in Hamburg

The elite sports quota regulates the preferential enrollment for designated elite athletes for study places allocated in the state internal admission process. Up to 2% of available study places can be awarded to athletes who belong to the national squad (Kader) for a sport supported by the Hamburg/Schleswig-Holstein Olympic Training Center, thus binding them to Hamburg or Kiel as their study location. Proof of membership in the national squad must be provided through a certificate from the Hamburg/Schleswig-Holstein Olympic Training Center.

The following universities in Hamburg are partner universities of elite sports:

Uni Hamburg
Contacts for student athletes at Hochschulsport Hamburg, as the central service facility for all Hamburg universities, are:

Jörg Förster                                                   Patrice Giron
Managing Director HSP                                Competitive Sports
Tel: +49 40 42838-7869                               Tel: +49 178 833 55 43

The most important partner is the Hamburg/Schleswig-Holstein Olympic Training Center with its career counseling services.