New courses at the University of Hamburg: The future meets climate research!

New courses at the University of Hamburg: The future meets climate research!

The University of Hamburg will be presenting an extensive range of new study programs in the 2025 winter semester. A total of more than 180 degree programs are offered, which are regularly adapted to the current requirements and challenges of science. Seven new bachelor's and master's degree programs are starting this semester, with a particular focus on interdisciplinary climate research and artificial intelligence (AI).

One of the notable innovations is the bachelor's degree in "Earth System Physics", which is the first completely English-taught course of its kind to be introduced at the university. It replaces the previous “Geophysics/Oceanography” degree program and integrates disciplines such as geophysics, oceanography and meteorology to give students comprehensive insights into climate research. Another important course of study is the integrated bachelor's degree in law, where students automatically receive a bachelor's degree if they fulfill the module requirements. This makes preparing for the state examination much easier, as the academic degree is obtained before the state examinations.

Focus on interdisciplinary approaches

The new partial teaching courses, which cover Alevi, Islamic and Catholic religions, focus on promoting interreligious dialogue skills. The goal is to prepare future teachers for intercultural interaction in increasingly diverse classes. The master’s program “Intellectics: The Science of AI” is also offered, which combines data engineering and computer science with philosophy, ethics and logic, making it a first in Germany.

Climate research is currently experiencing a revolution through the use of AI technologies. Researchers use AI to improve climate models and accurately predict future climate scenarios. Natural laws are integrated into mathematical formulas, which enables the simulation of complex climate data. Supercomputers, like the Levante at the German Climate Computing Center (DKRZ) in Hamburg, store over 800 terabytes of data and support research into climate and AI sciences. The research group “Climate Informatics and Technologies” led by Dr. Christopher Kadow plays a central role here by creating interfaces between climate and computer science research.

The role of artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence is now an integral part of everyday life. Systems such as smart home, facial recognition or driving assistance show the versatile application of AI. In climate research in particular, scientists benefit from advances in data collection and computing power. The use of machine learning and deep learning makes it possible to recognize patterns in large amounts of data, improving the accuracy of climate models, especially for large-scale parameters such as temperature.

Despite promising advances, modeling local weather events such as rain or thunderstorms remains a challenge. Researchers aim to predict global changes with an accuracy of up to one kilometer and optimize weather forecasts. The adaptation of IT technologies will be crucial for further developments in climate research in the future. The University of Hamburg reports that the establishment of these new programs is intended to help prepare students specifically for the current challenges and the professional world. This illustrates the growing importance of the interdisciplinary approach in academic training and research.

For more information about the new degree programs, visit the website University of Hamburg, and for detailed insights into the role of artificial intelligence in climate research, read the article by Science Guide.