Sustainable Agriculture and Energy Systems department

"Teaching and research in systems": In our degree programmes, we impart solid basic knowledge. Direct practical relevance is our top priority.

Our department with the Bachelor's degree programme in Agriculture (Weihenstephan) (with a focus on conventional agriculture and organic agriculture), which we also offer as a dual degree programme, has been around for over 50 years. Over time, the current Bachelor's degree programme in Agribusiness was added, which is also available as a dual study programme, as well as the Bachelor's degree programmes in Management of Renewable Energies (with the core subjects of Economics, Bioeconomics and International Management) and Organic Food & Business. The Master's degree programmes in Agricultural Management, Business Management and Renewable Energy Entrepreneurship and Climate Change Management (in English), as well as the continuing education programme in Animal Health Management are ideal additions to our range of courses. We are constantly updating and expanding our range of degree programmes. Semesters abroad and internships abroad are possible for all students.

The efficient and sustainable utilisation of resources is a very high priority in our research topics. Sustainability and the system concept are the unifying leitmotifs in both teaching and research

Thanks to our close networking with industry, associations and research institutions, we offer interesting projects, seminars and practical semesters in cooperation throughout the entire degree programme. Our graduates are more in demand than ever as responsible managers. They are characterised by multiple qualifications and often join their future employers during their studies. Fields of employment range from retail to the upstream and downstream sectors to the public sector and interest groups.

In the modern building of the Sustainable Agriculture and Energy Systems department, our students will find lecture theatres, spacious laboratories and practical rooms as well as other teaching facilities. The range of courses on offer is complemented by demonstration areas on campus and experimental areas in the neighbourhood of Freising. The HSWT thus offers an ideal study environment in which theoretical knowledge can be practically applied and deepened.

Teaching & experimental farm

On the teaching and experimental farm (LuV) in the Freising area, exercises are offered in the Bachelor's degree programmes Agriculture, Management of Renewable Energies and Agribusiness. The teaching and experimental farm consists of three sites:

1. Agriculture Grünschwaige |Grünschwaige 2, 85462 Eitting

2. Technology building H14 |Lange Point 2, 85354 Freising

Energyforest Zurnhausen

The energy forest is included in exercises and lectures on various degree programmes at the Weihenstephan campus. Research projects and final theses are constantly providing new insights into the short-rotation coppice in Zurnhausen. As part of their project work, HSWT students planted the approximately two-hectare energy forest with fast-growing poplar varieties and miscanthus. The biomass growing there is converted into heat in the university's own heating plant.

Weihenstephan heating plant

The Weihenstephan heating plant is fuelled with wood from the university's own energy forest, forest chips and landscape conservation wood, such as from the maintenance work on the Weihenstephan campus. With an output of 850 kW, the greenhouses and office buildings of the HSWT on the Weihenstephan campus can be heated sustainably. This means that around 320,000 litres of heating oil can be replaced, saving 1,000 tonnes of fossil_CO2.

Renewable energy laboratories D1 Building

The renewable energy laboratories (biogas laboratory, biomass laboratory and RE technical centre) are used for numerous practical courses, projects and research work. Here, the theoretical knowledge acquired by ME students is combined with practical work on measuring and test stands.