The mission statement of SRH Universities

• The mission statement of SRH Universities
• Preamble
• I.Advocation of personal liberty
• II. Emphasis on self-determination
• III. Encouragement of individual responsibility in social relationships
• IV. Tolerance und cosmopolitanism
• V. Ensuring our independence
• VI. Advocating a social market economy and competition
• VII. Entrepreneurial university management

The SRH University Heidelberg is a part of the interregional network of private universities of the SRH, which follow a common mission statement and yet are characterized by their own individual academic profiles. This shared mission statement was developed by the university administrations and agencies, and added to the SRH basic regulations through a resolution of the Senate on 24 July, 2008. The goal of SRH universities is, above all, to qualify talented young people in future-oriented study programmes leading to state-recognized degrees, which will equip them with above-average chances in the job market. At the same time, SRH universities intend to support and encourage them in their development toward individual, sovereign personalities. In addition, the SRH universities contribute to innovation and qualification in society and the economy through application-oriented research and scientific development within their respective profiles.
The SRH University Heidelberg follows the following mission statement in the realization of our academic goals.

We are convinced that personal liberty is the elixir of a vital, dynamic and democratic society. Though guaranteed by the constitution, it does not appear out of nowhere, but has to be won and determined again and again. Therefore, we value liberal-minded and independent employees and students with the courage to stand up for the preservation and defence of civil liberties and basic rights while respecting the liberty of others.

We believe that people can only fully express their creativity, originality and personality if they are able to determine the course of their lives themselves. Therefore, our university encourages the self-determination and development of every individual, i.e. the ability to develop an individual opinion based on facts, to come to well-rounded conclusions and to advocate them firmly and politely.

We are confident that an individual’s personal responsibility, motivation and private initiative are better suited to help him lead a self-determined, socially responsible and socially beneficial life than his trust in collective structures and solutions. Every individual has a unique personality and is simultaneously a member of society. Therefore, we encourage our students and employees to think and act independently and actively, and autonomously design their own lives with confidence in their own abilities and in cooperation with others.

We welcome every staff member and student, regardless of ethnic, religious or social background, who meets our professional requirements, acts with respect and tolerance towards their fellow human beings and respects the values of our mission statement. We impart intercultural competencies at our university and encourage our students to gain international experience.a

In order to ensure a climate of intellectual independence and diversity that supports students and employees in developing, defending and realizing their own ideas and opinions, we take care to preserve the political, religious and ideological neutrality of the SRH Universities and their independence from the interests of industries and other third parties.

Our guiding principle is the social market economy that connects individual freedom, the dynamics of the economy and social balance. We are convinced that a market economy, which is as free from government intervention as possible, supported by the elements of freedom of contract, private property and competition, is better suited than any other system for promoting individual wealth, solidarity with others and a fair society. Thus we wish for our university to contribute to the understanding, the preservation and the strengthening of Germany’s market economy, enabling our students to be successful in global free-market competition while being aware of their social responsibility.

We believe that our universities need to be led in an entrepreneurial way if they want to live up to the above-mentioned values and meet the demands that we make on them in a more flexible, faster and better way. This requires strong entrepreneurial personalities who are willing to accept responsibility for the well-being of the entrusted company, seek their individual path to success and endeavour toward it even if this entails difficulties and resistance to be overcome. In this way, our university will follow the fundamentals of good corporate governance and compliance.