CODE University of Applied Sciences

The Story of CODE

When our chancellor Thomas Bachem – self-taught software engineer and designer – was looking for study programs to promote his endeavors as an internet entrepreneur, he was disappointed to see that the academic landscape mostly focused on the never-changing basic principles of Computer Science, instead of the exciting new possibilities of the internet and its opportunities.

He decided to study Economics at a private business school in Cologne, which is where he experienced firsthand the radical drive to apply academic theories to the real world and a personal, supportive learning environment. Out of both his fruitless search for a truly applied software-engineering program and his revolutionary experience at the private university, the idea for CODE was born: CODE would be to Computer Science what business schools are to classic Economics programs.

One decade later, Thomas had already founded several successful internet startups. As an entrepreneur and employer, he discovered time and time again that good software engineers, designers and product managers – the key drivers for ambitious digital companies – are a rare resource in Europe and Germany in particular because classical university programs rarely qualify young men and women for the challenges of the new economy.

Our Mission

CODE is an international and inclusive learning environment that attracts digital pioneers from all over the world and empowers them to live up to their full potential. As a community, we stimulate transformative innovation by fostering creativity, critical thinking, collaboration, and curiosity-driven learning.