Retrospective
University of Applied Sciences Potsdam at the 2026 German Archives Day in Hof
Once again this year, the team from the Distance Learning Centre for Archival Studies, together with representatives from the Centre for Continuing Education and the Centre for Research and Transfer Services, attended the ARCHIVISTICA trade fair, which takes place alongside German Archives Day.
At the exhibition stand in the Freiheitshalle Congress Centre in Hof (Saale), Bavaria, from the 29th of September to the 1st of October 2026, numerous interested visitors from archives across Germany were once again able to find out about and receive advice on the distance learning programmes on offer.
ARCHIVISTICA is regarded as Europe’s largest trade fair for the archiving sector. Every year, companies exhibit their products and services here, whilst the German Archives Day features lectures, working groups and meetings, providing a forum for professional exchange on current issues and topics relating to the world of archiving.
High demand for further training in archiving
The Distance Learning Programme in Archival Studies and the Central Distance Learning Programme presented a unique and diverse range of further education offerings at ARCHIVISTICA for (prospective) archivists from all professional backgrounds and with varying levels of prior experience. In total, over 50 advisory sessions were held.
The greatest interest was shown in the Master’s in Archival Science (WMA) offered by the Distance Learning Programme – a trend that is set to continue in 2026. Close behind this year was the Distance Learning in Archival Studies (FWA) certificate course, which enables participants to obtain a Bachelor’s degree in Archival Studies. Both courses will start again in 2027.
The new Master’s programme in Digital Information Management offered by the Department of Information Sciences also attracted considerable interest. As the programme can be studied on a part-time basis, many working archivists viewed it as an attractive opportunity for further training, even at the German Archives Day.
Furthermore, the course ‘Archives in the Information Age’, run in cooperation with the Free University of Berlin (FU Berlin), attracted enquiries from many visitors. The continuing professional development programme ‘Specialist in Media and Information Services, specialising in Archival Studies’, which is expected to start again in 2028, also attracted a number of interested parties to the University of Applied Sciences Potsdam stand. The statistics show that, in view of the shortage of skilled workers, flexible and part-time further training opportunities remain urgently needed and are very well attended, even within the archiving sector. The University of Applied Sciences Potsdam’s distance learning programme was present in person at ARCHIVISTICA, and this has once again proved to be an important point of contact for a large part of the European archiving community.
Are you interested in archives and would like to undertake further training?
You can find an overview and information about our further education offerings here. We look forward to seeing you there!
