Chapter 313: The "Stuttgart" Knockoff
Hechingen.
Over the years, this small town has developed fairly smoothly. However, the local residents have suddenly realized that they're becoming ever more distant from the original Hechingen royal family. The old king, Constantinoo, went overseas, and the young crown prince is rarely on the territory. Even when he returns, he mostly stays in the castle, and Hohenzollern Castle is basically on the outskirts of the outskirts, not really in the same place as the town of Hechingen.
Still, since Prussia took over the administration, life here has gradually gone back to normal. Nowadays, it should be called Germany. When Germany was founded, the citizens of Hechingen spontaneously held a ceremony to celebrate this historic moment for the German nation.
Now Ernst—who roams everywhere—has finally come back. Unusually, he's even come into town. The large building complex in the academy district seems out of place compared to the small and crowded streets of Hechingen. If such grand buildings were in Stuttgart, they might not look so abrupt.
However, since this is the site of the Hechingen Military Academy, most of its buildings were constructed on the scale of Germany's higher institutions, only on an even larger scale. By comparison, the other schools in the area don't come close to this standard.
Looking at the Hechingen Military Academy he personally founded, Ernst couldn't help feeling emotional. He said, "The Hechingen Military Academy has already fulfilled its historical mission here in Hechingen. From now on, we'll convert it into a university that allows young students from East Africa to learn Germany's advanced knowledge and technology."
At present, East Africa has no plan to build its own university. First, it lacks teachers; second, it lacks enough students. So offering higher education in Europe is still the better option for now. In this era, people qualified to be college professors are in demand everywhere. They certainly wouldn't want to come to East Africa, which for them might be no different from exile.
As for student enrollment, the first group of East African elementary school students will graduate in six months, so it's time to set up a secondary education system in East Africa.
Tom asked, "Your Highness, so you mean this place will become an ordinary German university in the future?"
Ernst nodded. "Yes. Not only should we convert the Hechingen Military Academy site into a university, but we should also merge the other schools here and turn them into a German university as well. What do you think we should name it?"
Besides the Hechingen Military Academy, there are three secondary schools founded by the Hechingen royal family next to it. Together, they form a large education district near the town of Hechingen, an area almost the same size as the entire town.
Tom speculated, "Your Highness, you're planning to make this a base for the kingdom's exchange students, right?"
Ernst said, "Exactly. Although Hechingen is a bit quiet, it's not too far from Stuttgart. It's still a good place to run a school, letting people focus on their studies without being completely cut off from the rest of the world."
Honestly, it's generally better to open a university in a big city if you want to recruit students, but since East Africa's students come from their homeland, that isn't an issue here. What remains is whether it can attract teachers.
Adults are different from younger people. While some prefer the lively atmosphere of a big city, others enjoy the peace and quiet of the countryside.
Hechingen itself is not bad, and the campus facilities left behind by the Hechingen Military Academy are quite complete—some might say even too well-equipped. Transportation isn't a big issue either. Stuttgart is a transportation hub in southwestern Germany, and after the unification of Germany, its railway system will certainly be improved. Traveling from Stuttgart to Hechingen takes most of a day, and Hechingen will inevitably become part of the railway network. A key reason Hohenzollern Castle served as a military fortress is that it sits on the route from the Black Forest to the Neckar Valley, a major north-south passage.
Tom suggested, "Your Highness, since you want to train new talent for the kingdom, why not set up a teachers' college here? In my view, the name 'Hechingen' is mainly famous for the Hechingen Bank, but in Germany, people don't really know this little place. It might be better to use the Stuttgart name. After all, Stuttgart is a big German city that many people have heard of."
Many Germans, and even Europeans, know about the Hechingen Bank, but they don't necessarily realize that "Hechingen" is the name of a place. Some might mistake it for a person's name, because in Europe, many companies are named after people.
Ernst chuckled. "Heh, so you're thinking 'Stuttgart Teachers' University,' perhaps?"
Indeed, calling it "Stuttgart Teachers' University" would sound more imposing. Stuttgart is still quite well-known within Germany, so it would likely attract teachers. They might initially think their workplace is in a big city, only to arrive and discover it's actually in a rural area near Stuttgart.
This is somewhat like "Lanzhou University" in the previous world—everyone assumes it must be in Lanzhou's downtown, but its largest campus was actually 40 kilometers away from the city center. Coincidentally, Hechingen is also about 40 kilometers from Stuttgart.
Tom continued, "Your Highness, even Germans with just a bit of learning know about Stuttgart, but hardly anyone's heard of Hechingen, which might once have been a small, obscure state among the many German principalities. We need some small trick if we want to attract teachers."
Ernst said, "Then we might as well make two institutions—one called Stuttgart Teachers' University and another called Stuttgart Technical University."
After speaking, Ernst couldn't help laughing. In the future, if the people of Stuttgart discover their city's name was used to label a school in Hechingen, they would likely be at a loss for words.
This exchange between Ernst and his aide showed the main reason for Ernst's return: the Hechingen Military Academy would be moved to East Africa. In Germany, it's effectively a "wildcard" military school, but once it gets to East Africa, it'll be the officially recognized highest military academy.
Previously, the Hechingen Military Academy was built in Germany because, at the time, the East African colony was only just starting out and couldn't afford to construct such a facility. Now that the East African Kingdom can handle it, the cradle of its military talent—Hechingen Military Academy—should return home.
Once the academy is moved, the old site will be left empty. Of course Ernst wants to make use of it. After all, it's only been a few years since construction was finished, and its facilities rival those of the University of Berlin. It would be a shame to leave such a good place unused.
In the future, East Africa will definitely send students to Germany and Austria for further study. So combining the few schools in Hechingen into one large institution would create a base for training East African talent.
They can hire local German teachers to come teach. If you told those teachers to go to East Africa, many would be unwilling. But they might not mind Hechingen, which isn't bad at all. It's close to home, and living costs are lower.
Another advantage of placing the university in Hechingen is that it allows East Africa to manage its exchange students more effectively. If they were scattered across different German schools, East Africa would essentially be educating students for Germany, without proper oversight. Obviously, they can't go chasing each student around at different universities. East Africa is still behind, and talented individuals generally like to move to more developed places.
But if the university is set up in Hechingen, the students will have little access to any major German city, and Hechingen remains part of the old royal base. As for the subjects East Africa needs, they simply have to hire instructors in those fields.
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