User:Notarobot21/HTL Spengergasse

HTL Spengergasse is a science and technology-focused public secondary school of the type Höhere Technische Lehranstalt in Vienna. It serves roughly 2600 students, most of whom attend a Höhere Lehranstalt (ISCED level 5) course, while the school also offers post-secondary and evening school courses. HTL Spengergasse has several industry partners, including Microsoft, IBM, Cisco, and Siemens, among others.

Founded in 1758, HTL Spengergasse is the oldest school of its type in Austria and one of the world's oldest technical schools. There are several academic specializations offered, with Computer science being the largest department accommodating roughly two-thirds of all students. Additionally, HTL Spengergasse has courses in the departments "Biomedizin und Gesundheitstechnik" (Biomedicine), "Wirtschaftsingenieure" (Engineering management), and "Design" (Design).

History
The school was founded on January 11, 1758 by Archduchess Maria Theresa as the "k.k. Commerzialzeichnungsakademie" to compensate for the shortage of skilled workers in the textile industry. The new school started with six students in a palace in downtown Vienna. Until 1785, this number increased to 108 students, and the school's importance grew due to the industrialisation of Austria. The growth of the Austrian textile industry in the 19th century made further expansion of the school necessary, and in 1881, it was renamed Lehranstalt für Textilindustrie.

After the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the school was the only educational institution specialized in textile processing in what became the Republic of Austria. Therefore, its remit had to be expanded to cover all areas of the textile industry. In 1921, it was transformed into a higher educational institution with the name "Bundeslehr- und Versuchsanstalt für Textilindustrie" and expanded to include a chemical department and a textile business department. This development was made possible mainly by moving into a larger building, namely the former Imperial-Royal Landwehr's primary equipment warehouse in Vienna-Margareten, Spengergasse 20, where the school is located to this day.

Academics
Students in grade 13 complete the Reife- und Diplomprüfung (Matura) that includes the Reifeprüfung, a series of comprehensive examinations, and the Diplomarbeit. Projects for Diplomarbeiten are generally carried out in collaboration with companies and involve several hundred hours of work.

There are four departments at HTL Spengergasse as follows:

Computer science – Höhere Lehranstalt für Informatik
The school's largest department offers instructions primarily in German, yet there is one class of students per grade having English as primary language of instruction.

English class: candidates have the option to apply for the bilingual class by completing an interview, in which the applicant's English proficiency is evaluated. Admission to this limited cohort of students generally is a selective process.

Biomedicine – Höhere Lehranstalt für Biomedizin & Gesundheitstechnik

 * Medizininformatik

Engineering management – Höhere Lehranstalt für Wirtschaftsingenieure

 * Wirtschaftsingenieur – Technisches Management

Design – Höhere Lehranstalt für Design

 * Mediendesign – Animation
 * Mediendesign – Game Design
 * Interior- and Surfacedesign