The basis of industrial development in the 19th century was also textile technology on the left bank of the Lower Rhine. This is initially supported by the publisher system, in which textiles produced by weavers in home work are marketed by publishers.

Mechanization and automation bring about a radical change in the middle of the century. Within a few years, the system of home work is replaced by automated looms in large factory halls. These changes - despite the Prussian velvet and silk monopoly for Krefeld - make an extended qualification of the employees in the textile industry urgently necessary, as many Krefeld factory owners send their junior staff to the main competitor in Lyon for apprenticeship.

Out of this local educational emergency, the "Höhere Webschule Crefeld" was founded in 1855 through the initiative of the Krefeld Chamber of Commerce, the first higher educational institution on the Lower Rhine. This is the birth of The Hochschule Niederrhein.

In 1878, it was again Krefeld industry that was concerned about the future viability of the "old" silk industry. It seems necessary to take advantage of the possibilities and opportunities offered by the new emerging dye and chemical industry. The Chamber of Commerce called for a fundamental reorganization of the "Municipal Weaving School" along the lines of renowned foreign institutions, such as in Lyon.

With great personal and financial commitment from wealthy silk manufacturers, the Krefeld Chamber of Commerce and the Prussian state, the "Royal Weaving, Dyeing and Finishing School" opened in 1883 in a magnificent building - attracting international attention. All branches of textile technology and chemistry are incorporated, including modern dyeing and finishing process(es). The special feature of the new school is that the teaching is both theoretical and there are machines and laboratories on the scale of industrial production. Thus, in contrast to the university, a practical orientation can be offered with the highest scientific standards at the same time.

Thanks to the textile engineer Robert Lembcke and the dyestuff chemist Dr. Heinrich Lange, who came to Krefeld from BASF, the institution developed into an educational establishment of world renown. In its first 25 years, for example, there were already 80 students from all over the world who had earned doctorates. They had previously studied at other universities with greats in their field and were now beginning a second set of practical studies with a practical emphasis / orientation at the "Königliche Webe-, Färberei- und Appreturschule".

With the fabric collection, one of the largest textile collections in the German Empire is established. Designers and textile designers as well as archaeologists travel to Krefeld from all over Germany to study the collection. It is presented to the public in elaborate special exhibitions. It forms the basis of today's German Textile Museum Krefeld.

Already in 1895 the building is too small. The buildings on Adlerstrasse, which still exist today, become the new home of the spun-off dyeing and finishing school. Heinrich Lange, who had previously headed the department, became director. In 1904, during the "boom" years of the dyestuffs industry, this predecessor institution was allowed to represent the apprenticeship in this field for the German Reich at the World's Fair in St. Louis, USA.

The broad technical, application-oriented and practical orientation favored the development of further specialist areas in the school. In close interaction with industry, fiber finishing, synthetic fibers, dyes and paints, and cleaning and hygiene became new fields of applied research and teaching education.

In the second half of the 19th century, the Mönchengladbach-Rheydt industrial area developed into "Rhenish Manchester," one of the most important centers of fiber processing in Germany, as a result of the transformation from flax and linen to cotton.

In response to the needs of industry, the Prussian state founded " higher weaving schools" for the preliminary training of "factory owners and factory directors" in addition to the "weaving schools " that trained master weavers. On the initiative of a special commission set up from the Chamber of Commerce, local authorities from the Mönchengladbach trade district, the district president in Düsseldorf and the Ministry of Trade in Berlin, the"Prussian Higher Technical School for theTextile Industry in Mönchen-Gladbach" was founded in 1901 for the apprenticeship of managers.

Textile surface art and color theory also played an important role at another predecessor institution, the Crefeld Werkkunstschule. As early as 1899, there was a municipal trade school offering courses in handicrafts and drawing. However, the rich velvet and silk city of Krefeld wanted to establish a more comprehensive and modern training city for these professions.

"Design means giving shape to the environment" was the credo of the founding proponents of the "Handwerker- und Kunstgewerbeschule" (School for Crafts and Arts and Crafts), founded on October 1, 1904, from which the "Crefelder Werkkunstschule" emerged. The school played an outstanding role for the building trade in particular, as there was no comparable institution in the entire Lower Rhine region.

It became an important institution for the applied arts. Painting, graphics, stained glass, textile design, ceramics or architecture were important fields of teaching at this institution. The founding years in particular were marked by numerous personalities who later gave rise to the Deutscher Werkbund. The first and foremost educational goal was a holistic education. The aim was to make students "leaders in the trades and arts and crafts through theoretical and practical instruction...".

Heinrich Campendonk, Helmut Macke, Henry van der Velde, Jan Thorn Pricker, August Biebricher, Fritz Winter and Peter Lindbergh are just a few examples of famous artists who were associated with the Werkkunstschule as university teachers / lecturers. Some of them have had a lasting influence on art history.

The representatives of the Krefeld silk industry, above all Hermann Lange (Verseidag) and Dr. Erich Raemisch (Verein deutscher Seidenwebereien) pushed for a new German apprenticeship for textile designers. In 1932, they brought the former Bauhaus master Johannes Itten to Krefeld for this purpose. However, his unconventional teaching methods were not always met with success by his students. Due to increasing tensions, the school separated from Itten again in 1937.

In 1932, the "Höhere Fachschule für textile Flächenkunst" was affiliated not with the Kunstgewebe, but with the Weaving School. This was a stroke of luck for the artistic teachers, who were able to hide their partly abstract ambitions behind the textile, at least to a certain extent. After all, the international "superiority" of the German textile industry was also of great importance to the Nazi regime. A circumstance that, however, never materialized before the outbreak of war.

Itten's successor Georg Muche, who was at the same time defamed as a degenerate artist by the Nazi regime, also profited from the protection of the school. After World War II, the specialisation in textile design was continued. The best known and probably most important teacher was Elisabeth Kadow from 1958 to 1971. With the last day of the school before the merger into a university of applied sciences, she also retired.

The close cooperation with industry led to the reestablishment of the "Höhere Bekleidungsfachschule" in 1932 as part of the "Höhere Fachschule für Textilindustrie" in Mönchengladbach. As early as 1912, the school had its own "Konfektionsabteillung" (clothing department), which trained specialists for the ever-increasing industrial clothing market. The need and demand for "garment makers, tailors, ironers and seamstresses" increased to such an extent that, with the "Bekleidungsfachschule" (School of Clothing Technology), training was provided for the first time in three- and five-semester courses for "clothing technicians and engineers, foremen, factory and workshop foremen and directors".

In 1936, the school was renamed the "Textile Engineering School" .

Three higher state institutions, the nucleus of the later Hochschule Niederrhein, thus started the 20th century. They grew out of the region and radiate far beyond it. This can also be seen in the students, who for a long time no longer came only from the Lower Rhine. Their development was always based on the needs of industry and thus actively shaped the modernization of both Rhenish and international companies.

In 1933, the seizure of power by the National Socialists leads to a Gleichschaltung of all state institutions, especially educational institutions. Above all, the liberal arts experience unprecedented gagging and discrediting. The "Kunstgewerbeschule" is renamed the "school for master craftspeople in the German trade. " The architecture, sculpture and ceramics departments are closed in 1934. Five of seven "artist teachers" are dismissed; only craft departments remain.

The National Socialists recognize textile production and the associated research and apprenticeship as a decisive factor for the economy and armaments. Independence from foreign raw materials became paramount. Therefore, few technical restrictions and corrections were made. In Mönchengladbach, the occupation with cotton as a raw material was restricted. In Clothing Technology, uniforms play a greater role. In Krefeld, research into chemical fiber production is stepped up and a separate school for synthetic spun fibers is founded in the middle of the war drive. Dismissals are made if a professor has not "at all times wholeheartedly stood up for the national state."

The "National Socialist German Student League" is founded. Its members are obligated to SA service and thus to education in the military sense. Other student associations at the two textile schools are banned, as is the case everywhere in Germany.

The end result is war, death and chaos: in June 1943, the weaving school in Krefeld is the first to be hit. The building was completely destroyed. The precious collection of fabrics had already been evacuated. The apprenticeship is continued in the less damaged building of the "Färberei und Appreturschule" on Adlerstraße until the end of the war. One day later, the arts and crafts school on Peterstrasse in Krefeld was also completely destroyed. The apprenticeship continues in the manor house of Linn Castle.
The buildings of the Mönchengladbach Textile Engineering School are almost completely destroyed (over 90%) in the winter semester 1944/45. The apprenticeship is transferred to Münchberg (Upper Franconia) at the end of 1944.

After 1945, individual teachers, including the head of the Krefeld tissue collection, are banned from teaching and are transferred. Others continue to be tolerated due to their professional expertise, as they are considered indispensable for the reconstruction of teaching. As early as April 1946, the dyeing school in Krefeld was the first to be allowed to start teaching.

The tyranny and wartime destroyed much, but not everything. The three schools survived and picked themselves up again. In 1955, the traditional textile engineering school in Krefeld received a modern, award-winning new building with an impressive glass facade on Frankenring. It is an early work by the architects Lohrscheidt and Pfau, who became famous for the Düsseldorf Schauspielhaus, among other things.

The Werkkunstschule is rebuilt on Peterstrasse.

In Mönchengladbach, the Textile Engineering School Mönchengladbach-Rheydt is built on Webschulstraße from the ruins of the old school. In the winter semester 1946 / 47, classes are resumed here as well. At first rather provisionally in the directors' house, since the reconstruction of the main teaching building would continue until 1951. In the winter semester of 1951, more than 1000 students had already registered in Mönchengladbach.

The students at the schools played a major role in the reconstruction work by volunteering their time. In Mönchengladbach alone, for example, a total of about 160,000 hours were put in to repair the 6000 square meters of the school buildings. In Krefeld, the commitment was similarly high.

On April 1, 1958, the"State Engineering School for Mechanical Engineering" is founded. The Krefeld Chamber of Industry and Commerce contributes one million German marks (DM) to the financing through a special contribution scheme. The city of Krefeld donates another million DM, the building site on Reinarzstraße, where today's South Campus is built, as well as the expansion site in the allotment garden area.

All of Krefeld's metal and electrical companies make a contribution, as does the chemical industry and the post office as the operator of the communications networks at the time. The departments of Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Communications Engineering and later Process Engineering and Electronics are established. The university departments "Mechanical and Process Engineering" and "Electrical Engineering and Computer Science" develop.

The "Staatliche Höhere Wirtschaftsfachschule" is officially opened on October 2, 1962 in the balcony hall of the Kaiser-Friedrich-Halle in Mönchengladbach. The guest list includes the godfathers of this foundation: Minister President Franz Meiers, who comes from Mönchengladbach, Chamber President Prof. Dr.Viktor Achter and City Director Dr. Elbers. Until then, business administration had only been taught in the two textile engineering schools in Mönchengladbach and Krefeld. Already during the 1st World War, courses for textile merchants, trade and business calculation were increasingly offered here. For the first time, the Mönchengladbach Business School made it possible to offer an attractive and comprehensive apprenticeship for specialists in all branches of the economy in the Lower Rhine region.

It was not until 1970 that the new building on Webschulstraße could be occupied. The "Mönchengladbach campus" slowly takes shape. In 1971, it becomes the "Faculty of Business Administration and Economics ". Today it is the largest faculty at the university.

The tyranny and wartime destroyed much, but not everything. The three schools survived and picked themselves up again. In 1955, the traditional textile engineering school in Krefeld received a modern, award-winning new building with an impressive glass facade on Frankenring. It is an early work by the architects Lohrscheidt and Pfau, who became famous for the Düsseldorf Schauspielhaus, among other things.

The Werkkunstschule is rebuilt on Peterstrasse. In Mönchengladbach, the buildings of the Textile Engineering School are erected from the ruins on Webschulstraße.

On April 1, 1958, the"State Engineering School for Mechanical Engineering" is founded. The Krefeld Chamber of Industry and Commerce contributes one million German marks (DM) to the financing through a special contribution scheme. The city of Krefeld donates another million DM, the building site on Reinarzstraße, where today's South Campus is built, as well as the expansion site in the allotment garden area.

All of Krefeld's metal and electrical companies make a contribution, as does the chemical industry and the post office as the operator of the communications networks at the time. The departments of Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Communications Engineering and later Process Engineering and Electronics are established. The university departments "Mechanical and Process Engineering" and "Electrical Engineering and Computer Science" develop.

The "Staatliche Höhere Wirtschaftsfachschule" is officially opened on October 2, 1962 in the balcony hall of the Kaiser-Friedrich-Halle in Mönchengladbach. The "Faculty of Business Administration and Economics " is established. The guest list includes the godfathers of this foundation: Minister President Franz Meiers, who comes from Mönchengladbach, Chamber President Prof. Dr.Viktor Achter and City Director Dr. Elbers. It was not until 1970 that the new building on Webschulstraße could be occupied. The "Mönchengladbach campus" slowly takes shape.

On 1.8.1971 the "University of applied sciences Niederrhein" is founded. Six faculties have as their foundations a total of 13 "Staatliche höhere Fachschulen", which contribute a considerable tradition and professional achievement. There are already many technical and spatial links, which are reorganized and intensified. Two faculties were only added when the university of applied sciences was founded, the Faculty of Applied Social Sciences and the Faculty of Food, Nutrition and Hospitality Sciences. These subjects were previously taught at technical colleges and are now being adapted to meet the increased demands in society. Food and nutrition have now become important economic sectors in the Lower Rhine region. The "Campus Mönchengladbach" is completed by these two faculties.

Also in 1971, a section of the "State School of Engineering for Textiles in Krefeld" is united with the "State School of Engineering for Textiles in Mönchengladbach". The Faculty of Textile and Clothing Technology of the Hochschule Niederrhein is created, with a range of disciplines from fibers to finished products in the field of clothing and materials for technical textiles that is unique in Europe.

The interdisciplinary offer is extended, first by "Industrial Engineering" and finally - then already under the surname Hochschule Niederrhein (since July 9, 2001) - "Health Care". In the winter semester 2010/11, The Hochschule Niederrhein provides an educational and research offering from ten fac ulties.

With the pilot project "Dual Engineering Training (KIA)", the Chamber of Industry and Commerce once again provides a strong impetus to keep the industrial companies of the Lower Rhine region competitive. The "Krefeld Model" becomes a model for the development of dual university education in NRW. Unlike the vocational academies, no new educational institution is being created, but two proven systems are being coupled. The IHK and its companies are to ensure quality in skilled worker training, in the internship semester and possibly in the practical orientation of the theses. The university of applied sciences Niederrhein guarantees the quality of the teaching content and learning objectives for the university education.

In the Faculty of Industrial Engineering, with the support and coordination of Prof. Broermann, the already existing curriculum of Industrial Engineering-Logistics Management is being developed into an undergraduate Degree programme "Industrial Engineering" suitable for more first-year students, whose graduates are not fixated on pure engineering or only on Business Administration. Lean management is the new magic word in business. Industrial engineers fit perfectly into this image of a manager who can handle both engineering and sales. Today, the faculty has 18 professors and around 1,200 students.

In the region, especially in Krefeld, there are efforts to further develop Health Care as a special feature of the Lower Rhine. The increasing use of technology, EDP and the stronger business orientation in Health Care requires new offers of knowledge transfer for the job market. Thus, medical foundation courses, business management and technical issues including data processing are linked in each case with reference to Health Care. The initial aim was to train specialists for the organization of the infrastructure in Health Care. The new Degree programme will initially be based at Faculty 09. Since 2010, it has been a faculty in its own right with 17 professors and just under 1,000 students.

In 2001, the university of applied sciences became the Hochschule Niederrhein. Even in 1971, the title did not feel representative: For the predecessor institutions of the HN, the designation "university of applied sciences" would have been entirely justified, because they provided training in a specialized field or for an industry. After the founding of the FHN in 1971, this designation no longer reflects the character of a university with training courses and research in many engineering disciplines, in creative subjects with artistic foundations, and in socially relevant Degree programmes.
In terms of higher education policy, the 2000s also represented change. The financing of universities in North Rhine-Westphalia was reorganized with the global budget. Tuition fees were introduced to and abolished again. New buildings and extensions began to be built on all campuses to accommodate rising student numbers and the newest faculties. The structure of the university management is modernized with the university council and presidium.