Promoting, examining, and living diversity – the ÖSD at the IDT 2025 Lübeck

The theme of the IDT 2025, the world’s largest conference for German as a foreign and second language, in Lübeck is: Daring Diversity. For the Österreichisches Sprachdiplom Deutsch (ÖSD), this motto is more than a guiding principle: Diversity is part of our everyday lives, our aspirations, and our attitudes. How exactly do we promote, assess, and live diversity? Read more here.

Pluricentricity: diversity as a principle

The ÖSD stands for a pluricentric view of language: All standard varieties of German – as spoken primarily in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland – are considered equal.

For the ÖSD, this means: Our exams reflect the diversity of the language – deliberately and systematically. Because, as our Managing Director, Dr. Manuela Glaboniat, emphasizes: “This doesn’t mean unnecessarily expanding the learning material. Rather, it’s about demonstrating the natural variation of standard German!”

This approach has clear benefits for learners: They are specifically prepared for the linguistic and cultural diversity in German-speaking countries. This means that people who study and examine with the ÖSD understand that German sounds different in Vienna than in Zurich or Hamburg and learn how to deal with these differences competently.

Pluricentricity makes German lively, exciting, and open. And with the Österreichisches Sprachdiplom Deutsch (ÖSD), you can be sure that you are well prepared for all variations.

Diversity in the examination offering

The ÖSD’s extensive range of examinations is also entirely dedicated to diversity. Every year, around 100,000 people worldwide take an ÖSD examination – at one of our over 450 examination centers.

There are 17 examination variants to choose from – for all language levels from A1 to C2, according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR).

The ÖSD offers specialized versions, such as:

• For children and young people
• With a focus on business German
• Specifically designed for use in nursing and healthcare professions

This diversity enables learners to demonstrate precisely the language skills they need for their personal or professional careers.

As a full member of ALTE (Association of Language Testers in Europe), the ÖSD undergoes regular quality audits and carries the ALTE Q-Mark as a symbol of internationally recognized test quality. In addition, ÖSD German exams are based on the “Profile deutsch”, which specifically maps the levels of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) for the German language.

Diversity worldwide: our examination centers

An important pillar of the diversity practiced at the Österreichisches Sprachdiplom Deutsch (ÖSD) are our partner institutions – the officially licensed ÖSD examination centers in over 70 countries worldwide.

Their profiles are as diverse as the contexts in which they work. Many of our examination centers specialize in language courses, others in job or study placement services, and still others are part of educational institutions such as schools and universities. What they all share is the commitment to offering new perspectives for their participants through German.

This institutional diversity is particularly enriching for the ÖSD, because it brings with it different approaches. The exchange with our partners is characterized by openness, mutual learning, and the single goal: to strengthen people’s linguistic skills to open up new paths in studies, careers, and everyday life.

In other words: language connects. Those who learn German and can demonstrate their proficiency create opportunities – across national borders and educational systems.

Diversity in the team: living multilingualism

Connection through language is also evident within our own company: ÖSD employees are not only professionally competent and personally committed, but they are also linguistically diverse. Our team reflects the community that defines ÖSD worldwide.

Which languages are spoken here? The list is impressive:

English, French, Romanian, Spanish, Serbian, Slovak, Albanian, Croatian, Italian, Greek, Slovenian, Hindi, Dutch, Bosnian, Portuguese, Russian, Turkish – and several more. This linguistic diversity reflects the international background and orientation of our approximately 70 employees in Austria.

As the second-largest provider of globally recognized German language exams with exam centers in over 70 countries, we have German as our working language and as our corporate purpose. But: every language our employees speak is a treasure. Every language brings new perspectives, experiences, and ways of thinking – and enriches our daily work, whether in test production, assessment, or marketing. Thus, this diversity is also a source of inspiration.

Diversity as our strength

As you can see – and this is just a small part of our work – diversity is much more than just a slogan for the ÖSD: It’s part of our daily work, our mission, and our vision.

That’s why we’re particularly pleased to be represented as a sponsor and active participant at the IDT 2025 in Lübeck. We firmly believe that German can build bridges – between cultures, lifestyles, and career prospects.

Together, let’s make this conference a success — with inspiring encounters and bold steps toward an even more diverse world of language learning.