PlusMINT strengthens first-year students who are enthusiastic about STEM subjects

As the Hessian Ministry of Science and the Arts announced at the end of July, the University of Kassel will be provided with personnel funds amounting to 1.1 million euros for plusMINT until the end of 2025. The orientation program was launched in the 2019/20 winter semester with the aim of facilitating entry into STEM subjects. In the meantime, more than 100 people in two cohorts have successfully taken up the two-semester orientation phase. For the third cohort, students can now enroll for the winter semester 2021/22 until September 1, 2021 at www.unikassel.de/go/plusmint.

Despite the restrictions and uncertainties caused by the Corona pandemic, the preliminary results are positive. For young women in particular, plusMINT is suitable for gaining more confidence in their own STEM-related abilities. With a female enrollment of about 35 percent, it is above the average for most STEM subjects. In addition, about 25 percent of students come to plusMINT with a technical college entrance qualification. But students with professional experience or an apprenticeship are also interested in this course of study. This diversity of first-year students is intentional, as the additional courses aim, among other things, to balance out different educational backgrounds and prior knowledge.

Over 90 percent of students recommend the orientation program to others, as internal surveys show. They particularly appreciate the opportunity to try out many subjects in parallel and discover their own strengths. The early points of contact with practice, e.g. in MINT projects or the lecture series, are also praised. Ultimately, the offerings - from math extension courses to accompanying mentoring - are intended to provide orientation for students. After all, students who would like to study STEM nowadays without having a specific subject in mind are often spoiled for choice. Clara Fahrenbach, a plusMINT student, reports: "After graduating from high school, I only knew that I wanted to study something related to technology and the natural sciences. During my research, I was overwhelmed by the amount of study subjects and universities. Luckily, I discovered the plusMINT degree program shortly after. I learned a lot in this first year at the University of Kassel and I can say that I settled in well in my everyday study life. Rarely do you have the option to learn so much from so many different areas in one year."

In the meantime, students can choose between ten majors: In addition to civil engineering, electrical engineering, computer science, mechanical engineering, mathematics, mechatronics, nanostructure science, physics and environmental engineering, technomathematics was added. The program is about to receive official accreditation from the National Accreditation Council. Students now transferring from the plusMINT academic year into their major continue to have access to advising services provided by the plusMINT team members. "At plusMINT, we are very close to the interests and wishes of our students and accompany them in their decisions. You don't get that in any other degree program," says Robin Kreutz, plusMINT staff member.

The trend toward orientation courses is growing nationwide. For example, plusMINT is part of the newly established network for orientation study programs. Among other things, the network has set up an online finder that interested parties can use to find the right orientation program across Germany(www.o-studium.de).

Interested can inform about the Website www.uni-kassel.de/go/plusmint and still up to 01.09.2021 for the coming winter semester register.

Press contact:
Sebastian Mense
University of Kassel
Communications, Press and Public Relations
Tel.: +49 561 804-1961
E-mail: presse[at]uni-kassel[dot]de