New web offer for international prospective students

What does it cost to study at a German university and how long does it take? What degrees are offered at German universities? What is the difference between study achievements and examination achievements? What types of courses are there and what are the associated procedures and requirements? Which communication situations are typical for German universities and how do you behave appropriately in these situations? What is meant by everyday German academic language and how can it be acquired at an early stage?

These and many other questions pose numerous challenges for international first-year students. As part of a project funded by the Hessian Ministry of Science and the Arts (HMWK) with almost 38,000 euros, the Department of German as a Foreign and Second Language (DaFZ) has therefore developed a digital service. "We want prospective students from all over the world to be able to prepare themselves in advance for their studies at a German university in terms of content and language independently, across disciplines, and independent of location and textbooks," says Prof. Dr. Karin Aguado, head of the DaFZ department.

The materials, developed and tested by Dr. Irina Völz at DSH level, offer an introduction to the structure and systematics of the German higher education landscape with its diverse courses of study and degrees, an overview of the structure and sequence of a specialized course of study, and a presentation of the various types of courses and their respective functions. In addition, information on examinations and study achievements, on oral forms of participation and communication, and on university support services (such as learning, writing, or career counseling) is provided in a form appropriate to the target group.

Tasks and exercises for listening comprehension, reading comprehension, vocabulary, and grammar of scientific language structures were created for all informational texts. In addition to a series of explanatory videos on selected study-related topics, a total of over 40 podcasts were produced. These are based on individual interviews with international alumni (bachelor's, master's, teaching, doctoral) from more than 25 different countries of origin (including Albania, Burkina Faso, Honduras, Iran, Mongolia, Syria, Vietnam) who studied more than 20 different subjects (such as civil engineering, German language and literature) at more than 20 different German universities (including Darmstadt, Dortmund, Jena, Kassel, Oldenburg, Würzburg, Munich).They report on their personal experiences and provide prospective international students with valuable recommendations and useful tips.

The service will be linked to the DAAD's Digital Campus, which aims to develop a portal of networked platform services for the information, recruitment and linguistic, subject-related and cultural preparation of international students.(https://www.daad.de/de/der-daad/was-wir-tun/digitalisierung/digitalercampus< sclass="msoDel"> /</s> )

In addition, the project "My Start in Germany" was also selected for the "Knowledge Memory" of the University of Kassel: The university will present an interactive exhibition with 100 ideas from science for a sustainable future in Kassel's Königsgalerie from July 20 to August 20, 2022.

www.mein-studienstart-in-deutschland.de

Contact:

Prof. Dr. Karin Aguado
Department of Humanities and Cultural Studies
Institute of German Studies, Department of German as a Foreign and Second Language
Tel.: 0561-804-3309
E-mail: karin.aguado[at]uni-kassel[dot]de