University research: Joint appointment of the DZHW and the University of Kassel agreed upon

Thus, two of Germany's major institutions in the field of higher education research are expanding their cooperation. With its International Centre for Higher Education Research (INCHER-Kassel), the University of Kassel maintains an internationally renowned research institution in this field. Educational research, including higher education research, is one of the university's focal points. As a non-university research institution, the DZHW conducts application-oriented empirical studies on the higher education and science system. Its long-term studies, which are unique in Germany, for example on students with university entrance qualifications or university graduates, are profile-forming. The DZHW's shareholders are the German federal government and the German states. The DZHW department associated with the professorship at the University of Kassel focuses on the external and internal governance of universities. Among other things, it focuses on topics such as indicator-based higher education governance, new organizational structures, and lines of development in academic continuing education.

A joint appointment committee will be formed to fill the W3 professorship "Governance in Higher Education and Science". The future holder of the professorship will contribute to the teaching program in the Sociology Department of the University. As a main activity, she or he will head a department at the DZHW. This linkage facilitates the initiation and implementation of joint research projects. DZHW academic staff will be able to network even more closely with colleagues in Kassel in the future, for example, to advance their academic qualifications or to take up teaching assignments. In return, the DZHW provides interesting and high-caliber internship opportunities for students at the University of Kassel. Another attractive feature is the provision of quality-checked data sets for qualification theses by the DZHW's Research Data Center.

The President of the University of Kassel, Prof. Dr. Reiner Finkeldey, was very pleased: "University research has long been instrumental in shaping the profile of the University of Kassel in the social sciences. With this agreement, the University is expanding its network of cooperation partners. It creates a connection that once again clearly underscores the strong position of both institutions in this field of research and opens up wonderful prospects for joint research projects."

"With this joint appointment, we are deepening a long-established and close partnership with the University of Kassel and INCHER at the University of Kassel. We look forward to further expanding joint activities in the form of publications, research projects and joint events for students as well as PhD students," said Prof. Dr. Monika Jungbauer-Gans, scientific director of the DZHW, at the signing of the contract.

Prof. Dr. Georg Krücken, Managing Director of INCHER-Kassel, added: "I feel that the DZHW's wish to fill this professorship in cooperation with the University of Kassel is a great honor for our work in the field of university- and science-related governance research. With this professorship, there are also numerous further opportunities to deepen our cooperation."

The Dean of the Department of Social Sciences, Prof. Dr. Jörn Lamla, who is also a member of the Sociology Division, stated, "I am pleased about the professional reinforcement, which on the one hand makes the offer for the Bachelor and Master students of Sociology even more attractive, but which on the other hand also helps to further expand the interdisciplinary research cooperations due to its location in governance research."

INCHER-Kassel and the DZHW have already collaborated on several research projects. For example, both are involved in the preparation of a graduate panel, the largest study on the educational status and career paths of university graduates in Germany.

Contact:

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

Daniel Matthes
German Center for Higher Education and Science Research (DZHW)

Information and Communication Officer

Phone: +49 511 450670-532

E-mail: matthes[at]dzhw[dot]eu

www.dzhw.eu