08/27/2020

Measuring the success of knowledge transfer - University Kassel is a pilot university

The Kassel University is the pilot university for quality assurance of knowledge transfer into society throughout Germany. This announced the Stifterverband. Among other things, the university will furthermore promote transfer in the area of sustainability.

With the Transferbarometer program, the Stifterverband is establishing indicators to measure the effectiveness of the transfer of scientific knowledge into society for the first time. As one of three German universities, the Kassel University will now have the opportunity to participate in the development of the instrument as a pilot university, as well as receiving funding of 40,000 euros. In addition to the Kassel University, the RWTH Aachen and the Düsseldorf University were selected from more than 70 applications, as well as two universities of applied sciences and six Helmholtz centers.

University chancellor Dr. Oliver Fromm described the decision as an "award for the cooperation with the city and region". "But more than that, it confirms that we are on the right track with our strategic measures. Instead of offering off-the-peg services as elsewhere, we want to work even more closely with our partners in the future to determine where science can contribute to the development of the city and region. We want to develop formats, impulses and support options in a dialog and go beyond conventional concepts with this design-oriented transfer approach.”

An additional field of application for the transfer barometer results from the future strengthening of the university's sustainability profile. Recently, the Senate, at the suggestion of the Executive Board, decided to establish a Center for Research on Sustainable Development. It is precisely for this purpose that the Kassel University will develop and provide solutions for the national and international, but for the regional level within the framework of the pilot project, as well.

"Participation in the transfer barometer will enable us to comprehensively examine how our offerings and formats work: through data collection, data evaluation, experiments and much more," says Fromm. "An objective view helps us to become better and better". The INCHER-Kassel Scientific Center will be involved in the development, testing and evaluation of the indicators, under the direction of Prof. Dr. Guido Bünstorf.

The Mercator foundation supports the Stifterverband in the Transferbarometer project.

To the press release of the Stifterverband: www.stifterverband.org/pressemitteilungen/2020_08_27_transferbarometer

Press contact:

Sebastian Mense

University of Kassel

Communication, press and public relations

Phone: +49 561 804-1961

e-mail: presse[at]uni-kassel[dot]de