Internationalisation of Universities of Applied Sciences (UAS.International)

A group of students talking with a lecturer at the lectern

Universities of applied sciences are highly regarded in Germany and around the world, especially for their practical orientation. Many of these universities wish to enhance their international standing even further. To this end, the DAAD is helping students and researchers at universities of applied sciences carry out study and research visits abroad. It is also supporting universities in their efforts to establish cooperation projects with international partners. The UAS.International programme enables universities of applied sciences to cultivate contact with foreign institutions and anchor international partnerships within their own institutional infrastructure. The DAAD also provides consultation, continuing education and dialogue programmes to accompanying these measures.

Programme goals

The new UAS.International programme enables universities of applied sciences to prepare students more optimally for the globalised labour market and to provide them qualification as professionals for German industry in cooperation with their business partners.
At the same time, the programme aims to strategically anchor and sustainable implement the internationalisation process at all university levels and across all member groups, i.e. students, instructors, researchers and administrative staff.
In recognition of the heterogeneity of the UAS landscape in Germany, the DAAD offers four different modules which can be used individually or in combination.

Module A: Projects for exploratory and preparatory purposes
Module B: Implementation of model and cooperation projects with international partners
Module C: Individual scholarships for study visits abroad, foreign research visits for thesis completion, and participation in foreign congress and fairs, as well as a targeted marketing campaign
Module D: Consultation, continuing education and exchange of expertise

The UAS.International programme will achieve its optimal impact once all the modules are fully implemented.
Students are encouraged to share their experiences gained during individually funded study visits and internships abroad with peers at their home universities and put this experience to use for international university-based and practical collaborations.
Universities are encouraged to actively use all the offered modules in combination in order to advance their internationalisation efforts and to increase their educative, research-oriented and innovative potential.

Universities of applied sciences (UAS) educate students to become highly qualified professionals for the German market. In this function, the universities fundamentally contribute to the economic success of numerous companies in their respective regions. Even small- and medium-sized companies are becoming more internationally active every day; they are gaining access to markets around the globe and investing in new locations worldwide. Consequently, they need employees who are internationally trained and possess the necessary language skills and intercultural competence of the respective country. This increasing demand coupled with the ongoing shortage of highly-qualified professionals in Germany has posed numerous new challenges to international- and practice-oriented academic programmes offered at UAS. These new qualification requirements must be implemented in close coordination between the universities and businesses by internationalising curricula, engaging in international cooperation and offering low-threshold exchange programmes.
With this comprehensive funding programme, the DAAD wishes to advance the internationalisation of universities of applied sciences across the board and to all levels of university teaching and administration.

With this call for applications, universities can obtain funding through two modules: either for exploratory or preparatory projects (Module A) or for pilot and joint projects with international partners (Module B).

Module A supports the applying UAS to develop and implement an internationalisation strategy which includes all university groups, i.e. students, instructors and administrative staff. The UAS should use this module to build and expand sustainable networks promoting study, teaching, research and practical application with German and international partners in business, science and politics through international partnerships. Furthermore, this module provides financing to establish and implement preparatory and support measures for study and internships in Germany and abroad at the applying university.

Module B enables the applying UAS to develop and expand international- and practice-oriented double or dual degree programmes with integrated digital formats in close collaboration with (local, regional and international) professional partners. Practice-oriented degree programmes should be expanded and/or newly developed to include mobility windows (for study, research and internship visits abroad). Module B is targeted at universities which are already actively involved in international collaborations and wish to intensify or expand their international partnerships.

Contact

P44 – Digitalisation for Internationalisation, Universities of Applied Sciences
Christoph Münch
Senior Desk Officer and project management
Tel: +49 228-882 8141

Module A

Tatjana Weimer
Project management
Tel: +49 228-882 8137

Module B

Rana Gharaibeh
Project management A-K
Tel: +49 228-882 8128

Kitimapron Kraft
Project management L-Z
Tel: +49 228-882 8139

E-Mail: HAW@daad.de
Module C supports the academic mobility of especially qualified students and researchers irrespective of the existing framework conditions of the corresponding university.
The module serves to establish a scholarship programme specifically targeted at and tailored to the needs of top-performing UAS students. Various components of this funding programme (study visits, visits abroad for completing theses, participation at conferences and fairs) comprise a new, visible and comprehensive instrument with which various forms of foreign mobility can be specifically promoted in the context of practice-oriented UAS degree programmes. An additional advantage of the scholarship programme is its extensive flexibility with respect to region and time and sufficient financial resources.
The study-related funding formats comprise study visits (3 to 6 months) and foreign research visits for the purpose of completing a thesis (1 to 6 months). The financial benefits include scholarship instalments which can vary depending on the host country, payment of tuition fees (for study visits), travel expense allowances and foreign health insurance coverage.
In addition to promoting student mobility, Module C also supports internationality of applied research endeavours at UAS and their presence abroad. To this end, Module C finances participation at international congresses and fairs. Funding is used to establish a programme whose purpose is to award grants to master’s students, researching project staff, doctoral candidates and professors at UAS so that they may participate at academic conferences and fairs.
These funding measures are to be accompanied by targeted communication and marketing measures for students
Call for applications

UAS.International: Semesters abroad and thesis completion for students

UAS.International: Congress and fair trips

UAS.International: Internships abroad for students
Contact

Scholarships for semesters abroad and thesis completion:

Cathrin Raabe
Team and project management
Tel.: +49 228-882 8204

Maria Konrad
Project management
Tel.: +49 228-882 8202

Ulrike Stegmann
Project management
Tel.: +49 228-882-8202

Miriam van den Boom
Project management
Tel.: +49 228-882-4683

E-Mail: studierende-haw@daad.de

Congress and fair trips:
Dr. Holger Finken
finken@daad.de
Tel.: +49 228-882 334

Marketing and information:

K24 - Information on Studying Abroad:
Alexander Haridi (Head of Section)
haridi@daad.de
Tel: +49 228-882 763

Hanne Lehnert (Senior Desk Officer)
lehnert@daad.de
Tel.: +49 228-882 8136
The purpose of this module is to advance internationalisation at UAS by strengthening efforts to acquire and provide expertise in dialogue with all relevant stakeholders. Funding is granted to establish an advisory office for UAS representatives and a special programme of the international DAAD Academy (iDA) for the UAS. Furthermore, the module supports the acquisition of subject-relevant expertise and the organisation of dialogue events. The universities can contact the DAAD with any questions they have regarding regional focuses, finding suitable partners, and cooperation and risk management issues. In the area of continuing education, the special iDA programme offers two lines of professional training: the first in cooperation management and strategy development, and the second in regional competence and matchmaking for UAS. Click here for further details on the iDA programme (in German). The respective expertise is gathered in the form of short analyses and studies. The findings are then presented and discussed by political, business and university representatives in the context of dialogue events.

Analyses and studies in „HAW.International“

The Working Paper “Internationalisation of universities of applied sciences - Current status, empirical findings and outlook” examines the current state of internationalisation at UAS and the (strategic) orientation of internationalisation. You can find the link here.

Contact

Consultation and political dialog:
Claudia Nospickel
nospickel@daad.de
+49 228 882-8967

Sabine Beißwenger
beisswenger@daad.de
+49 228 882-8095

Continuing education:
Alema Ljumanovic-Hück
Corrina Jörres
info@daad-akademie.de
General coordination

P44 – Digitalisation for Internationalisation, Universities of Applied Sciences
Nicole Ohlemüller
Head of Section

E-Mail: HAW@daad.de

Scholarships for semesters abroad and thesis completion

E-Mail: studierende-haw@daad.de

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