Internationalization strategy of the

Transcription

1 Page 1 Internationalization strategy of the Augsburg University of Applied Sciences Hochschule Augsburg University of Applied Sciences

2 Index 1. Foreword 3 2. Process of internationalization 4 3. Principles and guidelines 6 4. action fields Aims Measures Studies and teaching Research, scientific training and knowledge transfer Administration and science management Marketing and Communication university cooperations and strategic partnerships Outlook 19

3 1. Foreword Page 3 The big challenges of modern society are no longer just of regional nature and can only be taken on together with everyone and for everyone. For this reason, science can today especially also due to the possibilities of global information networking only be developed further globally. New expectations and demands are brought to science: it is to develop new learning formats adapted to the current multimedia period and is to produce graduates, who are able to cope in an international working environment. Educating these»sought-after personalities«is the aim of the Augsburg University of Applied Sciences. International dialog and exchange in teaching and studies as well as in research and development therefore also belong to its strategically most important task. To promote and wherever and however possible to support the motivation, which is part of the thinking and acting of students and scientists, must be a core task. For this purpose, the drive created in science must be seen as crossing borders (and not only geographically). Consolidating this with the students and living it by example as teachers is one of the most distinguished tasks. Internationality must not be limited exclusively to mobility and exchange between universities. It s rather a question of facing the scientific and societal challenges as a university. As part of the international science community, the Augsburg University of Applied Sciences continues to thereby strengthen the development of an international and intercultural science space. It sees itself as a public facility with the duty of participating in solving societal and social problems and of finding substantiated answers to some significant questions of the 21st century within its means. Supporting the students to allow them to act and think confidently in the economy and society in international relations is to become a profile-shaping trademark of the university. The internationalization of the Augsburg University of Applied Sciences enjoys a high priority. The set aim of the internationalization strategy, which is explained in the following, of the Augsburg University of Applied Sciences is thus to analyze, to classify, to evaluate, to consider if required and to strategically focus on the existing activities on the one hand and to set new strategic impulses on the other. The university-wide aims have been formulated such that they allow enough space and encourage the stimulation of individual initiatives. A strengthened internationalization requires more use of human and financial resources. The university leadership expressively accepts this, as this is the only way sustainability can be achieved. It particularly promotes activities of the faculties, which seek to gain additional third party resources. As part of the HRK audit»internationalization of the universities«, which started at the Augsburg University of Applied Sciences in 2011 and will be in the reauditing process from 2014, the wider university public is to be reached and involved in the discussion. With this the university strengthens the global, cross-border education, which is also aligned towards international contents. The executive board will develop this internationalization strategy further and consistently adapt it to the students and teachers. Prof. Dr.-Ing. Hans-Eberhard Schurk President

4 2. Process of internationalization

5 2. Process of internationalization Page 5 The Augsburg University of Applied Sciences sees internationalization as a continuous and dynamic process for optimizing the framework conditions, which support and simplify international thinking and acting. This cross-sectional task is a joint responsibility of everyone related to the university: it is to be aligned transparently with multiple perspectives and is to involve all groups of the university. the structure and development planning with regard to their coherence with the institutional aims. The executive board controls the operationalization of the university-wide internationalization aims with the intention to accompany the faculties on the path to a faculty- and subject-specific internationalization concept (counter-current process). The Internationalization steering group accompanies this process in a consulting function, in order to initiate and promote the university-wide communication, in order to establish concepts and to formulate recommendations into aim definitions and use of resources. The steering group consists of: a professor with international experience elected by the executive board, a member of the executive board, one representative from each faculty, the head of the International Office, a representative of the non-professorial academic staff and/or of the scientific support staff, a representative of the Corporate Communication group as well as two student representatives. The steering group together with the executive board develops a strategic overall concept on the framework conditions of the internationalization in the area of development planning regarding studies and teaching, research and knowledge transfer, on the support of scientific trainees and in administration and science management. The action field Internationalization is a component of the aim commitments of the university with the Bavarian State Ministry for Science, Research and Art, as well as derived aim commitments between the executive board and the faculties. The individual measures of the faculties are determined as part of these aim commitments and the annual status discussions on Aims Both faculty-wide as well as faculty-specific internationalization concepts under consideration of the guidelines and action fields of the university-wide overall strategy Measures Regular reports on the internationalization in the committees Nomination of internationalization coordinators (International Coordinators, ICO) in the faculties with allocated functions and responsibilities in the faculty Functional allowances for the internationalization coordinators and timetable reductions for international tasks to the total of 1 % of the entire teaching duty of the university.

6 3. Principles and guidelines

7 3. Principles and guidelines Page 7 The Augsburg University of Applied Sciences sees itself as internationally acting and liberal-minded university. Internationalization as continuous process follows the aim of: strengthening and continuously optimizing the framework conditions for internationally connected thinking and acting in the central action fields of the university (studies and teaching, applied research and knowledge transfer, administration and service); constantly improving the quality of teaching and research with internationally orientated contents and measures; ensuring the international ability to work and the confident acting of graduates at home and abroad, their language abilities, inter-cultural competences as well as promoting their mobility and flexibility; making the performance strength of the university visible internationally and increasing the competitiveness in the national and international context; strengthening the quality of our international study offerings and cooperations in teaching and research as well as seeking to quantitatively increase the international student and mobility numbers; further strengthening the University of Applied Sciences in the City of Augsburg as internationally visible and liberal-minded studies, teaching and research location.

8 4. action fields Aims Measures

9 4. Action fields Aims Measures Page 9 In the four action fields of internationalization 1. Studies and teaching 2. research, scientific training and knowledge transfer 3. Administration and science management 4. Marketing and communication the Augsburg University of Applied Sciences hat set itself long-term aims, has formulated measures and connects these with a concrete time and resource planning.

10 4.1 Studies and teaching Page 10 International cooperations and transnational exchanges promote teaching as well as the methodology of learning and teaching. They contribute to the conveying of professional, social and communicative competences, which are of increasing significance for the job market. Internationalization also takes place at the own university, such as through the exchange and cooperation with fellow international students and colleagues in Augsburg. The Augsburg University of Applied Sciences understands the diversity and variety of its students, teachers and researchers as a big chance and potential for reaching the aims on the international level. a) Internationalization of all study programs and curricula The Augsburg University of Applied Sciences seeks to offer attractive studies for German and international students. Both groups will receive the opportunity through this to gain competences in Augsburg, which are a necessity for acting in international and inter-cultural relations. In light of the fact that currently the largest proportion of students completes its studies without spending time abroad with major differences between subject areas and study programs the internationalization of the teaching environment and of the study programs in Augsburg as well as the curricular securing of mobility will experience greater importance than so far. In order to achieve the latter, the study and examination regulations are to contain a mobility window in which students can complete a study abroad period without an extension of the study period. The faculty councils as well as the senate of the university are required to check the study and examination regulations in this regard and to amend them where appropriate. Aims Educating the students into graduates, who can act confidently in international and inter-cultural relations; International, language and inter-cultural competences for all graduates Measures Development of further international study programs or programs targeting an international job market Development of further joint-/double-degree study programs with international cooperation partners Development of international cooperations on study program level Securing of the international dimension in studying for all students already at Bachelor level through»penalty-free«study abroad periods and foreign-language lectures Expansion of the English language teaching offering Introduction of a certificate for inter-cultural competences Gaining guest lecturers to improve the international vocational training, especially with support by the DAAD or from resources provided by the federal state Systematic support and advice for students regarding questions on the study abroad period

11 4.1 Studies and teaching Page 11 b) Studies and internships abroad The ICOs in cooperation with the International Office advise the students on study opportunities and offerings abroad. As coordinators they support the students together with the entire staff in planning and organizing the study residences. The recognition of study achievements abroad is a matter of course. Alongside studying, further places for internships including in the non-european regions are to be gained, an information portal is to be developed for this and it is to be continuously maintained. Aims International fitness for employment of the graduates (foreign languages, inter-cultural competences, mobility, flexibility) Quantitative and qualitative increase of student mobility Measures Further development of a faculty-covering and transparent process for the recognition of study achievements obtained abroad Increase of teaching staff mobility, in order to create a foundation of trust for the recognition of study achievements obtained abroad Stronger toothing of the central advice offering on foreign mobility with that of the faculties Securing of tuition-free or at least tuition-reduced study places abroad (where possible) through appropriate offer for exchange students from abroad Support with searching for internship places abroad Special support of the foreign mobility of students with migration background

12 4.1 Studies and teaching Page 12 c) Gain and integration of foreign students The Augsburg University of Applied Sciences sees itself in front of the challenge to gain highly qualified and high-performing foreign students, both as exchange students and also as foreign»degree seeking«students in all Augsburg study programs (foreign students). They equally enrich both the studies at the university and the life in Augsburg with other perspectives and experiences. In addition they provide a culture and economy factor for the city and the region. For the exchange students the university offers special programs alongside the regular semester exchange, which are customized to the requirements of individual student groups. Furthermore the support of the students when looking for rooms in university halls is self-explanatory. The university manages a certain contingent of residence spaces for exchange students by itself. The Welcome Center welcomes the international students and accompanies them during their stay with help and advice. With these measures the university also secures tuition-free study places for the German students at the foreign partner universities. Contents and format of the special programs are continuously evaluated and adapted to the changes of the international university markets. Currently (as of WS 2013/14), 10.9 % of our students are foreign nationals, of which 7.2 % are foreign students. The university wants to increase these numbers. Alongside the further development of the quality-oriented application and selection process, it will put a special focus on securing the study success of the foreign students and will seek to find the reasons for the student dropout rates, derive measures to increase study success and finally implement these. In a first step, the university will set up a subject mentoring scheme for international students, in order to ease the transition from abroad into the study program. Advanced students are trained and qualified as mentors, in order to accompany foreign students during their Bachelor studies and at the start of their Masters studies with regard to the subject, language and social aspect in the sense of a complete peer coaching. Here a special focus is to be on meeting the subject requirements of the individual faculties for studying and thus secure the study success. The motivation for the (voluntary) mentors is e.g. the certified additional qualification of inter-cultural competency and the ECTS effective recognition of their performance.

13 4.1 Studies and teaching Page 13 Aims Increased gain of qualified and well-performing students from abroad Securing the study success of foreign students and decreasing the student dropout rate Measures Development and implementation of state-specific concepts for gaining students in cooperation with cooperation partners and alumni on location Set up and development of a network or extension of the decentralized/national network of foreign alumni Further development of the quality-oriented application and admission process Combination of the foreign student statistics with a differentiated study process statistics Further development of the university-wide reception and welcome culture Allocation of university-own university hall spaces Continuous care and support up to graduation by means of e.g. setting up a subject mentor scheme for foreign students Help with the referral of internships in the region University Dual International

14 4.2 Research, scientific training and knowledge transfer Page 14 The research focus»resources efficiency«plays an outstanding role at the Augsburg University of Applied Sciences. The continuous increase of third party funding acquisition in this focus is to significantly increase the visibility of the university and thus also attract international research partners. Here the knowledge transfer from the university into the economy is additionally focused on. Linked to this, third-party funded cooperative PhD programs with national and international partners are to be expanded further. Aims Creative and innovative research through international networking Strengthening of international visibility of the research performances Increase of number of doctoral candidates Measures International advertisements of professor jobs to increase the number of scientists from abroad Participation or initiation of international post-graduate or PhD programs Mobility increase for researchers and doctoral candidates

15 4.3 Administration and science management Page 15 The International Office acts on the basis of the internationalization strategy of the university as a university-wide service- and customer-oriented center of excellence. The duties of the IO are thus primarily service-oriented. In the process of internationalization it takes on the central coordination of all internal and external university bodies. The linguistic and inter-cultural competence development of our national and international students is coordinated centrally by the Center for Languages and Intercultural Communication (ZSI). Its task is to offer high quality foreign language training for German students, which is purpose-specific and flexible, as well as appropriate German courses for foreign students. The sitting of language exams is proven by recognized certification. Language excursions, translations, proofreading as well as support for teachers and scientific support staff are linked to the service spectrum of the ZSI. The internationalization of the university administration or the linguistic and inter-cultural qualification of the employees is a necessity for the internationalization of teaching and research. The Augsburg University of Applied Sciences will strengthen its efforts in the area of further training and education of the technical administration staff with regard to foreign language and inter-cultural competences. As part of ERASMUS it will promote the exchange with partner universities, in order to make its employees familiar with the working culture and business processes of foreign universities. Aims Internationalization of the administration, particularly on the various management levels Measures Expansion of the ZSI as strategic internationalization service provider for language and inter-cultural competence for students and employees Clear and transparent task allocation to central and decentralized services Efficient and interesting topic complex»internationalization«and adaptation of administration processes to international target groups Service offerings for all target groups in German or English Further education offers for administration staff Expansion of the international personnel stability

16 4.4 Marketing and Communication Page 16 In oder to strengthen the national and international visibility of the Augsburg University of Applied Sciences and to better position it in the international university landscape, a work group surrounding the Corporate Communication Team will develop strategic foreign marketing together with the executive board, which will comprise of the acquisition of foreign students as well as the maintenance of relationships with our former foreign students and graduates. Aims Strengthening of the visibility as internationally acting university particularly through consequent English language communication on all levels of the internationalization Measures Identification and further development of Unique Selling Points (USPs) also with regard to international competitors State-specific marketing strategies after consultation with the faculties Consequent expansion of an internationally oriented online appearance Development of information material for specific target groups Expansion of advice and service offerings particularly in English Participation in education fairs in focus countries and regions

17 5. university cooperations and strategic partnerships

18 5. University cooperations and strategic partnerships Page 18 The Augsburg University of Applied Sciences maintains cooperation agreements with more than 100 universities across all five continents. Focuses of the international cooperation define themselves by the history of the relations of the individual faculties. The university is currently in the process of evaluating the existing university cooperations, in order to decide on which partnerships should be strengthened and where possible and appropriate should be expanded university-wide. Hereby the expansion and development of existing partnerships on a central level have priority over the establishment of new cooperations. The latter are also only considered if the existing cooperations are insufficient for content or geographic reasons. The Internationalization steering group determines criteria and key figures, with which procedures, responsibilities, financing through central funding and sustainability are to be determined. On top of this the university regards strategic partnerships with foreign universities as a futuristic format of the formalized cooperation, which on the one hand are based on a university-wide setup and on the other are based on the experience of trustful cooperation. Strengthening these is achieved with the aim of significantly increasing the visibility of the university and the appeal of Augsburg, and more specifically the HSA. For the identification of strategic partners the university orientates itself by scientific focuses to the same extent as by the opportunity of a forward-looking expansion of the studies on offer. In particular, the regional situation must also be considered, in order to integrate people with a migration background and to use their potential for an international further development. Strategic cooperations stand for a close cooperation with teaching, research and administration, so synergies can be used and combined: such as through an attractive studies offering with joint summer schools, the introduction of the double degree and joint degree study programs, the joint training of young talent in the shape of cooperative PhD and post-graduate programs, structured mobility models for students as well as further qualification measures of administration employees in exchange. Aims Strengthening of the international and national visibility of the university Increase of the attractiveness of the Augsburg University of Applied Sciences as international university Measures Identification of strategic partners and intensification of cooperations Evaluation of the university cooperations according to key figures: e.g. mobility (students, teachers, cooperative doctoral candidates), double degrees, involvement of the faculties Application of the central budget resources and existing scholarship funding, primarily for the support of selected strategic partnerships

19 6. Outlook

20 6. Outlook Page 20 The Augsburg University of Applied Sciences received a certificate from the German Rectors Conference (HRK) for the successful participation in the HRK audit»internationalization of universities«on 11 December At the same time it committed itself towards HRK to actively approach the re-auditing process and carry it out with HRK. In light of the profile and the institutional internationalization strategy, it will use the auditing process to reflect on, further develop and substantiate the internationalization aims. The Augsburg University of Applied Sciences is working on the combination and amendment of already implemented measures and hopes for further visibility of the internationalization inwards as well as outwards. The present internationalization strategy is subject to regular evaluation; the planned measures are evaluated for the implementation and adapted as required. The evaluation is done by the»internationalization«steering group. The extended university leadership as well as the university council is informed annually of the progress of the internationalization amongst other in form of a key figure report. The key figure set is regularly updated by the Augsburg University of Applied Sciences and evaluated by means of alumni surveys. Augsburg, in December 2013 Fotos: S.4, S.8, S.19 Martin Duckek S.6 Norbert Liesz norlies.com S.17 Eckhart Matthäus em-foto.de