Professors for the future - Recruitment and development of professorial staff at the THGA

The THGA has developed a strategic concept for the recruitment and development of professorial staff and will use the funds raised from the federal-state program "FH-Personal" in various individual measures during the period from 01.04.2021 to 31.03.2027. The main aim is to fill all professorships with the best possible staff in due time. Together with seven cooperation partners, this overarching goal, as well as many others, is to be implemented.

Like other universities of applied sciences (HAW), the THGA recruits most of its professorial staff from commercial enterprises, as professional experience outside the university is an essential prerequisite for taking on a HAW professorship. Competition for the best minds is strongly influenced both by attractive working conditions in industry - especially for engineers - and the high density of universities in the Ruhr region.

The central topics of the "ProF@THGA" project are therefore to establish new qualification and recruitment paths for professorial staff, to promote young academics in-house, to establish career paths leading to a HAW professorship, to increase the attractiveness of the THGA as a place to work, to improve the compatibility of family and career and to promote diversity among professors.

Promoting Young Scientists

The funding of additional doctoral positions will not only strengthen cooperative doctorates in collaboration with universities; doctorates under the umbrella of the NRW Doctoral College will also be tested. The project creates a superordinate umbrella structure for all doctoral candidates at the university, which serves, among other things, to provide interdisciplinary qualifications and networking. It also strengthens the position of doctoral students as a whole.

The PhD Students Seminar provides additional support for early career researchers. It provides structured support for doctoral students at the THGA during and after their doctorate. As part of this structure, networking events, doctoral-related training and interdisciplinary qualification programs are offered.

To ensure the visibility of the group, two spokespersons are elected to represent the interests of the PhD Students as an official voice. The newly elected doctoral student spokespersons are Julia Haske and Myo

THGA PhD Students Spokeswomen elected

Julia Haske and Myo Thiri Kyaw represent the doctoral students at the THGA. Julia Haske and Myo Thiri Kyaw have been elected as the new spokespersons for doctoral candidates at the THGA. Their task is to represent doctoral students at the university and to focus more strongly on the interests of young researchers.

Postdoc Tandems - Career Path to a HAW Professorship

In future, four postdoctoral positions will be filled in tandem with different cooperation partners. The scientists are each employed half-time at the THGA and half-time in a company. This makes it possible to gain professional experience outside the university and gain further academic qualifications at the same time. The first postdoc tandem has been launched with the Deutsches Bergbau-Museum Bochum, and further collaborations will follow soon.

Increasing the Attractiveness of the HAW Professorship

The THGA has set itself the goal of increasing the attractiveness of the HAW professorship. Various concepts are to be used, e.g. the creation of image videos. A first video has been realized in cooperation with the Regionalverband Ruhr, based in Essen. Further image films will be realized in 2024.

The nationwide HAW-Professur campaign provides information on the general requirements, opportunities and paths to a HAW professorship.

The introduction of focus professorships is also intended to increase the attractiveness of the HAW professorship. At the same time, the university's profile areas will be strengthened. These are linked to the development goals of the THGA. In a first phase, four priority professors have begun to support the project with regard to increasing the proportion of women in research and teaching. Further objectives are the development of teaching innovations, the initiation of collaborations, the intensification of transfer relationships and the implementation of research projects.

Applications will soon be invited for a second round of focus professorships, which will also run for four semesters from the winter semester 2024/25.

Promoting Equal Opportunities and Diversity

A teaching assignment gives qualified women the opportunity to try out teaching, to get to know the THGA in particular and the work at universities of applied sciences in general and, if interested, to find out more about the career path "FH Professur". The aim of the project is to increase the proportion of women in teaching and research at the THGA. Further information can be found in the flyer Frauen in die Hörsäle.

As the proportion of women among the professors at the THGA is very low, the THGA is pursuing the goal of increasing this. With an International Women Engineers' Conference planned for the first time in 2024, a new format is to be created to draw women's attention to the THGA. As the THGA has an increasingly heterogeneous, primarily international student body, the aim is also to increase the proportion of professors with an international background and to create networking opportunities.

Onboarding and training for new employees

In order to increase the attractiveness of the professorship, the THGA has developed an onboarding and qualification program for newly appointed professors. This enables newly appointed professors to fulfill their duties in all necessary areas after a certain training period and to take responsibility for shaping the future of the THGA.

The project "ProF@THGA: Professors for the Future. Recruitment and development of professorial staff at the THGA" is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) under the funding code 03FHP110 in the federal-state programme "FH-Personal".