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Applied Learning through Industry Collaboration

  • Purpose In 1969, Germany founded a new type of tertiary education institution, the so-called “Universities of Applied Sciences” (UAS). In contrast to traditional universities, UAS are supposed to educate their students based on scientific methods but with a high degree of application orientation (Wissenschaftsrat, 2010). The goal was to generate highly employable graduates. Since then the number of UAS in Germany has risen to 216 in 2018/2019 (Statistisches Bundesamt, 2019). ~45% of all German students start their tertiary education at a UAS (Autorengruppe Bildungsberichterstattung, 2018). UAS graduates are well perceived by domestic employers, enjoy high recruiting rates and attractive salary levels. The educational model has proven so successful that its approach and underlying philosophy has been replicated under terms such as “cooperative education” or “applied learning” in a vast number of different countries and educational systems around the globe (Altbach, Reisberg, & Rumbley, 2011). This talk critically describes the key aspects that constitute German UAS’ approaches to industry-oriented applied learning. The findings are relevant for academics, policy makers, and industry representatives to generate ideas on how to improve study curricula, policies, or collaboration between academia and industry. Method The approach taken consists of a descriptive and structured account of the key aspects that constitute the study curricula of a UAS from an applied learning perspective. By building on their own experiences as teaching professors and part of a German UAS’ managerial team, the research method taken resembles an action research-oriented approach. Key Findings German UAS have numerous application-oriented learning elements in their curricula. These elements are performed inside the university like lab courses but many of these learning elements are carried out in cooperation with industry. Bachelor programs span over seven semesters. Fundamentals are taught in the first two semesters and from the third semester on, more and more application-oriented lectures and labs become part of the curricula. In the fifth semester, a mandatory internship is integrated in the study program. This internship is carried out either at companies in Germany or abroad. It is the goal of the internship that the students gain first practical experience in a real work environment. The work tasks in internship should be similar to the later professional demands and should contain a project. The students themselves are responsible for finding an appropriate job and organize the administrative aspects around the internship, thus their self-organization skills are advanced. The UAS teaching staff supervises the internships from an academic perspective. This mandatory internship has numerous advantages: students experience real industry environment and they build contacts to later employers thus forming a potential pathway to future employment. Bachelor and master courses each finish with thesis work. The majority of theses is carried out in companies under university supervision. This is a second chance for the students to accomplish a company project, to gain practical experience and to get in touch with potential employers. In addition to undergraduate and postgraduate education, German UAS do a lot of applied research together with companies. This applied research can also be the basis for the work of Ph.D students. Industry representatives are also involved when designing new study programs as consultants and give advice for accreditation and reaccreditation of programs. All these activities of German universities of applied sciences lead to a high practical relevance of education programs and to a high degree of employability of UAS graduates.

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Metadaten
Author:Markus WestnerORCiDGND, Thomas FuhrmannORCiDGND
Parent Title (English):Applied Learning Conference, 2020, Singapur
Subtitle (English):The Case of German Universities of Applied Sciences
Document Type:conference proceeding (presentation, abstract)
Language:English
Year of first Publication:2020
Release Date:2020/03/12
Tag:Applied Learning; Industry collaboration; UAS
Institutes:Fakultät Informatik und Mathematik
Fakultät Elektro- und Informationstechnik / Labor Optische Übertragungssysteme
Fakultät Informatik und Mathematik / Regensburg Strategic IT Management (ReSITM)
research focus:Lebenswissenschaften und Ethik