At the beginning of the year the University of Stuttgart and the Media University (HdM) installed a sustainable structure of further education on the Vaihingen Campus, combining the activities and expertise of both universities in the field of the conceptual design, marketing and management of extra occupational further education programmes. At the centre of this cooperation is the Further Education Academy. The work is implemented practically by establishing a joint Master course of studies Intra- and Entrepreneurship. The Ministry of Science, Research and Art Baden-Württemberg is supporting this cross-university anchoring of extra occupational further education in the framework of the programme “Initiatives to expand extra occupational Master programmes“. The funding amount is 600,000,- euros for a period of five years.
With a view to expanding extra occupational Master programmes by the Ministry of Science, Research and Art Baden-Württemberg, Minister Theresia Bauer emphasised: “Extra occupational further education programmes will be a cornerstone of the knowledge-based society in the future. Who should take on this task if not our universities with their excellent competences in scientific teaching.“
Under the joint umbrella of the Master Online Academy, the University of Stuttgart and the Media
University will be establishing the extra occupational further education structurally as the fourth
pillar in their portfolio, as provided for in the State University Act (LHG).
Prof. Wolfram Ressel, Rector at the University of Stuttgart, underlined the model character
of the cooperation, saying: “Both universities with varying structures will gather in the same
place to strike out in new directions. Together we will set up a lighthouse of extra occupational
further education and anchor this important pillar of teaching in both our universities in an
exemplary fashion both regionally and nationally.“
HdM Rector Prof. Alexander W. Roos emphasised: “Funding entrepreneurial initiatives is vital
for the future of a modern region. Our intention with the joint programme is to encourage founders
to put their ideas into practice.“ Acting and thinking in an entrepreneurial way is also useful in
approaching industrial problems“, Roos went on to say.
The University of Stuttgart subscribes to extra occupational further education in its structure and development plan. It considers it to be its obligation and challenge, particularly as a technically oriented university, to ensure that knowledge generated in research is transferred directly to professional practice without diversions via third parties. With three online-based courses of studies leading to a Master of Science degree (Construction Physics, Logistics Management and Integrated Gerontology) and in creating the Master Online Academy to market and manage the study courses, the university has already taken its initial successful steps towards sustainable anchoring the further education in the past five years.
At present HdM is offering two extra occupational Master courses of study (International Business, Library and Information Management) and has an equally broad and deep application and development experience with media-based didactics (management games, digital learning applications, linked learning environments), that is essential for extra occupational learning. The planned opening of a Simulation Centre in the spring of 2014 shows that HdM considers itself to be a pioneer in terms of designing and realising media-based didactics in a technical way as well.
With the cooperation and the new Joint Masters Degree, both universities are combining their competences to form a needs- and demand oriented further education concept, shifting the perspective of those inquiring consistently to the centre of the programme planning and implementation. As of 2015 the planned postgraduate studies is to give workers and graduates a sound professional training in order to enable them to found their own company or take over a company. Contact persons for the new programme are Dr. Hartmut Rösch (Founder Centre of HdM, Tel. 0711/8923 2118, roesch@hdm-stuttgart.de) and Dr. Ulrich Eggert (Master Online Academy, Tel. 0711/685 68330, eggert@master-online.info). The funding amount serves as start-up funding for the project. The further training programme subject to charges is to fund itself in the future.
Further information :
Dr. Hans-Herwig Geyer, Head of University Communication and Press Spokesperson, University of
Stuttgart,
Tel.: 0711/685-82555, Email: hans-herwig.geyer [at] hkom.uni-stuttgart.de
Kerstin Lauer, Press Spokesperson, Media University Stuttgart,
Tel.: 0711/8923-2020, Email: lauer [at] hdm-stuttgart.de