Development of an Internationalisation Strategy at TH Wildau
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Development of an Internationalisation Strategy at TH Wildau

German version

This is a webpage about the development of the first university-wide internationalisation strategy of the Technical University of Applied Sciences Wildau. On this site, we will inform you about the background, goals, and status of the project.

The internationalisation strategy itself is on a separate page, which can be found here.

Webpage status (August 4, 2022): Note that this site will no longer be updated and is to be used for reference only.
 

Brief Description and Objectives

What's the context?Open areaClose area

The TH Wildau is in a comprehensive strategic process to position itself as a university compared to its competitors and to give itself a specific profile.

Based on the development of the mission statement in 2019 as well as the university contract and the university development plan, the TH Wildau worked on the development of its first university-wide internationalization strategy in the years 2020 to 2022. The strategy been developed as a part of a participatory process and was supported by all areas of the university. The Senate of the TH Wildau unanimously decided on the internationalization strategy on July 4th, 2022 (after prior approval by both departmental councils).

How was the internationalisation strategy created?Open areaClose area

The internationalization strategy defines four central fields of action:

- campus

- Language

- Mobility

– network


The internationalization strategy is developed

  •     including the professional profile, the university location Wildau and the capital region Berlin-Brandenburg
  •     with the setting of regional and thematic priorities
  •     in a balance of scientific, economic and political goals
  •     in participatory mediation between top-down and bottom-up processes
  •     in the interplay between planned and emergent strategies
  •     underpinned by long-term personnel and financial resource planning
  •     in comparison with the internationalization strategy of the federal government (2017), the strategy of the joint science conference (2013) and the existing nationwide strategies for individual countries and regions (China, Africa, Europe)
  •     based on values ​​such as academic freedom, institutional autonomy, cosmopolitanism, tolerance, cultural diversity, freedom of expression, fairness, equality.

The project ran from 2020 to 2022 and was accompanied externally by the compact "Internationalization of Universities" audit by the German Rectors' Conference (HRK).

In addition, the development of the strategy in the years 2019 to 2021 was supported by the "HAW.International" funding program of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD).

Project Architecture

Steering Group (Executive Committee): Steering of the ProjectOpen areaClose area

  • Prof. Dr. Ulrike Tippe (President)
  • Thomas Lehne (Chancellor)
  • Prof. Dr. Jörg Reiff-Stephan (Vice President for Studies and Teaching)
  • Prof. Dr. Klaus-Martin Melzer (Vice President for Research and Transfer)
  • Prof. Dr. Stefan Kubica (Vice President for Digitalisation and Quality Management)

Project Group: Central Working LevelOpen areaClose area

  • Dr. Gregory Bond (for the Centre for International Affairs, Language Centre)
  • Aynur Durak (for the Student Council, University Policy and International Affairs)
  • Prof. Dr. Christian Hederer (for the Faculty of Business, Computing, and Law)
  • Dipl.-Ing. Andreas Hotes (for the Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences)
  • Dr. Svenja Kornher (for the Executive Committee, Department of Studies and Teaching)
  • Prof. Dr. Stefan Kubica (for the Executive Committee, Department of Digitalisation and Quality Management)
  • Viatcheslav Obodzinkskiy (for the Wildau Institute of Technology)
  • Marianne Polkau (for the Executive Committee, Department of Research and Transfer)
  • Dr. Angelika Schubert (for the Centre for International Affairs, International Office)
  • Sebastian Stoye (for the Centre for University Communication)
  • Prof. Dr. Stefan Trencsik (for the Faculty of Business, Computing, and Law)
  • Dr. Sabine Vollmert-Spiesky (for the Executive Committee, Department of Administration)
  • Prof. Dr. Eckart Wolf (for the Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences)
  • Kathrin Wüst (for the Centre for International Affairs, International Preparatory Programs)

Project Management and Coordination: Support of the ProjectOpen areaClose area

  • Prof. Ulrike Tippe (Project Leader)
  • Dr. Jeffrey Wolf (Centre for International Affairs, Section "Strategic International Partnerships and Programmes"
  • Iris Danowski (Advisor German Rectors' Conference)
  • Stephan Keuck (Advisor German Rectors' Conference)

Project Workflow

Kick-off Meeting of the Audit Project Group (January 21, 2020)Open areaClose area

  • Presentation of the framework for internationalisation and the target dimensions of the HRK
  • Introduction to the status quo of internationalisation at TH Wildau
  • Process flow, forms of cooperation, and website
  • First steps towards self-reporting (SWOT analyses)

Receipt of the Audit Documents from the HRK (February 5, 2020)Open areaClose area

  • Receipt of a guide and a structured template for the preparation of the self-report, which contains the key questions on the institutional classification of the university and the status quo of internationalisation
  • Dissemination of documents and discussion with the project group

Closed Meeting of the Centre for International Affairs (February 17, 2020)Open areaClose area

One-day closed meeting for topics related to the areas of the Centre for International Affairs:

  •     International Office
  •     Strategic international partnerships and programmes
  •     Language Centre
  •     International preparation programs (Wildau Foundation Year, Welcome Center)

Submission of the Audit Self-Report (October 19, 2020)Open areaClose area

  • Content of the report: motives and goals, strengths and weaknesses and development potential of TH Wildau with a view to its internationalisation
  • Written jointly by the project group
  • Qualitative: contains self-reflection; quantitative: provides data
  • Time frame for creation: approx. 4 months; the report itself remains confidential
  • Based on the self-report, identification of stakeholders by the audit team for one-to-one interviews

Audit Preliminary Talk with the HRK (January 11, 2021)Open areaClose area

  • Explanation of the tasks and workflow in the context of the audit process
  • Answering questions from the project group
  • Time frame: about three hours

Meeting of the project group to revise the self-report (March 17, 2021)Open areaClose area

  • Discussion of the proposals from the project group for the revision of the self-report
  • Discussion of initial prioritisation of the goals of the internationalisation strategy

Audit On-Site Visit (June 28 to July 1, 2021)Open areaClose area

  • Time frame: two days
  • Central tool of advice by the HRK
  • Identification of the need for action and development prospects for the internationalisation of the TH Wildau based on the self-report by the project group and the audit team
  • Exchange with the project group
  • Individual and group discussions
  • Based on the discussions and the self-report:development of recommendations for the further internationalisation of the university by the HRK

Receipt of the Catalog of Recommendations from the HRK (September 17, 2021)Open areaClose area

  • Content of the catalog of recommendations: systematic recommendations on the strategic orientation of internationalisation and the optimisation of internationalisation processes and measures at TH Wildau
  • Where applicable, a needs-based integration of selected good practice examples from other institutions
  • Will be received about two months after the audit visit; recommendation catalog remains confidential

Audit Consolidation Workshop (October 29, 2021)Open areaClose area

  • At the end of the audit: HRK supports the development of an implementation strategy coordinated with the goals and resources of the university
  • Presentation of the first results of the internal coordination process by the project group and discussion with the audit team
  • First start in prioritising future goals and measures or in sustainable implementation planning

Strategy Day for further elaboration of the strategy (November 17, 2021)Open areaClose area

Meeting of the project group to further elaborate the strategy:

  •     To discuss and draft the internationalisation strategy
  •     General discussion of the draft in plenary
  •     Working groups to elaborate the individual points in more detail (with further individual meetings if necessary).

 

University-wide meeting on internationalisation strategy (January 10, 2022)Open areaClose area

  •     Circulation in advance and discussion on the day itself of the already further elaborated general template with the entire university community
  •     Obtaining feedback, opportunity for all university members to express themselves

Presentation of the internationalisation strategy in committees (2022)Open areaClose area

  •     Presentation to the Presidential Board on January 25, 2022
  •     Internal university presentation on April 11, 2022
  •     Presentation and endorsement in the Departmental Council for Economics, Computer Science, Law on June 13, 2022
  •     Presentation and endorsement in the Faculty Council for Engineering and Natural Sciences on June 20, 2022
  •     Decision in the Presidium on June 28, 2022
  •     Resolution in the Senate of the TH Wildau on July 4, 2022

 

Implementation review by an internationalisation strategy commission (mid-2022)Open areaClose area

  • First meeting at the end of the summer semester 2022, thereafter meeting 1x per semester