The state's universities of applied sciences are facing a growing challenge: there is a nationwide shortage of qualified junior staff to fill vacant professorships. In response to this, HFT Stuttgart has developed the joint mentoring programme "HAWKarriere" together with eight universities in Baden-Württemberg. The scientific advisory board of the German Society for Mentoring (DGM) has now certified the high quality of the programme and recommended initial certification.
"Attracting and retaining qualified professors is a key issue for the future of universities of applied sciences. HAWKarriere makes an important contribution to this," says Isabella Fischer, programme coordinator at the Stuttgart University of Applied Sciences. Since January 2024, HAWKarriere has been aimed at young academics who are seeking both an academic career and a university professorship. The programme aims to attract qualified talent for a professorship at an early stage, support newly appointed professors and retain them at universities in the long term.
The DGM's Scientific Advisory Board praises the participating universities for showing young academics concrete career opportunities. The programme also encourages them to seek support for their career path from experienced professors at other universities. On the one hand, the fact that individual support is linked to strategic personnel development and, on the other, the support formats that are linked to higher education didactic qualification programmes are rated positively.
HAWKarriere was developed as part of the federal-state programme FH-Personal. Initial results are already available: Participants in the programme have been appointed to professorships at HfWU Geislingen, and joint specialist publications have also been published.
With its certificate, the DGM confirms the quality and effectiveness of HAWKarriere in order to strengthen the next generation of professors at universities. The association intends to offer and further expand the programme in the long term.
