|
On March 9, 2006, the Mercator Foundation and the Donors’ Association for the Promotion of Science and Humanities in Germany announced the winners of their national "Key Qualifications plus" competition. IUB is one of four universities chosen from a total of 93 applicants for exemplarily providing students with personal and professional competences beyond academic skills. The laureates were awarded 100,000 euros in prize money each.
[
Mar
09, 2006]
"This is a great success for IUB! It affirms our intensive endeavours in providing our students, in addition to an excellent academic education, with an ideal environment for an optimal personal development as a important competence key to their future careers," Dr. Fritz Schaumann, IUB president, commented the results of the competition.
In addition to the task of giving the students a top academic education, it is becoming increasingly important for universities to assist graduates in developing additional personal skills necessary for future career and social responsibilities. Therefore the goal of the competition, which awarded a total of 450,000 euros, was to identify and advance "best practice models" of study programs and educational concepts that manage to provide theses kinds of qualifications.
Among the 93 universities participating in the competition, the Association and the Mercator Foundation invited ten to present their concept to a jury of nine judges. The four winners were chosen from among these ten finalists. In addition to IUB, the Ruhr University Bochum, the University of the Federal Armed Forces in Munich, and the University Witten/Herdecke were awarded with 100,000 euros. A special award of 50,000 euros was awarded by the jury to the Initiative "femtec - University Career Center for Women, Berlin". The winners will be presented as "Guiding Beacons” to the general public in a national symposium and a series of publications.
The jury was especially impressed with the IUB model's involvement of the students in the development of the institution. Devices such as the "student court", where students debate and independently resolve problems while learning conflict resolution, make the university a place of real-time learning and experience. The IUB concept was also noted as an example of inter-cultural living, which succeeds in an excellent way, by integrating students from 85 nations into the education concept.
The experience of IUB students confirms the jury’s assessment. Sebastion Horn, a 21-year old German student in his second year of Integrated Social Sciences: "The multiculturalism on campus affects not only the social life but also the academic co-operation. All common activities challenge us to consider different approaches and varied opinions while still having to effectively co-operate with other students. This develops good leadership qualities, efficient and decisive division of labor, tolerance and the ability to compromise."
22-year old Lucia Kayserova, this year graduating in Biochemistry and Cell Biology, is particularly inspired by the transdisciplinary training and the undergraduate's early integration into research projects: "As my molecular life sciences curriculum places a special emphasis on practical experience, IUB has trained me into an independently thinking future researcher, able to work both individually and in a team. Additionally the transdisciplinary in learning and co-operating at IUB helped to decidedly broaden my academic scope." After her graduation in June the young Slovakian will begin her PhD work in the world wide renowned Heidelberg European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL).
Complete competition Information and selection criteria
|
