National Pact for Women in STEM professions

Getting women interested in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics; or in German: MINT - mathematics, informatics, natural sciences and technology) has been a main focus of Hamm-Lippstadt University of Applied Sciences since its foundation. Through a wide variety of study and career orientation activities for girls and young women, it has been possible to continuously increase the proportion of women among students. Currently, about one third of the students are female. By joining the National Pact for Women in STEM Professions "Komm, mach MINT". (Come on, do STEM.) in January 2013, the university has set itself the goal of further expanding the measures addressing women and increasing the current figures even more.

Founded on the initiative of Federal Education Minister Annette Schavan in 2008, the pact aims to inspire more young women to take up scientific and technical courses of study and to attract female university graduates to careers in the economy. More than 240 partners - from the German public broadcasting company ARD and the State of Lower Saxony to the weekly newspaper DIE ZEIT – have already joined the pact. From 2008 to the end of 2012, more than 1,000 projects succeeded in reaching well over 400,000 girls and young women.

The branch office of Komm, mach MINT. is located at the Competence Center Technology-Diversity-Equal Opportunities e. V. (kompetenzz), which has been advising Hamm-Lippstadt University of Applied Sciences for years. The focus is not only on attracting new female students, but also on promoting women who are already enrolled. For example, a career workshop for female students and a gender awareness workshop for female and male employees of the university have been successfully carried out.

The facts show that the young university is on the right track with its already established activities: with one-third of its students being women, the university is above average in engineering subjects. In terms of the number of female professors, the university also performs well in a national comparison.

Learn more (in German) 

National Pact for Women in STEM (MINT) professions – Komm, mach MINT.:

• about the pact
• partners
• projects

Refugee immigration is a much-discussed topic in Germany. In a lecture series on the topic Refugees Welcome - and then?, the bachelor’s degree program Intercultural Business Psychology, which was launched in 2015, invited guest speakers from politics, business, law and refugee initiatives to Hamm-Lippstadt University of Applied Sciences.

As extensive, urgent and partly unresolved as questions about initial care or the right of residence of refugees actually are, it is equally important to already address the effects of integration in the areas of education and the labor market. Unsurprisingly, the integration of refugees into the work process is frequently highlighted as an essential aspect of successful integration. However, the challenging framework conditions - be they legal, psychological or even organizational - raise many questions: What could social participation be like in terms of education? How should companies change or how should they be supported in order to be able to use this challenge as an opportunity? How can refugees, and also German employees, be prepared for the new situation? What information is perhaps rarely addressed in the public debate but is crucial in order to understand the topic? The lecture series Refugees Welcome – and then? was dedicated to these aspects and invited all interested parties to exchange ideas.

Different perspectives - the topics

In the opening event on October 23, 26-year-old Syrian Tarek Ghadri reported on his life before the war, his flight, everyday life in a refugee home and his very personal "search for a homeland". He was accompanied by Kirstin Neumann, who advises refugees on their asylum procedure in the Oberhavel district of Brandenburg. She provided an insider’s view of everyday issues that refugees face, and of topics such as finding a place to live and work, and reuniting families.

• The situation of refugees in Hamm. Mario Lerche and Wolfgang Müller, Office for Social Integration of the City of Hamm (internal university event)
• Portrayal of refugees in the media. Raphael Schanz
• Potential analysis among immigrants and cross-mentoring with companies. Yukiko Elisabeth Kobayashi, ImpactDock
• Legal framework of German asylum policy. Dr. Michael von Glahn
• Academic experience worldwide. Melusine Reimers
• Social identification of refugees in Germany. Dr. Débora Maehler
• Integration of refugees - can we achieve this? Prof. Dr. Thomas K. Bauer

All events took place on the Hamm campus.

Since its founding, Hamm-Lippstadt University of Applied Sciences has enjoyed a close partnership with the Friedensschule comprehensive school in Hamm, particularly in natural sciences: the students are regular guests at the zdi laboratory. That’s why the university is particularly keen to support the Friedensschule’s book project Angekommen - Angenommen (Arrived – Accepted) under the patronage of Integration Minister Guntram Schneider. The book contains interviews with 34 current and former pupils with an immigrant background who have achieved and are achieving good school performance, and who are forging their way in an initially foreign society despite initial obstacles. It is a testimony to practiced integration in a multicultural society in which equal access to education is the precondition for equal opportunities and for making dreams come true. This is precisely the goal we set ourselves as a university - to be open to all and to offer everyone a perspective, regardless of their background.
With its integration book Angekommen - Angenommen (Arrived - Accepted), the Friedensschule is one of the winners of the Bertelsmann Foundation’s All Kids are VIPs competition in 2012.

Foreword for the book by former HSHL President Prof. Dr. Klaus Zeppenfeld (translation):

"As president of the Hamm-Lippstadt University of Applied Sciences, which was newly founded in 2009, I congratulate the Friedensschule on this remarkable book project. My appreciation goes to the pupils who, with their portraits and contributions, show the diversity and the tremendous opportunities associated with it. Quite normally in everyday (school) life, we see a colorful picture with the most diverse characters and talents of girls and boys, most of whom were born in Germany, whose family backgrounds nevertheless show differences and have a special influence on them. Yet they all live together in this city. They like being here, belong here and have the same goal: to achieve good future prospects through education and recognition in society, which they enrich in their own individual ways. Everyone should have unrestricted access to obtaining a higher education degree. As a university, we have made it our colorful mission to ensure this and to support you on this path. Lifelong learning is a magic word in this context that should accompany you. We would like to encourage you to follow this path and take advantage of the opportunities and wish you all the success in doing so."

Prof. Dr. Klaus Zeppenfeld
Founding President of Hamm-Lippstadt University of Applied Sciences