Funding for "Changing course"

The project "Kurswechsel: Migrantinnen von der Hochschule in den Beruf" is funded by the state of Lower Saxony and the European Social Fund (ESF) . It aims to create individual and digital support programmes for refugees who have dropped out of university in order to prepare them for a self-determined and sustainable career start in Germany.

At the end of January, the Ministry of Science and Culture announced that the University of Oldenburg's project is among the projects to open up universities that are being funded with a total of 2.5 million euros. Prof. Dr Olaf Zawacki-Richter, Executive Director of the C3L - Centre for Lifelong Learning, is the scientific director.

The aim of "Changing Course" is to support people with different backgrounds and different educational or career goals in order to enable equal access to the labour market. Competence portfolios, learning via a digital learning platform, individual and needs-based support as well as workshops and internships are used to prepare people who have dropped out of education for the demands of academic appointments.

With this project, the researchers want to develop and test measures and materials to increase participants' chances of finding an apprenticeship or job. The fundamental objectives are to make their own skills visible and reflect on them, to familiarise them with the education and vocational system in Germany and to enable them to move independently on the labour market.

The two-year Kurswechsel project will begin in mid-2020.

To the announcement of the Ministry of Science and Culture: https: //www.mwk.niedersachsen.de/startseite/aktuelles/presseinformationen/2-5-millionen-euro-fur-projekte-zur-offnung-von-hochschulen-184725.html