Is our education system too rigid, too sluggish? On the initiative of the University of Oldenburg, experts will be holding a discussion at Herrenhausen Palace in Hanover on 19 May. An interview with initiator Katharina Al-Shamery, acting president, about the aims and background to the event.
QUESTION: Ms Al-Shamery, "What is the educational mission of the university?" is the key question of the symposium that will take place on 19 May at Herrenhausen Palace in Hanover. The event, which is being organised on your initiative, will address various aspects of the current debate on education and universities. You have secured the National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina and the Volkswagen Foundation as co-organisers, as well as the support of all the major scientific organisations. What motivated you to initiate such an event?
AL-SHAMERY: One of the main motivations was to discuss the consequences of the ban on cooperation between universities and non-university institutions in connection with the emerging new formats of the Excellence Initiative. What does this mean for a medium-sized university that does not have a large non-university centre, such as ours? In addition, there is certainly also the question of how we can continue to fulfil our educational mission given the sharp rise in student numbers.
QUESTION: In what way?
AL-SHAMERY: In Oldenburg, we have had around 50 per cent more students in the last ten years without any significant increase in our basic funding. There have only ever been temporary budget increases. In the meantime, half of our budget has not been permanently allocated. This situation is not healthy for a university - especially with regard to a good education. It is dependent on the support of a permanent mid-level faculty to ensure continuity. However, it is precisely this that cannot be financed to the extent that would be necessary and that we would like to see under the circumstances mentioned.
QUESTION: What other questions were you concerned about in the run-up to the event?
AL-SHAMERY: It is clear that the university landscape will change dramatically in the coming decades. There are many fundamental questions about how we organise education today that concern us. In view of the rapid pace of technological development and demographic change, we need to think more in terms of a chain, we need to offer education and further education tailored to different stages of life, so that we can think in terms of completely different employment relationships and career paths. How do we modernise our rigid higher education system to keep pace with technological developments? Don't we actually have to turn our education system on its head if we really want to make serious use of modern media?
QUESTION: Which developments pose the greatest challenges to our education system?
AL-SHAMERY: In Wilhelm von Humboldt's time, the university was a training centre for a small male elite from mostly wealthy backgrounds. Internationally, we are now faced with completely different challenges. What if a country like China achieves a similarly high transition rate into the education system as we do? Are the education formats that we maintain still sustainable - or do we need to focus more on virtual education? In Germany, access to university is barrier-free, while high fees have to be paid abroad. From this perspective, the development of MOOCs, Massive Open Online Courses, for example, takes on a whole new meaning that is not yet really recognised in Germany.
QUESTION: Interested parties can still register - how is the event in Hanover structured?
AL-SHAMERY: The topics will be examined from different perspectives in three discussion rounds. I am delighted that well-known panellists will be taking part. For example, Manfred Prenzel, Chair of the German Council of Science and Humanities, the President of the Leibniz Association, Mattias Kleiner, and HRK Vice President Holger Burckhart will be taking part. The first round of discussions offers a discourse on the concept of education. Should we return to the ideals of Wilhelm von Humboldt or completely rethink education? The completely new learning worlds - keyword "YouTube" - of the upcoming generation of students will also have to be considered here.
QUESTION: What is the topic of the second panel discussion?
AL-SHAMERY: It is dedicated to the question of the extent to which the university landscape is actually still suited to today's academic structure. This raises questions about study conditions in the face of established structures and at the same time a growing and increasingly heterogeneous student body. The experts sound out how much freedom there is for interest-led self-study and whether research-oriented learning is replacing the traditional educational mandate. The question is: how can enthusiasm for interest-led learning be conjured up in the faces of students under these circumstances?
QUESTION: And the third and final major topic of the event?
AL-SHAMERY: This is dedicated to the aforementioned question of what role academic education plays against the backdrop of high student numbers, the Excellence Initiative and the falling cooperation ban. The discourse on the academic system demands many answers, as the Bologna Process and the Excellence Initiative have caused major upheavals at German universities. How will a possible further differentiation of the higher education landscape and a new quality of cooperation between universities and scientific organisations affect the unity of research and teaching? How should this be assessed in an international comparison? And what does this development mean for the social status of academic education?
QUESTION: What effects would you like to see - how should things continue after the event?
AL-SHAMERY: My aim is to use the three discussion rounds and, of course, the expected networking talks to create a Germany-wide discussion group that deals intensively with the current challenges - this event could provide the impetus for this. After all, we are certainly well advised to work together to ensure that the university is properly positioned for the 21st century.
