Lessons Learned from German Model of Universities of Applied Sciences (UAS)

How are Postgraduate Programmes Designed and Implemented at UAS?

At UAS, the following points are generally considered when designing and implementing postgraduate programmes:

  1. Programmes are designed for specific different careers
  2. Programmes are designed to be academic, application-oriented and personal. This achieved through;
    • Modular structure of the curriculum which allows logical transfer of necessary knowledge and management skills.
    • Continuous quality assurance and optimization of content
    • Learning in small groups ( 25 students)
    • Application orientation, in particular through project work and case studies
    • Close contact to and intensive supervision by lecturers
    • Compact presence times for reconciling work and study
    • Contacts with other graduates, the alumni network
    • Optimal combination of time attendance and e-learning ensures high quality and application orientation of the study.
  1. Programmes are designed taking into account available competencies, customers’ needs and availability of similar programme in the region ( overlapping of programmes is avoided)
  2. Programmes are implemented successful, when;
    • Content is attractive, based on competencies and requirements of the customers/participants.
    • Structure is attractive in terms of fitting into the scope of the working people.
    • It must be reasonably/competitively priced.
    • A balanced combination of presence time and blended learning is available
    • Course evaluation is conducted regularly.

How is a new course developed at UAS?

Development of a new course, which fits into an existing curriculum, is normally an uphill task. However, by following the outlined steps adopted at German UAS, the process can be achieved without much difficulty:

  1. Develop a new course that is attractive to applicants, broad in content and that does not cannibalise on other courses
  2. Identify the requirement of a new course
  3. Identify the existing competencies, new competencies and new resources required
  4. Set the important goal of the new course
  5. Outline the structure of the new course by identifying what needs to created, raised, reduced and eliminated
  6. Establish a task force to consider stakeholder’s needs and over see the mounting of the new course.
  7. Fit the new course into existing curriculum by identifying the common modules, required modules and specialisation modules it requires.
  8. Finally, timetabling of all modules for the new course with required credit points and practical exercises. For reference 1 credit point is equivalent to 30 study hours per semester.

Organisation and Implementation of Conceptual Seminars at UAS

These are theoretical seminars arranged by UAS for industrial projects/studies undertaken by their students. The seminars aim at providing an in-depth theoretical understanding of issues facing industries rather than solutions to those issues.

Conceptual seminars are therefore important in creating linkages between industry and academia, since students work on real industrial issues under the supervision of university professors. Through these seminars innovative ideas/concepts are normally generated by students that enhance the performance of industries.

Normally, organisation and implementation of conceptual seminar entails;

  • Requesting companies to provide issues/projects that university can work on. Normally, the university professors initiative this conversation with industries.
  • Briefing of students on the project at the university by the interested company
  • Formation of research teams, individual student or a group of students, by the professors to tackle the project.
  • Researching on the project throughout the semester
  • Presentation of the final result of the project in a conceptual seminar to a panel consisting of professors, industrial company representative and other students. The company take the idea presented and students are awarded marks for their work

Understanding Internship Organisation at UAS

Full time study at UAS normally consists of 7 semesters spread over 3.5 years. One semester, which is about 6 months, is dedicated for internship at a company. Normally, this is done at 6th semester. The internship is compulsory and earns students 30 credit points (ECTS).

The internship semester is divided into three sessions:

  • Introduction session: this last for one week and is normally done in the first week of the semester. During this time student are trained to acquire skills on job application, leadership, team collaboration in enterprises, decision making, conflict management, time management and on handling of academic literature. At the end of this training an exam is offered which earn them 3 ECTS.
  • Conclusion session: this is done in the last week of semester and last one week. Students make presentation about their internships and hand-in a report (maximum 20 pages) for grading purposes. From this session students get 3 credit points.
  • Internship session: this last a minimum of 100 working days (about 5 months) and is normally based in a company where student applied for it. The university normally source for internship for unlucky students who miss to get one.

The sourcing of internship is normally a student initiative; many companies are willing to provide internships as they are not required to pay standard wages to interns.

Before students start their internship a work schedule is prepared by the university indicating the time and activities to be conducted, specifically, the projects to be conducted at the company. Normally, the university approves the internship contract to ensure it covers the entire duration. Multiple contracts are accepted so long as they cover a minimum of 100 days.

The company offering internship can be of any size and in any sector across Germany or abroad. Students are allowed to write their bachelor thesis within the company after internship during the 7th semester.

At the end of internship period, studies and exam office archives;

  • Contract to student files
  • Reference/certificate of employment
  • Internship presentations – helpful when sourcing for positions and networking
  • Internship reports

Concept of Applied Research at UAS

Research at UAS is mainly conducted through projects. Generally, industrial problems are identified through extensive literature survey and correspondences with industrial players. Proposals are then written to address the identified industrial problem. Thereafter, funds are sourced from different players (Federal government, Local government, European Union and Industries) to implement the proposal. Once funds are obtained, a number of PhD students are recruited to work on the proposal which later on contribute toward their theses. Normally, the duration of a proposal ranges between 2-5 years, which is sufficient for PhD students to earn their degree. In case where duration is shorter, other proposal are written within the same thematic area to ensure continuation of the student’s work. Most of the research conducted is funded through public money and linked to existing industrial challenges.

How does UAS Cooperate with External Research Partners?

The UAS co-operate with external research partners through network projects. Normally, these are huge projects that are publically funded by EU development fund.

Generally, a call for proposal is made which seek to address a certain thematic area (main objective). The university professors and project team respond to the call where they state specific objectives they intend to address and a list of external partners they will be working with. The roles of external partners in the project are specified and they commit themselves to the project by providing supporting letters at the proposal application stage.

Network projects are headed by a team leader (Professor) and managed by a project coordinator. The project team entails university staff (students and professors) and partners. The number of partners depends on the project and their roles in the project. Partners are normally identified from a database developed by the university over a period of time. This database is created through contacts obtained during conferences, meetings, symposium, etc, and is maintained for future use in other projects. A contact person for each partner is contacted by the project coordinator and requested if they could join the network project to handle a specific role. Partners joining the network project are expected to contribute some fund into it. If a partner agrees, then they are included into the project and they provide a support letter for the same.

During a life cycle of a network project, a number of network meetings are organised to discuss the progress of the project. A number of workshops are also organised for technology transfer. Presentations are made on the new innovation and inventions that arises from the project mainly from the students working in the project.

For bigger projects with different thematic areas, cluster meeting each on a given theme are also organised. To be able to appreciate the work involved in the project, excursion to the project site are also organised where needed. Finally, toward the end of a project, a symposium is organised for the dissemination of research findings to the public and stakeholders.

What you need to know about ‘Usability Lab’

This is an applied teaching lab used for assessing the ability of design to be used.  It is used to assess customers’ website and product designs through eye tracking system.  Software is used to analyse the movement of eyes on a design thus enabling the identification of the key area of interest on it. By use of this lab, designs are modified to ensure important information is easily seen by the targeted group.