CarLa
The Osnabrück Career Path to a Professorship at a University of Applied Sciences (UAS)
THE CARLA PROJECT
CarLa, short for “Career Lab Hochschule Osnabrück”, is a new project designed by the university to improve the application situation in appointment procedures. The goal is to recruit and professionally develop tenured faculty. The Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences is currently looking for interested early stage researchers, and is keen to attract both top talents and high potentials and to assist them on their path to a UAS professorship.
The core aspect of this project is to experimentally develop, pilot, and showcase the innovative model of an “Osnabrück Career Path” to a professorship at a UAS. Potential talents will be guided on their career path to a UAS professorship in a way that respects their individual strengths and needs, takes account of their different life situations, and opens up possibilities for professional development. This means providing flexible support to potential candidates – be it in the area of doctoral studies, or research, teaching, and professional experience – in a bid to enhance their ability to pursue a UAS career.
THE OSNABRÜCK CAREER PATH TO A UAS PROFESSORSHIP
One unique component of CarLa is its long-term approach and the attention it gives to individual life situations and career plans. Combining individual professional development with different stages of family life must become a top priority to pave the way for women in particular to embark on a UAS professorship. Doing so will allow individual career planning, and demonstrate the university’s commitment as a modern and attractive employer.
The steps developed in CarLa are derived from a strategic profile of skills that the university will need from future professors. These skills relate to interdisciplinarity, digitalization, internationalization, and sustainability, as well as to gender and diversity awareness.
STEPS TO IMPLEMENT THESE GOALS
The goal of the first part of the process is to raise awareness among high potentials about a career as a UAS professor. Besides learning about this career path, this target group should also become aware of the Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences as an attractive employer. This entails bringing together various university offices – such as the Communications Department, the Center for International Mobility, and the Equal Opportunity Office (including Family Services), as well as University Advancement – in an employer-branding project that is comprehensively communicated and embraced. That also means awakening interest in the university among scholars from abroad.
In an effort to improve the application situation for appointment procedures by 2030, the project will proactively seek and directly contact top talents and high potentials. One key aspect of this will be a focus on diversity and an explicit effort to support women on this career path.
In contrast to high potentials, top talents are individuals who have not yet met all the requirements for a UAS professorship. Besides focusing on talent scouting, therefore, the second part of the CarLa project will be the subsequent monitoring of skills and qualifications. During the individual consulting process, top talents will be offered tailored elements of professional development to prepare them for a UAS career. These professional development activities cover the entire scope of a UAS professorship, from PhD studies (and PhD positions) to work and teaching experience, to applied research experience. Tailoring these programs and implementing them in a Talent Academy will allow top talents to acquire elements of professional development.
The third element of the project is to develop three Talent Academies – “Farming & Food,” “Health & Living,” and “Smart Factory & Products” – at faculties of the Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences. By collaborating with partners from the private sector, academia, and the public at large – both locally and globally – these academies are to become a space for the lively exchange of ideas, for knowledge transfer, and for the collaborative support and development of early career researchers and top talents. The Talent Academy “Farming & Food” cooperates in particular with the Fraunhofer Institute for Environmental, Safety and Energy Technology UMSICHT.
News about the project
On November 25, 2022, the UAS7 Roadshow will once again pay a visit to the Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences. CarLa will present the paths to a UAS professorship as well as an outline of day-to-day life as a UAS professor. A brief overview is available here: https://www.hs-osnabrueck.de/roadshow-haw-professur
CONTACT
Do you want to find out more? If you are interested in a chat or would like more information, get in touch with us. You can reach us by email at carla@hs-osnabrueck.de. Alternatively, feel free to contact our colleagues directly in their various working groups or at their respective faculties.
The Team
Project Management
Project Assistance
Increasing the Visibility and Attractiveness of the University
Collaboration Platform
Management of Lectureships
Welcome Center & International Researchers and Applicants
Communication Management & Employer Branding
Active Talent Scouting, Qualification Monitoring, and Diversity Management
Talent Scouting & Recruiting
Qualification Monitoring
Diversity Management
Farming & Food Talent Academy
Academic Management
Vice Management
Coordination & Networking
Health & Living Talent Academy
Academic Management
Vice Management
Coordination
Smart Factory & Products Talent Academy
Academic Management
Vice Management
Coordination & Networking
Project Background
The CarLa Project will run until March 2027 on the basis of a grant awarded by the “FH-Personal” program, jointly funded by Germany’s federal and state governments. This program is designed to foster new impetus and open up the process of recruiting and developing future tenured staff at universities of applied sciences.
In addition to the Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences, over 60 other UAS have begun to create pathways for expanding the opportunities to recruit and develop future UAS professors. More information about the “FH-Personal” program co-financed by the federal and state governments is available (in German) here: www.fh-personal.de
