Older than 2015

 

DiEva: Gender and Diversity oriented Evaluation at RWTH Aachen University

Against the backdrop of an increasing skill shortage in science and technology the specific advancement of young people in these fields is assigned a key role at RWTH Aachen University. The importance of this topic is emphasised by the fact that the amount of female students in STEM subjects is still low and is even decreasing in higher positions on the career ladder. Due to this situation and the local focus of the university on STEM fields a huge potential is lost for RWTH Aachen University. Therefore the systematic advancement and acquisition of women in science and technology is a defined goal of the university. Find more information on the DiEva project site.

 

IGaDtools4MINT - Integration of Gender and Diversity in STEM-subjects in Higher Education

Despite ambitious research and following pilot projects and support programmes in the so-called MINT subjects, which are the German equivalent to STEM, that were introduced to increase the percentage of women and decrease their dropout rate in these fields, the number of women is only rising slowly. In reference to the renowned project of the American Carnegie Mellon University, conducted in the late 1990s at the department of computer science through which Camegie Mellon University could achieve a significant increase of the percentage of women, from 7% among the first-year students in 1995 to 42% in the year 2000, the transfer and further development of this scheme for computer science courses in Germany shall be developed. Find more information on the IGaDtools4MINT project site.

 

Family Times in Science and Research

The research project “Family Times in Science and Research“ aimed at the systematisation and institutional implementation of the occupational re-entry process of scientists after a family-related absence at RWTH Aachen University. Reasons for a family-related absence can be found in a parental leave or family home care. The target group of the project particularly comprised scientists but also employees of the university administration. It contributed to a successful occupational re-entry process which should be provided to mothers, fathers and other care-giving relatives.

 

Images of Technology

RWTH Aachen participated in a research project which was conducted on behalf of WIST II expert group. This project was situated at the Inter-University Research Centre for Technology, Work and Culture in Graz/Austria and was led by Professor Dr. Christine Waechter. The Integration Team was responsible for the successful realisation of the programme at RWTH Aachen. The project dealt with the question on how companies and universities communicate images of technology, engineering and engineers in their external presentation. Words, concepts and images influence the understanding and perception of people in general and of course that one of engineers in their profession specifically.

 

Gender and Science

The "Gender and Science" applied research project from the institute of sociology at the RWTH Aachen University was aimed at facilitating a broad and university wide dialogue about the possibilities of gender aspects in research and teachings and how research perspectives can be expanded.

 

Highly Skilled Female Migrants in Technological Cutting-edge Research at Universities

The focus of the study was laid on highly skilled female scientists from Eastern European countries, who are more frequently represented in natural science and technology in their respective countries than in Germany or other Western European states. As scientists with a migrational background who are working in Germany, they can compare their experiences as female scientists in native countries with the conditions at German universities. The chosen approach to the research question, that means specifically the analysis of professional histories of highly skilled female migrants from natural sciences and engineering, provided room for an evaluation of cultural norms and the development of ideas concerning ideal working conditions for women and men to obtain executive positions in research and science.

 

Same Same But Different

The project SaSaDi targeted at bringing together interdisciplinary scientific discourses from Sociology, Political Studies, Educational Science and Law regarding educational justice within the framework of Gender equality in higher education. A transfer concept was developed which can be used as a basis for scientific discourses dealing with educational justice and can enrich the discourse on equal participation of women with migration background in STEM subjects.

 

SIS - Should I Stay or Should I Go - Students with Migration Background in STEM Subjects

The SIS project aims to gain an insight about substantial causes that lead students to interrupt their studies. Based on actual investigations, the research accomplished guided interviews with students in the first terms of natural science and engineering at TU Berlin and specifically targeted students with migration backgrounds. The main point was the increasing diversity of students.

 

TANDEMplusIDEA

The project TANDEMplusIDEA included the development, implementation and scientific evaluation of a human resources programme for female postdocs of natural sciences and engineering. The programme was funded by the 6th Framework Programme of the European Commission for a duration of 2007 until 2010. It was the first joint EU-project of the IDEA League, which consists of the Imperial College London, the TU Delft, the ETH Zürich, RWTH Aachen and ParisTech, and is the first international mentoring programme.

 

WiST II Survey

RWTH Aachen was participating in the WiST II Survey funded by the European Commission Framework Programme 6. The survey was part of the international research project WiST II Survey which focused on international companies and renowned universities in Europe. The research project was coordinated by Sara Connolly from the University of East Anglia and Stefan Fuchs from the Institute for labour and labour market research. The Integration Team was responsible for the successful realisation of the programme at RWTH Aachen.