Internal scientific evaluation of the Talentscouting Aachen
Talentscouting
Nationwide, the majority of students joining university have an academic family background (77%), whereas only 23% are from non-academic families. Instead of talents and skills, the path of education seems to be predetermined by familial background.
The Talentscouting programme, developed by the Westphalian University of Applied Sciences Gelsenkirchen and funded by the Ministry of Innovation, Science and Research of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, tackles this problem. The grant programme aims at educational equality as well as equal opportunities. Currently, Talentscouting is offered at 17 universities of applied sciences and universities in North Rhine-Westphalia.
Talentscouting Aachen
The two universities of Aachen also qualified for the programme. Since the beginning of 2017, they are offering Talentscouting, which is a collaborative project of the RWTH Aachen University and the FH Aachen University of Applied Sciences. The main objective is to encourage pupils/students from families without an academic background in the region of Aachen (Aachen, Düren, Heinsberg and Euskirchen) regarding their aspired educational paths. The currently five Talentscouts cooperate with business colleges, comprehensive schools, grammar schools as well as one advanced training college to identify talented pupils and to support them individually during their school-to-job/school-to-university transition.
Internal scientific evaluation
The Talentscouting Aachen project is evaluated by the professorship for Gender and Diversity in engineering (GDI).Central research questions are for example: How does Talentscouting work at the Aachen location with its very diverse regions? And what influence does Talentscouting have on the development of talents with different life circumstances? By means of a combined qualitative-quantitative research approach consisting of a regional context analysis, a project progress analysis, qualitative interviews as well as the eTalent database, which anonymously documents talent developments and their living conditions, the GDI carries out a comprehensive investigation of the Talentscouting location Aachen.
The rector’s delegate Univ.-Prof. Dr. phil. Carmen Leicht-Scholten leads the associated consultative project commission of the RWTH Aachen University. The cross-project commission is conducted by Professor Dr.-Ing. Martina Klocke at the FH Aachen.
Further information about the Talentscouting project in Aachen can be found on the project’s website.
Period
February 2017 - End of 2020
Funding
Ministry of Culture and Science of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia
Sustainable Development Goals
The aim of this project is to reduce inequalities while promoting equal opportunities. Every child must be able to make it to the top, regardless of family background, gender, religion or the like. An inclusive, fair and high quality education is in this matter fundamental.
Explore all teaching and research activities at GDI concerning these goals: