International Center for Higher Education Research Kassel

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International Center for
Higher Education Research (INCHER-Kassel)
Category: research Institute
Facility location: University of Kassel
Type of research: Basic research , application research
Areas of expertise: University research , science research , organizational research , innovation research
Management: Georg crutches
Employee: about 40
Homepage: INCHER-Kassel

The International Center for Higher Education Research Kassel (INCHER-Kassel) is an interdisciplinary research institution of the University of Kassel in the field of university research , i.e. scientific research about universities. Researchers at INCHER-Kassel examine aspects of university , study and science , and they work on topics at the interfaces between the university system and other social sub-areas. It is one of the few higher education research institutions in Germany that is located at a university and has been the only research institution of its kind for more than three decades. It is also one of the most important international institutions for university research.

history

INCHER-Kassel rear view

Today's INCHER-Kassel was established in 1978 as a scientific center for vocational and university research (WZ I) as the first central institution of the University of Kassel (then: Kassel University of Applied Sciences). It should ensure a continuous scientific reflection on practical problems of the university and contribute scientific basis for the discussion about the prospects of the study and about the realization conditions of changes in the higher education system.

The official establishment took place at the same time as the appointment of the newly created professorship for vocational and university research for the center by university researcher Ulrich Teichler , whose work was to shape not only INCHER-Kassel but also German-language university research for the next 30 years. In 2005 the center was evaluated externally for the first time. The members of the commission ( Jutta Allmendinger , Klaus Landfried , Björn Wittrock) recommended the continuation, expansion and, in some aspects, a shift in emphasis in the range of tasks. Following the very positive evaluation, the management of the University of Kassel decided in March 2006 to continue the center after Ulrich Teichler left and to explore ways of expanding it. At the request of the center, it was given its current name in March 2006.

In 2011 there was a change in the management of INCHER-Kassel. The sociologist and university researcher Georg Krücken took over the management of INCHER-Kassel. Associated with the change was a stronger focus on research on the relationships between the university system and other social sub-areas and a clearer settlement of research at the interfaces between university research and related research areas such as science , organization and innovation research . Guido Bünstorf, professor of economics at the University of Kassel, who represents economics in the interdisciplinary research of INCHER-Kassel, has been the deputy managing director since 2016.

In spring 2016, the INCHER-Kassel was re-evaluated on behalf of the Presidium of the University of Kassel. The review group (Ulrike Beisiegel, Georg Licht, Sabine Maasen, Christine Musselin and Uwe Schimank) came to a clearly positive overall assessment in their report. As a result, at the meeting of the Presidium of the University of Kassel on September 28, 2016, a resolution was passed on the continuation of INCHER-Kassel until 2021.

Research priorities

In its research projects, INCHER-Kassel has questions of the relationship between university and profession as a central topic as well as questions of university planning and organization, implementation of university reforms, the development of university systems in an international comparison, international student mobility, university management, university evaluation, the internationalization of universities, study behavior and student identity as well as the professions within the universities are examined. Since 2011, research at INCHER-Kassel has been dominated by questions on the overarching topics of " students and graduates "; “Scientific Change”, “ Governance and Organization ” and “ Innovation and Transfer”. In addition, cross-cutting issues such as internationalization, social inequality and gender issues are addressed.

INCHER-Kassel is known for its international focus: Many research projects are designed to be international comparative and many were and are carried out in international research teams. The Consortium of Higher Education Researchers (the world association of university researchers) was founded on the initiative of Kassel . INCHER-Kassel is part of a wide network of cooperating international research institutions and regularly hosts foreign scientists for research stays.

The largest research project of INCHER-Kassel to date was the "Cooperation Project Graduate Studies" (KOAB), a continuous graduate survey that INCHER-Kassel carried out from 2007 to 2017 in cooperation with 78 German universities , 5 years after completing their studies, were asked about their studies and career path. It has been carried out by the Institute for Applied Statistics (ISTAT) since 2017.

Since 2018, an interdisciplinary graduate program (ELBHA) at INCHER-Kassel has been investigating the relationship between higher education and access opportunities to elite positions in politics, business and administration.

organization

INCHER-Kassel front view

The managing director runs INCHER-Kassel and is supported by a deputy managing director and a managing director. A board of directors, to which all professors who belong to INCHER-Kassel, as well as representatives of the academic staff, administrative-technical staff and students, decide on the research planning and the organization of INCHER-Kassel.

An external expert advisory board, which includes experts from other universities and research institutes as well as from the promotion of science, advises INCHER-Kassel on content-related and strategic issues. This advisory board currently includes Sabine Behrenbeck, Ulrike Beisiegel , Georg Licht, Sabine Maasen, Christine Musselin (Vice Chair) and Uwe Schimank (Chair).

Around 40 to 45 people research and work at INCHER-Kassel, many of whom are doctoral students. Visiting scientists who do research on a topic of university research regularly stay at INCHER-Kassel for longer periods of time.

Publications

The work of INCHER-Kassel is reflected in almost 2,000 publications that have appeared in scientific journals and by various publishers. Some of the central research results appear in the book series “University and Society” at Campus-Verlag and in the online series INCHER-Kassel Working Papers .

Individual evidence

  1. ^ University of Kassel, Presidium: 40 years University of Kassel . Kassel University Press, Kassel 2011, ISBN 978-3-86219-196-3 , pp. 196-197 .
  2. Kehm, Barbara, M .; Schomburg, Harald; Teichler, Ulrich (ed.): Functional change in universities. Differentiation, increased relevance, internationalization . Campus, Frankfurt / New York 2012.
  3. ^ O. Fuller: Higher Education Studies . In: The Encyclopedia of Higher Education 1992, p. 1815.
  4. Georg Krücken: You can always learn. In: Science and University Research. Federal Ministry of Education and Science, accessed on March 12, 2019 .
  5. INCHER. In: Science and University Research. Federal Ministry of Education and Research, accessed on March 12, 2019 .
  6. Georg crutches; Flöther, Choni (ed.): Generation university degree: Diverse perspectives on studies and career entry. Analyzes from graduate research . Waxmann, Münster / New York 2015.
  7. ^ INCHER-Kassel: Interdisciplinary INCHER graduate program. Retrieved August 1, 2018 .

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