Integrating the Student Perspective
University-organized support services are aimed at a decidedly heterogeneous student body with different personal, socioeconomic, cultural and linguistic backgrounds.
The aim of this project is to make a contribution to an integrated diversity and internationalization strategy, taking particular account of the student perspective. In accordance with the goals of the DAAD program "NRWege Leuchttürme" to lead international students to a successful degree through holistic guidance and support, the question arises: How can the university's support systems be brought closer to the increasingly diverse student body?
In order to integrate the student perspective more strongly when considering this issue, two design thinking workshops were held with students at the end of 2021.
The results and creative ideas were then reflected upon by several institutional university institutions such as the zhb - Foreign Languages Department, the Equal Opportunity, Family and Diversity Office, the Student Advisory Service and more - with the strategic goal of linking internationality and diversity more closely.
With the impulses from representatives of the institutional level, the students went into a second workshop phase in spring 2022, in which the suggestions of the staff were reflected and taken up by the students, in order to then further elaborate the ideas and develop a "prototype".
The process therefore consisted of several phases and developed from an abstract question to a concrete project. Currently, we are working on the implementation of this project - we will reveal more here soon!
We would like to thank all students who have contributed to this process.
