H-BRS aims to prepare international students for the German labour market

Skilled labour is desperately sought after in Germany. Companies in the region are also feeling this shortage, says Sabine Baumgartner, who is in charge of awarding the Deutschlandstipendium scholarship at H-BRS and maintains contacts with many companies: "Companies in the STEM fields in particular are telling us that they can't find enough qualified applicants. At the same time, student numbers in these subjects are falling across Germany."

The term STEM covers the fields of mathematics, computer science, natural sciences and technology. These are also the professional fields that the DAAD focussed on in its call for applications. However, Dr Wang Yi, Head of the International Office at H-BRS, emphasises that most of the project measures will benefit all international students at H-BRS, regardless of the subject they are studying: "Our aim is to provide targeted support to interested students who can imagine a professional future in Germany and to prepare them for working life," says Wang Yi.

In concrete terms, this is to be achieved through preparatory and study-related language courses as well as the expansion of existing counselling and support services. In addition to specialised training, the aim is to specifically support integration. Intercultural workshops and contact with former students who have already started their careers are intended to support future skilled workers. Through the Centre for Science and Technology Transfer (ZWT), the university already has a large network of regional companies in which students can gain their first practical experience during their time at H-BRS.

In addition to the regional labour market and the sponsored students, the university itself also benefits from the long-term project funding: "We see the opportunity to structurally link the wide range of offers that already exist at the university and to better network employees," says Wang Yi.

This networking is one of the core tasks of the future project management of "Bridge 2 Success". The International Office is now looking for a specialist for this task itself.