Communications and Marketing
University Development Plan 3 completed
University President Hartmut Ihne sees the University Development Plan 3 (HEP 3) as a joint effort. "The University Development Plan 3 is the result of an intensive process in which the entire university was involved," he explains. The university's internal, externally moderated discussion about self-image, goals and measures began in 2019, focusing on the fields of action teaching, research, transfer, digitisation, internationalisation and diversity, social responsibility and sustainability, and governance.
"Together we have developed the strategic guidelines with which we will continue our successful work of the past years and set new highlights. This is especially true for the topic of sustainability, which is of increasing relevance to us," Hartmut Ihne continues. "Sustainable development by no means refers only to climate change and its consequences, but to a broad social context in which economic markets, jobs and social security as well as education and digitalisation play a role. With HEP 3, Hochschule Bonn-Rhein-Sieg expresses that it is aware of the social responsibility of science and acts accordingly."
Sustainability as a central topic
The university wants to take up and further develop the topic of sustainability in teaching, research and transfer as well as in the design of infrastructures, buildings and processes. One important objective is to familiarise all students with general and subject-specific aspects of sustainability in their degree programmes and subjects.
The development process of HEP 3 was largely influenced by the Corona pandemic, which meant that attendance at the university had to be reduced to a minimum. Everyday university life shifted to virtual space. "The Corona pandemic has sharpened our understanding of certain issues," says Hartmut Ihne. This applies, for example, to the possibilities and limits of digital teaching, but also to the great importance of direct exchange between students and employees on campus. "We will also continue to reflect on these experiences, discuss them and integrate them into everyday university life."
The first two University Development Plans were published in 2010 and 2016.