Vice President International Affairs and Diversity (VP3)

Our Inclusion Strategy

For equal opportunity regardless of physical or mental conditions

Self concept

For us, inclusion means enhancing the development of individual potential, encouraging inclusion competence and advocating for equal opportunities for people with different physical or mental conditions.

Hochschule Bonn-Rhein-Sieg is an inclusion-friendly university that seeks to provide its students and staff with equal opportunities to participate, regardless of different physical or mental conditions that they bring with them to the university. H-BRS seeks to reduce barriers within the study and work environment by introducing appropriate measures, to create awareness among students and staff and to shape inclusive perspectives. For us, inclusion means that heterogeneity of university members helps foster the image of H-BRS as a microcosm of our society. H-BRS strives to acknowledge these differences and advance individuals’ potential in a targeted manner, including in the context of different physical or mental conditions.

With its diversity strategy, H-BRS has already created an essential foundation for enabling the inclusion of people with different conditions.

With this inclusion strategy, H-BRS addresses diversity across the personal conditions of university members on a physical or mental level. Responding to the diverse society in which the university is embedded, H-BRS acknowledges the heterogeneity of its members’ physical or mental conditions and advocates measures to develop inclusion competence, equal opportunity and the development of individual potential.

With its inclusion strategy, H-BRS seeks to create space for dialogue, awareness and reduction of barriers and reservations. The university supports its members with individual challenges they face while implementing inclusion and successively widening the field of activity for inclusion. She addresses hurdles to inclusion with sensitivity and the creative search for feasible solutions.

Inclusion as added value for H-BRS

H-BRS wants to facilitate an inclusion-friendly study and working environment. Our staff and students, with all their heterogeneity, are not only integrated into an existing university environment, but also create a diverse and inclusive environment for all university members together. By acting inclusively, we create space for ideas that help us tackle social challenges. H-BRS’s intention is to demonstrate this added value that inclusion generates at the university and, consequently, play a part in development while simultaneously assuming responsibility.

Students and university members with different physical or mental conditions should experience H-BRS as a university that promotes the individual potential development through dialogue and mutual respect.

Members of H-BRS should be aware of and trained in dealing with different physical or mental conditions. These may be visible and invisible disabilities as well as temporary physical or mental impairments and chronic conditions that require different measures.

Inclusion action point for people with different physical or mental conditions as a part of our diversity management

H-BRS’s work on inclusion regarding different physical or mental conditions contributes to the implementation of H-BRS’s diversity target areas. The reduction of barriers makes an important contribution to achieving best possible studying and professional success and the collaborative, equal coexistence of all university members.

The concept of inclusion at H-BRS is orientied on a society that is characterised by its heterogeneity. H-BRS diversity strategy defines target areas that also apply in the field of inclusion:

  • Striving for academic success
  • Enhancing diversity skills
  • Creating collaborative interactions, enabling participation and ensuring equality

The specific opportunities for and challenges of inclusion given different physical or mental conditions define the objectives as follows:

Enable the realisation of potential regardless of physical or mental conditions

H-BRS is committed to identifying and removing barriers that prevent university members from realising their full potential while studying or working at H-BRS.

Reinforcing the inclusion-focused competence of university members

Members of the university are sensitised to the topic of inclusion. Treating people with different physical or mental conditions with respect is advanced by improving the range information on offer.

Commitment to equality of opportunity regardless of conditions

H-BRS is committed to guaranteeing that anyone who is eligible can access education at the university. It aspires to ensuring equality of opportunity for all university members regardless of their physical or mental conditions. Additionally, inclusion is a key issue in the appointment and development of our staff.

Strategic targets of the inclusion action point within H-BRS’s areas of activity

H-BRS’s aspiration is the inclusion of people with different physical or mental conditions in all of its areas of activity and at all levels of university life. Respecting and experiencing inclusion means sensitising university members to different physical or mental conditions, supporting the removal of physical and psychological barriers and opening up new inclusive perspectives. Alongside this, H-BRS builds networks within the region and beyond in order to enhance the promotion of inclusive action at universities.

Teaching

Inclusive teaching takes account of students’ different physical or mental conditions and represents a commitment to equality of opportunity and minimal barriers in teaching. H-BRS takes the various conditions into account during the academic admission phase and makes sure that there are as few obstacles as possible in the transition to university life. Individual physical or mental conditions may arise during the degree programme that make equality of access to teaching difficult: H-BRS reacts sensitively and in a targeted manner to these potential changes and seeks solutions with students for accessible forms of teaching and learning or individually tailored study programmes. At the same time, the university is aware of the difficulties people with certain physical or mental conditions face in terms of accessing the general job market. By supporting students in preparing for the job market, it contributes to equality of opportunity and facilitates external networking with employers. H-BRS supports teaching staff in identifying accessible teaching methods and solutions that are geared towards students’ physical or mental conditions. It imparts skills to teaching staff and advice centres that treat students in an inclusive manner and respect their different conditions.

Research

Inclusive research gives rise to new ideas and opportunities for the equality of opportunity and freedom from barriers. H-BRS welcomes pro-inclusion research to which researchers contribute different physical or psychological conditions. Inclusion as a research subject enables new paths towards an inclusive society, participation and barrier-free access to be designed.

Transfer

H-BRS sees transfer as an opportunity to carry inclusion forward into broader society. The university participates in inclusion projects and promotes participation in the region. Its graduates have sensitivity and skills in the field of inclusion and are able to break down barriers.

Digitalisation

Digitalisation creates benefits and challenges – especially in the field of inclusion. Digital methods can facilitate equality of access to everything the university offers. At the same time, however, new barriers may be created. As a pro-inclusion university, H-BRS looks closely both at the opportunities and the challenges of new digital approaches.

International affairs and diversity

H-BRS understands that people with certain physical or mental conditions find it harder to access exchange programmes or other opportunities to acquire international experience. It provides inclusion-conscious stimuli and advice to students and staff who want to gain international experience.

Physical or mental conditions represent a key dimension of diversity that is taken into consideration at H-BRS. The university also addresses the particularities that occur at the cross-sections of various diversity features (intersectionality). H-BRS sees the diversity of its university members as an opportunity for personal development.

Social responsibility and sustainability

H-BRS takes seriously its responsibility in sensitising university members to the inclusion of people with different physical or mental conditions. By means of appropriate innovations and sensitisation to inclusion among the university members, the university not only makes a strong contribution to the study and working environment, but also to participation as an equal in all aspects of society.

Governance

The university’s working processes across the various units and departments strive to cater to university members’ different physical or mental conditions in all academic and non-academic activities.

Inclusion of different physical or mental conditions in the context of diversity management

Inclusion activities are a central pillar of H-BRS’s diversity work. The action point of inclusion of people with different physical or mental conditions is firmly embedded in H-BRS’s diversity management (see graphic):

Our Diversity Strategy

Action field Inclusion in the context of diversity management

Inclusion Strategy_Action fields_0.png
(Accessible text presentation in the following section).

Barrier-free text version:

Action field inclusion (embedded in diversity management):

  • Reduce barriers
  • Enable accessibility
  • Shaping inclusive perspectives

Benefits of realising potential

  • Recruitment and advancement of individual and diverse talent regardless of prerequisites
  • Advancement of people & skills
  • Enabling success in work and study regardless of different abilities
  • Identifying potential for innovation through inclusion

Benefits of inclusion skills

  • Prevention of (self)-exclusion tendencies
  • Reduction of uncertainty and reservations in personal interaction
  • Creation of a respectful environment with understanding of different abilities as an aspect of social diversity
  • Improved employability

Benefits of equal opportunities

  • Increased study and work satisfaction
  • Increased sense of belonging among all university members
  • Awareness of diversity
  • Access to and participation in broader society
  • Improved discovery of individual talents
  • Advancement of equality of access to the job market