Best prospects: The university is launching two new degree courses for the winter semester

With the "Special Education with a Focus on Inclusion" course, the university is rounding off its already strong range of teacher training courses. The Kassel concept prepares students particularly well for the job market - because they are not only trained for traditional special schools, of which there will be fewer and fewer in the future. Instead, the course is structured in such a way that future teachers can also work as inclusion teachers at mainstream schools. "From our point of view, this is the best solution," affirms Prof. Dr. René Matzdorf, Vice President for Studies and Teaching. "Other universities that train teachers at special schools have not yet geared their courses so clearly towards inclusive teaching." The new degree course covers the specialisms "Learning" and "Emotional and Social Development", which account for the majority of the support needs of the pupils concerned. Another special feature in Kassel: in addition to the special areas of support and a teaching subject, the targeted promotion of basic language and mathematical skills is included in the course. 60 study places are available, for which five new professorships are being established. The ratio of professors to students will therefore be excellent. The standard period of study is nine semesters. The initiative to set up the course came from the state of Hesse. The state is thus responding to a high demand for special needs teachers.

The University of Kassel is also currently establishing a unique selling point with its sustainability courses. While the majority of the new programs will not start until next year, it will already be possible to enrol for the minor subject "Sustainability Studies" from the coming winter semester. It will be offered as a so-called "combined Bachelor's degree", i.e. in addition to a Bachelor's major. In addition to introductions to sustainability studies, students choose a specialization depending on their major subject, for example "Socially just urban development" or "Water management". Another central element is a project: students work on a practical task in mixed (interdisciplinary) student teams and together with external practice partners. The minor subject is a kind of pilot - next year, the university will offer an independent Bachelor's degree in Sustainability Studies as well as a whole series of specialist courses that are enriched with an accompanying study component: i.e. Business Law plus Sustainability, Electrical Engineering plus Sustainability and so on - a major offensive that is already causing a stir beyond the region. Matzdorf: "No other university offers anything like this." The Vice President also sees excellent prospects for graduates of sustainability courses: "The University of Kassel is specifically planning new courses that prepare students to help shape the transformation to a sustainable world. The demand for qualified specialists is enormous, both regionally and globally - in companies and institutions."