Date added: 2025-10-17
Recap of ENHANCE WP2 meeting in Aachen
The recent WP2 meeting at RWTH Aachen focused on enhancing professional development opportunities for university employees across the ENHANCE Alliance, with particular attention to those with fewer opportunities and diverse functional backgrounds. The agenda highlighted existing upskilling and reskilling offers, including administrative staff, maintenance workers, international staff, and employees with long-term conditions or neurodiversity, alongside initiatives for young researchers. We worked on the GREAT Certification during the first day, while the second day was dedicated to building inclusive career pathways.
A central theme of the meeting was the interconnectedness of WP2 actions. Work on developing training offers has shown that supporting diverse career pathways and job enrichment is an overarching goal that links all subtasks and initiatives. Actions under these subtasks are mutually reinforcing and must not be treated as isolated efforts. This integrated approach strengthens the overall impact of WP2 activities and enhances strategic coherence across the Alliance.
A key highlight was the implementation of the extended GREAT (Global Recognition for Employee Achievement and Training) programme, which builds on the RWTH Aachen Certificate International for Employees (CIE) to address the needs of diverse staff groups. The initiative aims to promote professional development, inclusive and internationalised career pathways, and institutional capacity through targeted training and recognition mechanisms. Special emphasis has been placed on employees with fewer opportunities, while ensuring full inclusion of young researchers and other university staff.
Our target groups include all employees, while drawing special attention to those with fewer opportunities and functional diversity.
We have defined these groups as follows:
-
Employees with fewer opportunities: Those with limited access to professional development due to administrative roles, foreign background, or engagement in manual work. This includes administrative staff, international staff, and maintenance workers.
-
Employees with diverse backgrounds: Individuals with long-term conditions, including neurodiversity, disabilities, chronic illnesses, mental health challenges, or non-heteronormative identities. These definitions guide programme design to ensure equitable access and inclusive participation.
Three experience-based learning tracks have been developed to address diverse staff profiles:
-
Basic Track – “Foundations of Internationalisation”: Designed for newly hired or less experienced staff, this track follows a structured progression covering intercultural communication, international university structures, and mobility frameworks.
-
Guided Track – “Personalised Learning Path”: Participants receive one-on-one consultation with a CIE Coordinator to create a flexible, customised curriculum from the ENHANCE Course Catalogue, suitable for targeted upskilling or cross-functional competencies. Participation in Knowledge Hubs supports discussions on wellbeing, functional diversity, and specialised topics.
-
Advanced Track – “Leadership & Strategic”: For senior staff, including professors and administrative leaders, this track offers advanced modules emphasizing strategic development, international leadership, and institutional policy-making. Peer exchange and autonomy are central components.
Completion of any track awards a Certificate with Microcredentials, enhancing professional profiles and institutional development goals. The programme integrates five thematic Knowledge Hubs, the CHET programme, wellbeing sessions, online courses, and additional events supporting young researchers.
The second day was fully dedicated to building inclusive pathways for young researchers. We allocated time to review the VP Research Agenda and discuss potential supporting actions. After gathering feedback, we will explore the possibility of creating a Mentoring HUB for supervisors of young researchers to share best practices and learn from each other. Later, we continued with the ENHANCE Research Internship Programme, which provides three-month research stays for Master’s and PhD students, fostering mobility within the Alliance and building cross-institutional research connections. Key milestones include mentor calls in summer 2025, applications from August to September 2025, evaluations in October, and mobility from December 2025 to August 2026.
Programme details:
• 3-month research stays
• 16 scholarships: 8 incoming and 8 outgoing Master’s and PhD students
• Joint research projects under the supervision of Gdańsk Tech and one of eight ENHANCE member universities (WUT is not eligible)
Timeline:
• Call for mentors: summer 2025
• Call for applications: 01.08–30.09.2025
• Evaluation: 01–31.10.2025 (13 applications submitted, next steps?)
• Appeal: 7 days after publication of rankings
• Conclusion of agreements and mobility: 01.12.2025–31.08.2026
• Reporting: final report and certification (after the mobility)
The last programme on the agenda was the Cross-Border Mentoring Programme, which went live on 1st October. Originally aimed at early-career female researchers in STEM, the programme has been expanded to all employees, providing structured, goal-oriented mentoring relationships. The one-year cycle integrates the Extended DISC® behavioural assessment to strengthen self-awareness, communication, and mentor–mentee collaboration.
Our meeting concluded with a discussion on effective strategies to engage employees, including:
-
Identifying institutional needs and strengths via Alliance-wide surveys
-
Organising high-quality activities benefiting both learners and workplaces
-
Certifying and recognising training as part of institutional staff development
-
Adapting training duration and format to staff availability
-
Promoting cross-border collaboration and supporting internal regulations for mobility
-
Securing sustainable funding and raising staff awareness through effective communication
As next steps the WP2 will focus on promoting available offers, preparing certification formats for GREAT, advertising local VP Research initiatives, engaging contributors for upcoming webinars, and preparing the Staff Week, HUBs Meeting, and Wellbeing Camp scheduled for May 2026 at Gdańsk Tech.
The meeting underscored the Alliance’s commitment to creating inclusive, internationally connected, and professionally enriching environments that empower all staff and foster sustainable academic excellence.
Project "Strengthening the potential of Gdańsk University of Technology within the ENHANCE Alliance" (no. BPI/WUE/2024/2024/00020/U/00001) is financed by the Polish National Agency for Academic Exchange and co-financed by the European Union under the project entitled Support for European University Alliances, no. FERS.01.05-IP.08-0219/23
24 views
See more
-
2025-10-29
Results - ENHANCE Research Internship