Südwissen: Innovative further training in Baden-Württemberg now available!

Südwissen: Innovative further training in Baden-Württemberg now available!

The University of Freiburg opened a new office today that focuses on continuing academic education in Baden-Württemberg. This initiative coordinates the network of further education universities in the region and is responsible for the platform suedwissen.de as well as their strategic marketing. The aim is to make the offerings of continuing academic education visible and to strengthen cooperation between universities, companies and society.

To promote this exchange, four regional further training coordinators are available. They support the network by organizing a total of 270 events and almost 2,000 company discussions. An advisory board consisting of representatives from universities as well as from business and society accompanied the office's first steps.
uni-freiburg.de reports on the innovative range of modules for the aerospace industry, which was developed by several universities.

Southern knowledge as a networking platform

The platform suedwissen.de offers an easy way to search and register for further training courses. The booking process includes entering participant and billing data, with communication taking place directly with the responsible people at the universities after registration. Depending on the further training format chosen, different qualifications such as certificates of participation or certificates can be acquired. Participants can also seek advice on organizational questions from the responsible staff.

A key feature of the platform is the “Apply” button, which directs interested parties directly to the application page of the respective college or university. This user-friendly structure is sustainable and helps increase the number of participants in the various courses. suedwissen.de has thus established itself as a central contact point for further scientific training in Baden-Württemberg.

Current educational landscape and challenges

In Germany, the demand for academic further training opportunities has increased in recent years, as the Stifterverband reports. The brochure “Structures of continuing academic education – science and practice”, published by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, addresses educational policy challenges. In addition, the German Society for Scientific Continuing Education and Distance Learning (DGWF) provides recommendations for the design of these offerings, both for vocational bachelor's and master's degree programs.

In addition, the University Rectors' Conference (HRK) calls for the creation of favorable framework conditions for the expansion of academic continuing education. Higher basic funding should enable universities to strategically develop their offerings. Current studies on the continuing education habits of university graduates show that international comparative studies, particularly from Finland, France, Great Britain, Austria and the USA, also offer interesting insights into the development of these educational offerings. This makes it clear that continuing academic education plays a central role in the academic landscape and is viewed as a core task of universities.
bildungsserver.de supplements these perspectives with information on quality assurance and accreditation of the programs.