ReaDy@RWTH project of the "Diversity at German Universities" initiative of the HRK and the BMBF

 

Realizing Diversity: Equal Opportunity and Diversity at RWTH Aachen University

© RWTH Aachen University

Diversity in (research) teams promotes creativity and a variety of perspectives - this has been repeatedly pointed out in diversity research. For a university like RWTH Aachen University, with its claim to excellence in research, teaching and operations, the conscious and appreciative handling of diversity and the promotion of equal opportunities are therefore decisive factors for its future and competitiveness.

 

The project ReaDy@RWTH, funded by HRK and BMBF and located at IGaD, aims to support the implementation of the  Diversity Strategy (2022-2027). With the strategy paper adopted in December 2022, RWTH underpins its efforts to become a place where all people feel welcome and can research, learn, teach and work together free from discrimination and exclusion.

In the grant period from 01 June, 2023 to 30 April, 2024, the ReaDy@RWTH project sets three implementation-accompanying focal points:

  © RWTH  

Focal Points and Cooperation Partners of the ReaDy@RWTH Project

The focal points of the project contribute in many ways to the goals of the HRK initiative and provide an indispensable impetus for the further development of equal opportunities work at RWTH Aachen University and beyond - not least through the involvement of various project cooperation partners of RWTH Aachen University.

Internal cooperation partners of the ReaDy@RWTH project are: the Equal Opportunities Office of RWTH, the Staff Unit: Marketing, Department 3.0 - Press and Communications, Division 6.2 - Teaching and Learning as well as Division 6.3 - Controlling and Information Management. They contribute significantly to the implementation of the project measures and the achievement of the project objectives.

(1) Target agreements between central and decentralized stakeholders

RWTH's diversity strategy (2022-2027) was developed with the active participation of forumDIVERSITY, which includes numerous diversity stakeholders at the university. For the implementation of the diversity strategy, target agreements are negotiated between central and selected decentralized actors from forumDIVERSITY within the framework of the ReaDy@RWTH project. The goal is to further expand the existing partnership between central and decentralized actors and to strengthen the autonomy and creativity of the decentralized departments through the participatory and iterative development and adherence to the target agreements.

(2) Diversity Monitoring Roadmap

The continuous observation of target groups and their development and the derivation of problematic situations in the sense of diversity monitoring is the basis for the further development and control of an opportunity-oriented, quality-oriented university development. At RWTH, data on the demographic diversity of university members is already collected in various university areas and for various reasons. With the aim of systematizing diversity monitoring at RWTH, the ReaDy@RWTH project will analyze the diversity-relevant indicators already collected or presented in cooperation with departments 6.2 and 6.3 and document them as part of an inventory. The results of the discussion regarding the further course of action will be recorded in a joint roadmap, with the involvement of the experts from 6.2 and 6.3 as well as from the Equal Opportunity Office.

(3) Realize Diversity! Raising Awareness and Communication

The organizational culture of a university is fed by the everyday experiences of university members and can be understood as a collective term for the diversity of informal processes within the organization. On the other hand, university members help shape the organizational cultural environment through their own interactions. With the goal of continuing the cultural change and making the adopted goals and values of the diversity strategy visible and tangible across the university and beyond its borders, the third focus Realize Diversity! focuses on raising awareness and communication. To this end, an awareness-raising and communication campaign is being implemented in collaboration with the Marketing department and Department 3.0.

Project duration: 01 June, 2023 to 30 April, 2024.

Sustainable implementation of the project measures

The three focal points of the ReaDy@RWTH project work toward the goals of the HRK initiative "Diversity at German Universities" in different ways: they promote diversity awareness and sharpen the objectives of the diversity strategy in decentralized university units (focal point 1); they strengthen the data basis on diversity dimensions and place the further development of equal opportunity measures on a more solid foundation in the long term (focal point 2); they make RWTH's diversity goals and values visible and tangible both inside and outside the university (focal point 3). Taken together, the measures planned in the ReaDy@RWTH project thus provide an indispensable impetus for the further development of a diversity-sensitive, diversity-promoting, and diversity-appreciating university culture, as well as for the sustainable establishment of an equal-opportunity framework for all university members.

  © HRK  

 

 

The project is sponsored by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research under funding code 2023-KS558-A05.

.