Working@TH Köln – Experience Academia
There is still room for improvement in terms of diversity within academia. In 2022, for example, 52% of first-year students were female, while only 28% of professorships were held by women. To counteract this as early as possible, TH Köln has launched the "Working@TH Köln - Experience Academia" program for student assistants (SHK for short).
About the program
Info
"Working@TH Köln – Experience Academia“ is a measure from the "Improving Recruitment" sub-project of the PLan_CV project.
The program and its goals
“Working@TH Köln – Experience Academia” brings students and professors together. Students are hired as research and teaching assistants. In the process, they expand their academic skills, learn about possible career paths in science and gain an insight into the career profile of the professorship at a university of applied sciences.
Diversity is an essential part of TH Köln's self-image and is seen as indispensable for social justice and equal opportunities. At the same time, diversity is seen as a source of innovation and creativity that has a positive influence on cooperation. In the context of Working@TH Köln, we understand diversity as the diverse composition of a group of people. Diverse composition means that people differ in terms of their gender identification (male, female, non-binary, inter*, trans), their nationality or their educational background, for example.
The various diversity dimensions have an influence on the advantages and disadvantages people have and we want to counteract this with Working@TH Cologne. We have listed some of these diversity dimensions here in alphabetical order, but there are many more:
Diversity dimensions
Further information on the dimensions listed and other relevant terms
Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions.
- (Dis-)Ability
- Age
- Appearance and size
- Care Work (e.g. for children, parents)
- Class
- Educational background
- Gender
- Migration background
- Nationality
- Physical and mental health
- Race
- Religion and ideology
- Sexual orientation
Time frame
"Working@TH Köln - Experience Science" is a temporary learning arrangement in combination with an assistantship for professors. This means that, in addition to your work as a student assistant, you will receive offers for further training for an academic career.
Registration for the winter semester 2024/25 is closed. Thank you for you applications. As soon as the next application phase has been determined, it will be announced on this website.
Financing
This measure will receive financing from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) funding line if the abovementioned criteria are fulfilled. The Career Service can advise you on the application process.
Information according to target groups

For students
Are you at least in your 3rd Bachelor semester during the participation period and would like to get to know the work of a student assistant?

For professors
Do you want to support students on their career path? Are the promotion of young talent and diversity important to you, and are you looking for support for your research project and your teaching area?
“Working@TH Köln – Experience Academia” is part of the project “Rethinking professorial careers at universities of applied sciences: Collaboration and networking” (PLan_CV). Its goal: Finding excellent candidates for professorial careers at TH Köln, and achieving greater permeability between the academic world and the business sector. The project’s budget of 12.4 million euros is funded through the Federal Ministry of Education and Research program to attract and qualify professorial staff for universities of applied sciences.
