Appeal procedure
at The Hochschule Niederrhein

Hochschule Niederrhein. Your way.

Who we are - The Hochschule Niederrhein

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The Hochschule Niederrhein is one of the largest and most efficient universities of applied sciences in Germany. We open up perspectives: With future-proof academic apprenticeships and problem- and transfer-oriented research , we create the basis for our graduates to be in demand on the job market.

We are a renowned educational and research institution in the German university landscape. With ten faculties, campuses in Krefeld and Mönchengladbach and around 14,000 students, we are an important contact for companies in the region when it comes to research and transfer.

Our 87 Bachelor 's and 27 Master's degree programmes cover a wide range of subjects and are tailored to the needs of the region. The Faculties of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Mechanical and Process Engineering, Industrial Engineering and Health Care are located at the Krefeld South Campus. The Campus Krefeld West is home to the Faculties of Chemistry and Design. And in Mönchengladbach, in addition to the largest faculty of the university, Business Administration and Clothing Technology, the Faculties of Food, Nutrition and Hospitality Sciences are located.

Faculty of Food and Nutrition Sciences

Faculty of Design

Numerous advantages

A professorship at the Hochschule Niederrhein offers you numerous advantages, which we have briefly summarized for you here.

Teaching education

The Hochschule Niederrhein is committed to the quality of studies and teaching education. In addition to programme content and methods, we also focus on the framework conditions of the studies. Our Degree programmes should lead to sustainable employability and the ability to assume social responsibility. We regularly address the question of which key competencies are necessary for our graduates to be successful in the job market. We therefore develop our Degree programmes in permanent exchange with professional practice. We teach scientific problem-solving skills, but do not train for a specific job. We stand for consistent practical application in teaching education. Cooperation with companies is important to us. Theory and practice in studies do not form a contradiction but complement each other.

The group of our first-year students has become more heterogeneous. This places high demands on our teaching education. At the same time, the diversity of our students offers great opportunities and potential for teaching education. We want to take advantage of this through project-oriented, problem-based and research-based learning in learning groups with different compositions.

Research

The Hochschule Niederrhein has made impressive progress in the area of research in recent years. This is due to an appropriate appointment policy, the establishment and promotion of cooperative doctoral projects, the sharpening of the research profile and the sustainable financial resources of the in-institutes. We also support individual outstanding scientists, but we particularly want to promote the formation of alliances and also launch professorships with reduced teaching loads.

We want to further develop our core research areas accordingly. These are: Functional Surfaces, Applied Health and Nutrition Research, IT and Logistics Concepts, Innovative Product and Process Development, Social and Economic Innovations, and Energy Efficiency [Forschungsschwerpunkt der HN].

Proximity to cooperation partners

Transfer as a performance dimension is a key profile feature of the Hochschule Niederrhein. Through transfer, we can distinguish ourselves as an innovation driver and think tank for the region. At our university, young people are academically trained for their apprenticeship by participating in one of the many transfer processes at the university into the economy, society or politics. In this philosophy, participation in the process as such leads to the actual goal of a university education, the development of one's own personality, academic preparation for a profession, and active testing of the methodological and professional skills learned in the studies.

We are a founding member of the University Alliance for Small and Medium-Sized Businesses, an association of more than twelve universities of applied sciences nationwide, which would like to bring more attention to our type of university nationwide. We form networks with regional institutions and companies. Network cultivation includes numerous events such as the welcoming of newly appointed professors, which we traditionally hold together with the Mittlerer Niederrhein Chamber of Industry and Commerce. Half of the members of the advisory board for research and development are representatives of regional companies and it is an important communication channel to the regional economy. And the transfer of knowledge to companies is strengthened by a portfolio of scientific continuing education courses.

Safe workplace

If the requirements under civil service law are met, the employee is initially appointed as a probationary civil servant, which is generally converted into a civil servant for life after a period of twelve months once the employee's suitability as a teacher has been established.

In the event that the requirements under civil service law are not met, the employee is initially hired as a temporary employee under private law. This will be terminated after the pedagogical suitability has been determined.

If the pedagogical suitability has already been determined in a previous employment relationship before taking up work at the Hochschule Niederrhein as a professor, tenure for life or employment within the framework of an unlimited employment relationship under private law takes place immediately.

Attractive location

Our Krefeld and Mönchengladbach sites are located on the left bank of the Lower Rhine, just under 20 kilometers apart. With 225,000 (Krefeld) and 260,000 inhabitants (Mönchengladbach), both location cities are among the major cities in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW). Düsseldorf, the capital of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, can be reached from both cities within a half-hour's drive. The Netherlands can also be reached in just under half an hour by car or train.

Krefeld is rich in greenery and, by its own account, is even the second greenest city in Germany. This is proven by the large number of avenues and public green spaces, several parks and, above all, the Krefeld city forest, a popular recreation and forest area near the center of Krefeld in the wider area of the city. The local recreation area Elfrather See offers many opportunities for water sports and a swimming lake. One of the main attractions is the Krefeld Zoo. It was founded in 1938 and currently houses about 1300 animals from 225 different species on an area of 13 hectares.

The cityscape of Mönchengladbach is a combination of urban flair and rural charm. It is not for nothing that the city, with its numerous parks and forests, is also called a "metropolis in the countryside". Important architectural monuments such as Rheydt Castle and the prestigious Abteiberg Museum as well as an active cabaret, creative and cabaret scene characterize the city's cultural offerings. Summer customs are firmly anchored in society in the Lower Rhine region and also in Mönchengladbach. An important pillar of regional customs is formed by the shooting fraternities. Borussia Mönchengladbach, a Bundesliga soccer team, enjoys nationwide popularity beyond the city's borders.

Family and gender-friendly university

The Hochschule Niederrhein has been certified with the "audit familiengerechte hochschule" since 2010. In various fields of action, the university sets itself sustainable goals to create good framework conditions and to support employees and students in reconciling family and career or studies. In this context, existing and established offers relating to compatibility are strengthened and new needs-based offers are developed and tested. In addition, the university actively promotes equal opportunities and gender-equitable studies and working conditions.

Dual Career

The Hochschule Niederrhein is a member of the Dual Career Network Rhineland. This means that we support and accompany you or your partner when starting your career in our region.

Further information: http://www.dualcareer-rheinland.de

Your way to the professorship

Unlike at a university, there is no fixed predetermined path to a professorship at a university of applied sciences. In addition to academic qualifications, the prerequisite for a call to an HAW professorship is proof of suitable professional experience outside of academia. Applicants need references from science and industry. In addition to an ideally above-average doctorate, applicants should be able to provide evidence of scientific publications. In addition, at least five years of professional experience, including three years outside academia, in the relevant fields of work is mandatory. A habilitation, on the other hand, is not required.

Didactic continuing training and education

The Hochschule Niederrhein offers didactic training and continuing training especially for newly appointed professors. In this way, it supports their arrival in teaching and the development of competence- and practical emphasis / orientation in teaching education. This includes the university didactic program "Arriving in teaching education at the HN". It includes a basic workshop on teaching in the digitalized world and a teaching education coaching program. In addition, further workshops on didactics in higher education can be attended in the hdw nrw network of universities of applied sciences in NRW.

General requirements for employment § 36 HG

  • a completed course of studies at a university;
  • a special aptitude for scientific work, usually demonstrated by the quality of a doctorate;
  • special achievements in the application or development of scientific knowledge and methods gained during five years of professional practice, of which at least three years must have been spent outside the university sector, in a field corresponding to the above-mentioned subjects.

Target groups

Our calls for applications are aimed at doctoral candidates in business, industry, administration and academia who are considering a professorship at a university of applied sciences (HAW).

Framework

  • Tenure as a professor, if you have not yet exceeded the age of 50 at the time of appointment (you must therefore still be 49 years old).

Family periods (parental, care periods), military and alternative services can be taken into account, so that the age limit is raised accordingly if such creditable periods exist.

If civil servant status is not possible, employment takes place in a private-law employment relationship (service contract).
Tenure is only granted on a full-time basis.

  • The teaching obligation is 18 contact hours per week (SWS).
    • A reduction of the teaching obligation is possible, for example, by taking on tasks in self-administration (e.g. Chair of the Examinations Board) or by performing research and development tasks upon application.
    • a reduction of the professorship for personal reasons (Part-time) is possible.
  • Tasks of a professorship
    • Student advising
    • Supervision of project, degree, qualification work
    • assumption of tasks of academic self-administration / administration (Examinations Board, boards and committees, study program management, ...)
    • application-oriented research
  • if applicable, part-time activity (subject to approval)
  • as a rule no mid-level staff

The professors' salary consists of the basic salary, the family allowance and possible additional performance-related pay (salary overview for a professorship)

Structure of our tender

Structure of the tender
Structure of our tender

The attached PDF document contains explanations of the individual sections of the invitation to tender.

Note: When opening the document in your browser, you may encounter display problems in some cases, so please download the PDF below (right-click on "Structure of our call for entries", then "Save link as").

 

Information on the appeal process

Are you interested in the appointment process at The Hochschule Niederrhein? Welcome! With appointments, we set the course for the future of the university. Therefore, we conduct the procedures with the greatest possible care and as a participatory process. Transparent requirements and clearly defined rules are important to us. On this page, you will find information that you might need if you are interested in the path to a professorship, would like to apply for a professorship with us, or are in an appointment process.

Checklist
  • Cover letter
  • Resume
  • Application form
  • List of publications
  • Exposé of previous and planned research activities and collaboration ideas within the university
  • Teaching profile
  • Evidence of university education (diploma or master's certificate, diploma or master's certificate, doctoral certificate, etc.)
  • Evidence of previous professional activity
  • If applicable, samples of work in the form of an artistic portfolio (for artistic professorships)

Your application

Application documents

Please make sure to submit the requested documents digitally with the application (possible formats for security reasons: pdf, jpg). This is because only the documents you provide us with can be evaluated:

  • a meaningful cover letter
  • a curriculum vitae
  • the completed application form
  • proof of your degree (certificate and diploma); if you have a degree from a foreign university, it is helpful for the appointment committee if you submit a certificate stating that this degree is recognized in North Rhine-Westphalia. Information regarding recognition can be found on the website of the Ministry for Schools and Education in North Rhine-Westphalia.
  • proof of your doctorate (certificate and diploma); if you completed your doctorate abroad, it is helpful if you include a note on the recognition of your doctorate in Germany with your application
  • further proof required in the advertisement
  • proof of your professional activities (e.g. in the form of references)
  • a list of publications
  • an exposé of previous and planned research activities and cooperation ideas within the university
  • a teaching profile

What happens in case of missing documents?

After submitting your application, you realize that you forgot to upload documents to the application portal? You are welcome to send additional documents by e-mail, stating your application number (you will receive this with the automatic confirmation of receipt) to the Appeals Management:

berufungsmanagement(at)hs-niederrhein.de

. The documents will then be uploaded to the system.

Professional experience / practical work expe

Work experience is counted after the first university degree (e.g. Bachelor's degree) related to din der advertised professorship.
Internships or training periods are not counted as professional experience.

You can provide evidence of your work experience by submitting your curriculum vitae and the completed application form. You can provide evidence of these activities, for example, in the form of work references.

If, for example, you have not been working full-time for family reasons (e.g. parental leave, caregiver leave), this will not put you at a disadvantage. If you have been employed for at least 50% of the time, this period can be taken into account when proving the respective work experience (independent of the proof of work experience outside the university).
Example: After the birth of your child, you worked part-time (at least 50% of the job) for three years. Accordingly, you still need proof of two more years to meet the 5-year work experience requirement.


Work experience inside and outside of college

For example, you are employed in an academic capacity at an institution of higher education after graduation (job share of at least 50%). This professional activity is counted as activity within an institution of higher education.

If you have worked for a company or an affiliated institute of a university, this will be counted as professional experience outside the university. However, the in-institute must be legally independent.

Professional periods at Helmholtz, Leibniz, Fraunhofer and Max Planck institutes are recognized.

Note: A look at the organization chart or the imprint of the institute's website can help to determine the legal status of an institute.


Self-employment

If you are self-employed or have been self-employed, these periods can of course also be taken into account in your professional experience.

Please provide us with suitable documents that allow us to gain an insight into the extent of your self-employment, e.g.

  • List of references with details of companies and projects
  • Confirmation from a tax office attesting to the extent of your self-employed activity in comparison to an employed activity.

Proof of third-party funds raised

Evidence of the third-party funding you have raised is relevant for assessing your research competence. Of course, we are aware that from a funding point of view it makes more sense to mention another surname as the applicant in the applications (e.g. the supervising professor or the head of the institute). Then describe what part you played in the application and the implementation of the projects.

Promotion quality

The doctorate and its quality serve as proof of the ability to work scientifically.

If a doctoral grade is mentioned in the advertisement (e.g. magna cum laude), you must prove with your application documents that your doctorate was graded at least "magna cum laude", for example. If you are unable to do this because you only completed your doctorate with "cum laude", you will be excluded from the procedure because you do not meet this knock-out criterion.

If no doctoral grade is mentioned as a requirement in the announcement, your doctoral grade fulfills the aspect of quality if you have completed your doctorate with at least "laude". A doctoral grade of "rite" will disqualify you from the process.

If you have completed a doctorate without a grade, it will help the committee if you can provide, for example, an assessment/evaluation of the quality of your doctorate by the issuing university.

Research synopsis

In the research exposé, you present your previous work and experience in the research field. Based on the research exposé, we are able to assess whether and which thematic externally-funded projects you have already submitted and worked on with which project sponsor.

At the same time, you provide an outlook on future topics of your research activity, which you may also want to tackle with colleagues at the Hochschule Niederrhein.

Note: Take alook at the research landscape of the HochschuleNiederrhein. With over 240 professorships in ten faculties, there may well be thematic overlaps.

Teaching Profile

In the teaching profile you describe

  • what your teaching education specialisations are and how they fit into the profile of the faculty,
  • your academic background with regard to your previous teaching experience (for example, from the time of your doctorate; type and scope of courses) or experience in imparting knowledge and skills,
  • why you have chosen a position with a high teaching content,
  • Your understanding of teaching and which didactic goals guide your future teaching education.

 

Note: A look at the Degree programme's module handbook or the faculty's module handbooks can help here.

More information

Selection procedure

The selection procedure for filling a professorship is very complex. In the following, we briefly present the most important points of the procedure.


Who is involved?

Primarily, the selection process is accompanied by a specially appointed appointment committee.

The appointment committee usually consists of

  • five lecturers (professors from the advertised faculty supplemented by a professor from another faculty or university),
  • one academic employee,
  • one employee from technology and administration (advisory, without voting rights)
  • two members from the group of students.

All members are bound to secrecy and are aware of the confidential treatment of all documents in the procedure.

The commission is supported by the appeals officers, who assist the commission in applying compliance with the appeals regulations .

The head of the department, the Equal Opportunity Officer and, if applicable, the Representative for Severely Disabled Persons may attend the meetings of the Appeals Commission in an advisory capacity.


Who decides on the appointment?

The President of the Hochschule Niederrhein decides on the granting of an appointment.

The report of the appointment committee, the presentation of the appointment representative, the statement of the equal opportunity representative and a procedural presentation of the appointment management serve as the basis for his decision.


Duration of the procedure

An appointment procedure usually takes between eight and twelve months.
This is due in part to the involvement of the various boards and committees and external reviewers, which require a certain amount of lead time and processing time. We endeavor to carry out the procedure as quickly as possible in compliance with the applicable rules.

If you have any questions about the status of the appointment process, you can always contact the chair of the appointment committee.


Information about the status of the procedure

Upon receipt of your application, you will receive a confirmation of receipt from the appeals management.

As a rule, you can expect to receive an invitation to a personal interview within 8-12 weeks after the closing date of the call if your application has been assessed as suitable.

However, you will not receive a rejection until the process has been completed.

If you have any questions about the status of the appointment process, you can always contact the chair of the appointment committee.

However, you will not receive a rejection until the process is complete.

If you have any questions about the status of the appeal process, you can always contact the chair of the appeals committee.


On what basis does an appeal procedure take place?

An appointment procedure is carried out on the basis of the appointment regulations of the Hochschule Niederrhein and is accompanied by the appointment officers.


Stages of the selection process

An appointment procedure usually includes various stages at which your suitability for the professorship is examined:

  • Application documents
  • Structured interview with pre-determined questions that are asked equally of each applicant (ensures objectivity, comparability and equal treatment of all applicants)
  • Technical presentation, in which you give a presentation on a predefined topic that is the same for all applicants or on a topic of your own choosing
  • Technical interview with pre-determined questions, which are asked equally to each applicant
  • Trial course, in which you give a course in front of students on a topic previously determined by the appointment committee for all applicantsTwo external reviews based on the documents you submitted (application documents, presentations on the trial course and lecture, ...)

Privacy

We guarantee absolute confidentiality of your application documents.

For this reason, only persons who are involved in the procedure on the university side (including the appointment management, appointment committee, equal opportunity representative, if necessary the representative for severely handicapped persons, presidium, faculty council, if necessary external reviewers) are allowed to view the documents.

Do you have further questions?

Then simply get in touch with us!

Appeals Management Team:
berufungsmanagement(at)hs-niederrhein.de

Central Equal Opportunity Officer:
gleichstellung(at)hs-niederrhein.de