SPIEL MIT! Social Participation and Intercultural Experiences - Lively Interaction in Thuringia

DIVERSE (Diversity Improvement as a Viable Enrichment Resource for Society and Economy)

Conditions: EU-funded project (Integration Fund), duration 18 months (Start: Dec 2013), 10 participating countries, coordination from the Catholic University of Milan (WWELL Research Centre), estimated total budget 900,000 euros.

Partners: Catholic University Milan (Italy), University of Huelva (Spain), New University of Lisbon (Portugal), Karlshochschule International University (Germany), Radboud University Nijmegen (Netherlands), University of Waasa (Finland), University of Umea (Sweden), University of Lodz (Poland), University of Tartu (Estonia), Menedek Society for Migration (Hungary), Foundation for Research into Multi-ethnicity ISMU (Italy), three further not-for-profit organisations.

General aims and objects: The main aim of the project is to develop an innovative and effective model for integrating migrants from third countries (non-EU-citizens). This development will take place by adapting and improving the practice of multi-stakeholders concerned with the estimation and assessment of the potentials of these migrants for the host country - in regard to both social and economical aspects. One particular priority is the recognition of third country nationals' non-formal competencies and the relational connection between them and the institutions in the context of migration and integration, as well as organisations' diversity management practices and approaches. The intended results of the project include proposals for the public and for governments to increase civil participation.

Proposed programme of work:

• Closing knowledge gaps. Initially, data collection will be carried out in parallel in ten EU-countries. Qualitative studies will empirically investigate a) which diversity management practices and approaches are being followed in profit-oriented and not-for-profit organisations, b) which instruments are in use for assessment and recognition of formal, informal and non-formal skills and competencies of third country nationals, c) the involvement of third country nationals in voluntary work and non-profit organisations. All of this data will be fed into a comparative analysis.
• Improving recognition procedures. This component takes as its basis a synergetic dialogue between representatives of various stakeholder groups in order to develop a new approach to recognising the skills and knowledge of third country migrants. In particular, informal competencies that were acquired in their country of origin need to be considered. The result is a prototype and cross-country model to evaluate and recognise their knowledge, skills and other competencies. The countries participating here are Italy, Germany, Portugal, Sweden and the Netherlands.
• Applications and integration. Working together with self-organised migrant organisations and in individual countries with the institutions responsible for qualification recognition, the newly developed format will then be tested. In parallel, during the later phase, the analysis will focus on the participation of migrant third country nationals in voluntary associations and groups and the contributions this makes to an improvement in their civil participation (focus Italy and Netherlands).

Results and dissemination: Using participatory approaches, the project will develop an innovative, modern and practicable access to issues surrounding the practice of integration and competence recognition in European countries. The model and the concept will be presented and discussed in seminars and briefings. A long-lasting effect will be ensured by working together with partners from profit-oriented and not-for-profit fields, organisations who are involved in the practice, and from both civic and governmental sectors.

Karlshochschule International University, Karlsruhe, March 2014

Contact: Roman Lietz M.A., rlietz(at)karlshochschule.de

Emerald Forest

This project does not involve a research project in the strict sense. However, the results are very interesting for university work. A team from seven different European countries – including our partner university in Valmiera in Latvia – is working on a management simulation game that is being tested at the universities and then continuously upgraded. The objective is to provide students with conditions in step with actual practice for acquiring management know-how and practice-related knowledge. The system being used is sufficiently complex to simulate multifactorial and realistic corporate contexts. Among other things, the instrument can be used to construct and operate an amusement park.
The project is being funded by financial support from the EU Commission. The direction for the consortium is at the University of Breda in the Netherlands.

Completed projects in 2013

Touring Consumption 2013

In a world that is increasingly diverse and complex, the need for an innovative understanding of the resulting dynamics is pressing. The communities are growing together with remarkable new dimensions of multi-ethnicity, demographies are changing, new challenges are arising for leaders in organizations, political institutions, and for societal groups of any kind.

The consensus narrative of the society changes and we need, probably, to learn new languages to describe and to explain it. The present conference deals with diversity, a poly-functional notion for the description and analysis of these complex dynamics. Among the multiple usages of the notion, as well as on the edges of it, the conference will pronounce three major goals: First, it aims at sounding and differentiating the theoretical state-of-the-art in relation to diversity. Secondly, we want to establish a methodological grounding of diversity as a social reality, which is constituted by and within communicative action. Third, there is a strong need for empirical analyses that show the qualitative dynamics of diversity in different societal domains, i.e. organizations, urban environments, companies, etc.

The layout of the conference is designed both for researchers and for practitioners. We want you to meet in arenas of discussion, to create the interactive encounters that are needed for development. Our task is to find synergies and an innovative treatment of the notion. Diversity is not a set of criteria for nailing social differences; it is an integrating momentum of life.

Grundtvig didactic partnership: „Age-related Leadership – workshop for Managers who lead elder employees“

Demographic change is a challenge. In many European countries the working population is decreasing due to an aging workforce. Karlshochschule invited several partners to participate in a “Learning Partnership” to develop tools for enhancing the work ability of an aging workforce.
In the final stage, on the 11th and 12th of April 2013, ten managers from Germany, Italy, Finland and Switzerland visited the Karlshochschule Management Institute to take part in an intensive training program addressing the issue of age-related leadership. The “Age-related Leadership Workshop for managers who lead elder employees”, developed and conducted by the Management Institute and three further partners, formed an effective conclusion to the partners’ two-year research project, part of the European Commission’s “Grundtvig Programme”.
It was the project’s goal to develop a training concept that familiarizes managers with the topic of age-appropriate leadership and equips them with a novel sensibility towards elder workforces. Ultimately, this knowledge is intended to enable them to approach said elder workforces with a reflected sense of leadership. The relevance of such competences is made clear in the description of the project on the Fondazione Istud’s “Research activities” page:
“To keep employees healthy and trained in their working life is one precondition that managers have to support. Therefore, companies and managers need to understand how to handle the aging workforce. Studies have shown that leadership is the only significant factor that improves the work ability of older workers. Therefore it is important to train managers to lead older employees; concepts for “age-related leadership” are needed.”
On the basis of extensive preliminary research that included a mass survey answered by 755 managers from the participating countries, the four institutions compiled a thorough analysis on age-related leadership as well as the significance and handling of age perceptions. The research project combined sociological, psychological, managerial, leadership and occupational health oriented perspectives, allowing the partners to examine the various issues connected with the subject from the most different angles.
Finally, the workshop in April in turn allowed its participants to analyze age-related leadership from different cultural viewpoints and develop novel concepts for their own companies. The trainers from the four partner institutions combined theoretical knowledge with practical application, additionally introducing the method of a learner’s portfolio. This portfolio, a collection of questions and exercises adjusted to the day’s teachings, offered the chance to note down various impressions and ideas, as well as to critically answer nine key questions on one’s opinions and companies.
Overall, the research cooperation bore fruit on many levels and constituted an intricate learning experience for all parties involved. A compilation of all results can be found here.

The project is led by Prof. Dr. Cordula Braedel-Kühner at Karlshochschule.

    •    This project has been funded with support from the European Commission.
    •    This publication [communication] reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.