PLan_CV: Rethinking professorial careers at universities of applied sciences
TH Köln has launched the project “PLan_CV”. Its goal: Finding excellent candidates for professorial careers at universities of applied sciences. The project’s budget of 13.15 million Euros is funded through the Federal Ministry of Education and Research program “FH-Personal” (staff for universities of applied sciences).
By 2030, TH Köln will need to fill at least 136 professorial positions, ideally with outstanding candidates. This is where the project PLan_CV comes in. Its goals: increasing the attractiveness of professorial positions at universities of applied sciences, strengthening dual qualifications (with academic and vocational components), and achieving greater permeability between the academic world and the business sector. The project focuses on holistic academic staff development and aims to benefit everyone involved – staff, university and its partners. Above all, TH Köln seeks to promote equal opportunities, diversity and reconciliation of family and work life.
At a glance
Kategorie | Beschreibung |
---|---|
Project | Rethinking professorial careers at universities of applied sciences – Collaboration and networking (Professur-Laufbahn an Hochschulen für angewandte Wissenschaften neu denken: Collaboration und Vernetzung, PLan_CV) |
Funding body | Federal Ministry of Education and Research – Program to attract and qualify professoral staff for universities of applied sciences (BMBF – Programm zur Förderung der Gewinnung und Qualifizierung professoralen Personals an Fachhochschulen, "FH-Personal") |
Budget | € 13.15 million |
Funding period | April 2021 - March 2027 |
To this end, TH Köln has developed customized measures that will be implemented and expanded within the university and in cooperation with its partners.

Improving recruitment
By 2030, TH Köln will have to recruit at least 136 new professors. But the career path to a professorship at a university of applied sciences is considered unpredictable; what little information there is can often only be found in networks. This needs to change so that the career stages leading up to a professorship can be as diverse as the student body.
Project manager: Dr. Klara Groß-Elixmann

Tandem program
To address social issues, we need specialists with both academic qualifications and practical knowledge. But finding candidates who have both can be difficult because the academic world and the business sector don't usually intersect much. This is where TH Köln's tandem program comes in.
Project manager: Prof. Dr. Denis Anders

Focus professorships
Less teaching, more research: Focus professorships make time for the in-depth study of topics defining the university. Not only does this make the university stronger in research, it also allows for cross-faculty collaboration and the training of postdocs.
Project manager: Prof. Dr. Sigrid Leitner

Career development
In order to recruit professors, you need young researchers. That is why TH Köln accompanies doctoral candidates and postdocs in their academic development of competence with the program "Karriere hoch 3".
Project manager: Dr. Birgit Szczyrba

Cooperation platform
Achieving more together: The platform promotes permeability between the academic world, the business sector, and civil society by having partners support young researchers in shaping their own career paths.
Project manager: Prof. Dr. Valérie Varney
