Rhein-Main Universitäten (RMU)

FRANKFURT. Especially in the urban regions of Hesse, such as the Rhine-Main area, employers are desperately looking for professionals with an academic degree. The situation is strained, and it will become even more strained when the "baby boomers" retire. In Frankfurt alone, there will be a shortage of around 28,000 academics by 2030. This is obvious from forecasts prepared by the Institut für Wirtschaft, Arbeit und Kultur (IWAK) of Goethe University for the Hessian state government (www.hessische-berufsprognosen.de).

Creative solutions are required to combat this shortage. The around 25,000 international students currently enrolled at the five public universities in Southern Hesse (Goethe University Frankfurt, Technical University of Darmstadt, Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences, Hochschule Darmstadt and Hochschule Rhein-Main) offer significant potential. Generally, only a very small part of the international students graduating at Hessian universities will subsequently enter into a job here. There are numersous reasons for this: Many international students hardly have any points of contact with the region, they don't know how to enter the German labor market, some of them do not speak enough German. Studies by the DAAD (Deutscher Akademischer Auslandsdienst) show that many international students and graduates are willing to stay, but fail to overcome the obstacles they are faced with along the way. 

This is why, since 2023, the Hessian Ministry for Science and Research, Arts and Culture has provided financial support for the establishment of the "International Career Service Rhein-Main (ICS RM)" from funds of the European Social Fund Plus and from state funds, and has also provided professional advice. Christoph Degen, State Secretary in the Hessian Ministry for Science and Research, Arts and Culture, states: "With our contribution, we help to retain professionals. To this end, we must also approach and attract international graduates at the universities, where the future professionals are trained. In the highly international Rhine-Main region, this is a particularly obvious solution."

The International Career Service Rhein-Main is a joint initiative by the five public universities in Southern Hesse. Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz is an associated partner. The service supports international students with information on the German labor market or the startup ecosystem, introduces them to professional fields and companies and helps them put together application documents and prepare for job interviews. "We see consistently high demand and get positive feedback on our services", says Jens Blank who coordinates the activities of the universities involved.

Furthermore, a round table and an advisory board were established, to build a bridge between universities and businesses as well as social economy, for example to address issues such as the question of how to bring students into contact with the region right from the start. "There are many offers, but they are not pooled. We have now compiled the offers in the tool RAISE (regionale Angebote für internationale Studierende, i.e. regional offers for international students). The tool is available to anyone advising international students at the universities", explains Christa Larsen. The head of the Institut für Wirtschaft, Arbeit und Kultur (IWAK) at Goethe University coordinates the activities of the round table and the advisory board. 

However, to make students and graduates feel at home in the Rhine-Main area, a real culture of welcome is necessary. To integrate people into the region in the long term, it is essential that they feel at home here. According to the international students who form part of the round table, there is still room for improvement. Prof. Dr. Axel Plünnecke from the German Economic Institute (IW) imparted key insights from research and emphasized that retaining international academics in the long term is possible only if public administrations and, above all, businesses, actively represent a culture of welcome. Judith Freisburger from the Kompetenzzentrum Fachkräftesicherung explained that it is not sufficient to train individual employees, but that processes and structures and in particular the corporate culture play a key role when it comes to openness and appreciation. Jonas Fidler, managing director of Vereinigung der Hessischen Unternehmerverbände, summarized the status quo and the challenges ahead. He pointed out that there already is a high awareness in businesses and at public authorities regarding the necessity of a real culture of welcome. Furthermore, many businesses have already adjusted their structures and processes to enable more openness and participation. These could be made more visible to serve as examples.     

"Establishing a culture of welcome is a complex process that needs time and a lot of engagement. However, it is important to deliberately pave the way", Prof. Sabine Andresen, Vice President for Equal Opportunities, Career Development & Advancement, Diversity and Gender Equality, stated in her welcome address and added that the project "International Career Service Rhein-Main" offers a great opportunity to deliberately give thought to the topic of the culture of welcome.  

Edited by: Dr. Anke Sauter, Referentin für Wissenschaftskommunikation, Büro für PR & Kommunikation der Goethe-Universität Frankfurt (text originally published in German)