HMKW Erasmus Policy Statement

HMKW offers Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in journalism and communication, graphic design, media and economic psychology as well as media and event management with the aim of preparing students to enter the European labour market. HMKW‘s main objectives are to provide a high quality learning and teaching experience with an international dimension, the mobility of students and teachers being a key aspect.

HMKW recognises the ever-increasing importance of international intellectual activities and that a broad network of links with European institutions is crucial to meet these objectives.

HMKW is therefore committed to international cooperation, to enabling participation in student and staff exchange, to multilateral projects, and to offering students the opportunity to carry out their compulsory internship or work placement in European companies (following the European Quality Charter for Mobility). Participation in Erasmus is an essential tool for achieving HMKW's goals and objectives. Receiving students and teachers from other European countries will also contribute to the international dimension of education at HMKW. To facilitate exchanges, language training in English is mandatory for all our students and, additionally, an increasing number of courses are offered in English. At HMKW’s Berlin location, all Master’s programmes are being taught in English only.

HMKW cooperates in a bilateral way with other European institutions from Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Great Britain, ltaly, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Portugal, and Turkey and is working on building up further bilateral cooperative activities. Joint workshops have been held, students from other institutions have been invited to start joint courses in Berlin and Cologne. Teaching exchanges are in place with institutions in Great Britain and Finland. These cooperative activities are the basis for medium and longer term bilateral cooperation agreements. Staff members are involved in teaching activities and participate in networks like the International Circle of Educational lnstitutes for Graphic Arts.

HMKW is committed to engaging actively with the Bologna process. HMKW uses the ECTS system thoroughly and offers a diploma supplement for all students. Erasmus participation and mobility for both, students and staff, will contribute to ensuring the comparability of study programmes and to their development and high quality.

Our International Office, whose goals are to establish, develop and promote ties across Europe and to develop the Erasmus programme for HMKW, is a permanent institution with representatives in Berlin and Cologne.

Procedures and structures for the implementation of Erasmus are displayed on the HMKW website, distributed to all staff and students and policy statements issued to students and staff as well as the public outside HMKW. Presentations have been and will be made to classes, on open days and university fairs. Information on Erasmus will be communicated on our website, in social media and our campus management system.

HMKW’s long term aim is for 10 – 15 % of its students to participate in a student exchange or a work placement in the course of their studies. The international office will furthermore perform activities to encourage students from other countries to study at HMKW.

Teacher mobility is being encouraged and facilitated. Staff exchange within the Erasmus framework will support the exchange of best practices in teaching and administration.

  1. Measures to avoid future mismatches between the demand and supply of skills and the promotion of outstanding achievements in skills development: HMKW obliges its students to take interdisciplinary classes on subjects such as personal and social skills, interculturality or academic working in order to provide them with important problem-solving and communication skills. As a media university, we have a special interest in teaching our students the digital literacy they need for their professional lives.
  2. Creation of inclusive and networked university systems: In the spirit of inclusion, HMKW has appointed a commissioner for women and equality, which helps our students - among other things - to claim disadvantage compensation. HMKW also participates in the Deutschlandstipendium awarded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research. In addition, our student advisory service and career center help our students to overcome any hurdles.
  3. Contribution of higher education institutions to innovation in other areas of society: HMKW actively conducts research in the fields of media and psychology and provides the necessary budgets. In addition, our students complete project modules in which they work with partners from culture and business. At the heart of this is the project week, which takes place once a semester and during which students solve real-life problems on behalf of the cooperating company, which then ideally implements our students’ solutions.
  4. Promotion of effective and efficient university systems (supporting universities and governments to make the best possible use of available human and financial resources): HMKW regularly takes part in the Long Night of the Sciences, a joint project of scientific institutions in the Berlin / Potsdam region. In addition, HMKW has agreed to cooperate with schools, inviting their students to visit their premises and therefore providing them with the resources necessary to carry out projects there. In a similar way, HMKW supports the Hogeschool van Amsterdam, which sends a delegation of around 30 students to Berlin once a semester. These students are welcome to use HMKW’s premises and other resources.