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Kick-off for the QualifyING program: Participants meet for the first time at the Innovation Campus Lemgo

Many refugee engineers bring university degrees and professional experience with them - but entering the German job market often remains a challenge. Technical terms, regulations and application culture differ significantly from their home country. To ensure that this potential does not remain untapped, the Ostwestfalen-Lippe University of Applied Sciences (TH OWL), Bielefeld University of Applied Sciences (HSBI) and Georg Agricola University of Applied Sciences (THGA) have launched the QualifyING program.

In the summer semester of 2025, 24 international engineers will start the program: six at the TH OWL with a focus on civil engineering and architecture, eight at the HSBI in the fields of mechanical and electrical engineering and ten at the THGA in the field of mechanical engineering. A total of 60 people applied for what is now the seventh round of the program.

On April 11, the participants of the current year met in person for the first time - at the kick-off event on the Innovation Campus Lemgo. After the previous exchange in the digital space, the meeting was a good opportunity to get to know each other, ask questions and start the program together.

The focus was on the content and process of the QualifyING program: from specialist language courses and lectures to practical phases and the requirements for the final university certificate.

The information section was supplemented by interactive formats such as icebreaker questions in partner work as well as an open exchange in a relaxed atmosphere.

The event was organized by the core team of the project: Ananya Nagendran (Project Coordination, TH OWL), Arteen Kevo (Mentor, TH OWL), Khorolsuren Tuvshinbayar (Mentor, HSBI), Natalia Lubenska (Mentor, THGA) and Cennet Kurum (Digital Teaching, TH OWL).