Following the ceremony in November 2022 at which Ina Brandes, Minister for Science in North Rhine-Westphalia, formally conferred the right to award doctorates on the North Rhine-Westphalia Doctoral College (PK NRW) – thereby laying the foundations for a genuine innovation in North Rhine-Westphalia’s academic landscape – the 21 participating higher education institutions, including Rhein-Waal University of Applied Sciences (HSRW), have now agreed on the details of their collaboration. This means that, for the first time, doctoral degrees can be awarded at universities of applied sciences (HAW) in North Rhine-Westphalia without the need for collaboration with universities.
The granting of the right to award doctorates by the state was preceded by a thorough assessment of the PK NRW by the Science Council and a corresponding positive recommendation in favour of granting this right. “With today’s signing of the cooperation agreement between the 21 higher education institutions and the PK NRW, we are setting out in detail the arrangements for collaboration on doctoral programmes in line with the recommendations of the Science Council,” explains Prof. Dr Martin Sternberg, Chair of the PK NRW. “In doing so, we are ensuring transparency in the processes and upholding the high quality of doctoral procedures at the PK NRW. In this way, we are providing clear guidance to our colleagues at the partner higher education institutions, as well as to early-career researchers from universities of applied sciences and research universities who are interested in pursuing a doctorate.”
From this summer onwards, the process of admitting the first doctoral candidates to the PK NRW will begin. In the wake of these developments, all necessary preparations have also been finalised at Rhein-Waal University of Applied Sciences (HSRW), meaning that enrolment will be possible from this summer onwards. “I am delighted that the HSRW can now offer its early-career researchers not only joint PhD programmes but also PhDs at the PK NRW. This opens up a further pathway to academic qualification and strengthens research at universities of applied sciences,” said Dr Oliver Locker-Grütjen, President of Rhein-Waal University of Applied Sciences. “The PK NRW represents a strengthening of the academic landscape in Germany. It will help us to better address the challenges of the future, such as climate change and sustainable transformation,” Locker-Grütjen continued.
