Hochschule Bonn-Rhein-Sieg successful in the Women Professors Programme 2030

Christine Buchholz Barbara Hillen-Haas vor LED-Wand Grünes Licht für Professorinnen

Hochschule Bonn-Rhein-Sieg (H-BRS) has impressed with its gender equality concept in the Female Professors Programme 2030. It is one of 44 universities nationwide that was positively evaluated by a jury of experts from the Joint Science Conference (GWK) in the third selection round. It can now apply for funding totalling up to 2.5 million euros for up to three new professorships filled by women until the end of September 2027. The federal and state governments will each fund half of the programme. In addition to increasing the proportion of women, the aim of the programme is to strengthen gender equality structures.

"We are delighted with this success and the recognition of our concept," says University President Marion Halfmann. "In the coming years, numerous professorships will need to be filled at H-BRS. We want to actively shape this phase of upheaval by specifically recruiting excellent female academics and strengthening their career paths. In this way, we are shaping the future of our university in a diverse and innovative way. The female professorship programme offers us a great opportunity on this path."

Gleichstellungsbeauftragte Dr. Barbara Hillen

Dr Barbara Hillen-Haas, the central equal opportunity commissioner at Hochschule Bonn-Rhein-Sieg. Photo: Daniela Greulich/H-BRS

The university's equal opportunities concept takes into account the entire career cycle from studies to professorship. "The first years in academia are particularly important for women. In addition to building up teaching and research, the focus is on expanding networks, successfully acquiring third-party funding and, last but not least, balancing family and career," says Dr Barbara Hillen-Haas, Central Equal Opportunity Commissioner at H-BRS. "The Female Professorship Programme 2030 helps us to overcome structural hurdles in the early phase of a professorship and to sustainably strengthen female professors with children on their further career path." In addition to individual support for individual female professors, gender equality structures at the university are to be improved, for example gender-differentiated data collection, the promotion of young talent through scholarships and mentoring programmes are to be intensified.

Third and final selection round

In the third and final selection round of the Women Professors Programme 2030, 44 universities nationwide have prevailed with their concepts, twelve of which come from North Rhine-Westphalia. They can now submit funding applications for up to three professorships each. Each professorship is eligible for a maximum of 825,000 euros in funding over five years.

The Joint Science Conference adopted the Women Professors Programme in November 2022. It builds on the successful three previous programme phases since 2008 and has been strengthened in terms of content. With the programme, the federal and state governments are pursuing the goal of dynamically increasing the number of female professors towards parity, promoting female academics in the early career phase on the way to long-term professorships and retaining them in academia, as well as anchoring gender equality even more firmly in the structure of universities. This is intended to sustainably strengthen the structural and cultural change towards more gender equality at universities. According to the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, women currently make up 30 per cent of professors.