Evaluation of the transferability of a project on integration through the participation of students with migration and international students

The creation of opportunities and incentives for volunteering by students with a migration background and by international students not only helps to promote their social integration, but also makes the opportunities of diversity fruitful for society. Civic engagement is a central integration mechanism whose effectiveness is on the same level as that of the other major integrator, gainful employment. In this project, therefore, not only the effect of the “Studium hoch E” project should be researched, but above all the possibilities of its transferability.

The accompanying research at the model locations (Philipps University of Marburg with the Marburg-Biedenkopf volunteer agency, Duisburg-Essen University with the Essen volunteer agency, Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development with the Barnim-Uckermark Community Foundation) should identify factors that encourage and inhibit engagement of students with a migration background and take the results into account to prepare a nationwide roll-out of the program.

Part of the formative (process) evaluation are (among other things) a document analysis, a standardized survey of the participating students, guided expert interviews, focus group discussions and narrative interviews with participating students. The result are practice-oriented handouts for universities and volunteer agencies with the overarching goal of enabling the transfer of the methods and the approach to other locations and organizations. The evaluation thus makes a contribution to the nationwide implementation of funding measures for the integration of international students through participation in a regional context.

Duration: 10/2020 – 08/2022
Client: BBE Geschäftsstelle gemeinnützige GmbH
Team: Dr. Christine von Blanckenburg (Project manager), Hussein Assad, Franziska Detsch, Elisabeth Dienel, Theresa Dolinga, Ansgar Düben, Carlo Thomsen, Amy Winkler

Picture: Andrea Piacquadio / Pexels