District Administrator Dr Theophil Gallo and Prof. Dr Hans-Joachim Schmidt, President of Kaiserslautern University of Applied Sciences, recently signed a cooperation agreement between the Saarpfalz district and the university.
The common goal of this cooperation agreement is to achieve a close link between practice and science, which is to be achieved in particular through in-depth and practice-related cooperation and the promotion of young scientists. To this end, both co-operation partners will mutually agree on topics that are to be dealt with within the framework of joint initiatives and that serve the transfer of knowledge and the exchange of information.
On the one hand, the district administration sees itself as a modern service company that has set itself the goals of customer-orientation, team spirit and quality awareness. Around 750 employees fulfil a wide range of services for the citizens. On the other hand, as a European and cosmopolitan organisation, the Saarpfalz district is committed to a united and peaceful Europe.
Kaiserslautern University of Applied Sciences (HAW) specialises in technology, business, design and health as well as information as an integrating cross-sectional competence.Around 5200 students from more than 80 nationalities and around 150 professors learn, teach and research in five subjectareas at the Kaiserslautern, Pirmasens and Zweibrücken campuses as well as the Neustadt and Germersheim study locations.
"With this cooperation agreement, we are acting in the interests of a sustainable skilled labour situation in the regional labour market landscape. By providing students with the necessary tools as part of a wide range of study-related employment at Saarpfalz-Kreis, we are helping them to better navigate a complex and interconnected world that is subject to technological, cultural, economic and demographic changes," states District Administrator Dr Theophil Gallo.
"Thanks to the cooperation with the Saarpfalz district, we can put our academic expertise into practice in a targeted manner and jointly develop solutions for regional challenges. The experience we gain in the process is of great value to us. For our students, this partnership means valuable access to practical projects and career prospects directly on site. In this way, we are actively shaping the development of skilled labour in the region and at the same time strengthening the transfer of knowledge between the university and municipal practice," says Prof. Dr Hans-Joachim Schmidt, President of Kaiserslautern University of Applied Sciences.
For example, students are to be given the opportunity to apply the theoretical knowledge they have acquired at the university - particularly in the departments at the Zweibrücken campus, which are close to the Saarpfalz district - in practical activities and to familiarise themselves with the Saarpfalz district as a potential employer.