Career Path FH Professorship

Requirements for appointment to a professorship at FH Aachen are based on § 36 of the Higher Education Act of North Rhine-Westphalia. These are the basic requirements:

1. Completed university studies
2. Proof of pedagogical aptitude through:
   • a corresponding previous education such as independently conducted courses and lectures in the academic environment
   • the determination in the appointment procedure; as a rule, the holding of a teaching test in the appointment process
3. Proof of special ability to carry out academic work
   • as a rule, the quality of a doctorate or
   • doctorate-adequate achievements such as scientific publications, awards, patents or exhibitions
4. At least 5 years of relevant experience, 3 years of which must be outside the higher education sector.

The further requirements of the specific position can be found in the respective job advertisement.

What tasks will future professors have? The field of activity at a university is broad and can be divided into three areas for professorships:

1. Teaching
   • 18 semester hours per week (SWS) for lectures, seminars, tutorials, practical trainings - one SWS equals 45 minutes
   • Administering examinations
   • Supervision of degrees, student research projects and theses
   • Supervision of doctoral students who are pursuing a cooperative doctorate
2. Research
   • Designing, applying for and managing projects
   • Development of innovative products and processes, often in cooperation with industry or other (technical) universities
   • Establishing and maintaining a network of research cooperation partners
3. Self-administration
   • Involvement in academic self-administration, e.g. in committees

Like other positions, vacant professorships must be advertised publicly. An overview of the professorships currently advertised at FH Aachen can be found under the menu item Job Vacancies.

The process of filling a vacant professorship extends over a longer period of time due to the formal requirements of the Higher Education Act (§§ 37 ff.). An appointment committee is formed even before the vacancy is advertised. After the application deadline, this appointment committee makes a preliminary selection of the applicants. The applicants who appear to be the most suitable on the basis of the application documents will be invited to the subsequent selection procedure at FH Aachen.

After the trial teaching sessions, comparative expert opinions regarding aptitude are drawn up for, typically, three candidates. The expert opinios are prepared by external professors who were not previously involved in the appointment process.

Based on the expert opinions and the impressions from the selection process, the appointment committee prepares an appointment proposal. After the faculty has approved this proposal, it is submitted to the Rector for a decision on the appointment.

As the selected applicant, you will then receive a letter of call from the Rector. If you are willing to accept the appointment, you will receive an invitation to the appointment interview at FH Aachen. The interview will be documented in a transcript which will then be sent to you for signature. As soon as you have signed and returned the transcript, the appointment is considered accepted.

Ideally, you will take up your position as professor at the beginning of a semester.

In general, a full-time professorship includes 18 semester hours per week (SWS) and the obligation to be available to the FH at least four days per week. One SWS corresponds to 45 minutes. Semester hours include lectures, seminars, exercises and practical trainings. In addition, tasks of academic self-administration have to be taken over.

The basis for this is the Ordinance on TeachingObligations at Universities and Universities of Applied Sciences(Teaching Obligations Ordinance - LVV), in particular §§ 3 - 5.