A study by the Centre for Higher Education Development (CHE) examined the requirements for modern working environments and the skills they require. More than 6400 professors in Germany were surveyed for this purpose. Furthermore, the implementation of the competences was examined in terms of their practical suitability. Digital skills are poorly supported. However, the professors surveyed consider this to be particularly relevant.

Gütersloh, October 1st, 2024 Digitalisation and artificial intelligence, fast-growing technologies, women empowerment and megatrends have dominated the development of the zeitgeist for several years. Global challenges of this kind require new, more sophisticated skills. According to researchers at the Centre for Higher Education Development, these can be found in skills for self-organisation, innovation and resilience.

„Expertise alone is no longer enough for the working world of today and tomorrow,“ Nina Horstmann concludes. „Graduates must be able to solve complex problems in heterogeneous teams that are still unknown today and integrate new technological developments into their everyday working life. These skills should be learnt or further developed during their studies,“ says the expert for future skills at the CHE Centre for Higher Education Development.

The CHE has been investigating the development and promotion of such skills in Germany since the winter semester 2022/2023. More than 6400 professors were surveyed for this purpose. According to the professors, these included problem-solving skills, critical thinking and collaboration. The three competences mentioned appeared in the top 5 per subject in all the subjects surveyed.

In addition to relevance, the professors also assessed the level of implementation in the teaching of the competences in their subject to date. Critical thinking, problem-solving skills, initiative, judgement skills, self-organisation skills and learning skills are strongly promoted almost across the board.


With the exception of computer science, digital skills are still promoted much less frequently than non-digital skills. This is where Director of Studies Nina Horstmann sees the greatest need to catch up: „We can only guess at the extent to which artificial intelligence will change the way we live and work in the coming years. This makes it all the more important to provide students with the best possible support now in developing AI and digital skills, such as digital ethics, through innovative teaching formats.“

Overall, the topic of future skills has certainly arrived in German university teaching, according to Horstmann. However, there are still some major discrepancies between the relevance of the individual future skills mentioned by the professors and the actual implementation status in the subjects.

Originalpublication:

Horstmann, Nina: DatenCHECK 4/2024: Future Skills in der Hochschullehre: Relevanz und Umsetzungsstand im Fächervergleich, CHE, Gütersloh – veröffentlicht am 01. Oktober 2024 auf (www.hochschuldaten.de)

further Information:

(https://hochschuldaten.che.de/future-skills-in-der-hochschullehre/)- Link zur Publikation

ImageSource Gerd Altmann Pixabay