The German government recently launched digitalization initiatives and created a massive increase in the hiring of digitalization professors. This new initiative was precipitated as a result of German concern about falling behind technologically, in the new digital race.
German universities are on a hiring spree, employing new professors in hundreds so as to have an impact of digitalization or digital transformation in the state. They will be specializing in areas such as big data, digital humanities, and the digital economy.
According to a survey, more than three in 10 new professorships established by state universities in 2018 had a precise focus on “digitalization,” equating to up to 750 new job positions.
The need for digitalization
Dr. Antonia Kröger, a scientific adviser at Stifterverband, and one of the authors of the latest edition of Germany’s Hochschul-Barometer said that the results were outstanding.
She further explained that the increase in employment was driven by German digitalization initiatives.
German states like Bavaria, Berlin, and Baden-Württemberg have all launched initiatives to recruit digitalization academics as well. Showing that universities were not exempted from the state fear of falling behind technologically and losing economic power as a result.
Lower Saxony had also declared in the earlier part of this year that it would sponsor 50 innovative professorships specializing in digital transformation.
Professor Key Pousttchi said digitalization is everywhere, and everyone sees the necessity to keep pace with it. The need for digitalization has become an exhortation for many, the federal government continues pledging billions to fix slow internet amongst many other things.
Proper use of digitalization will enhance the economic strength of the state, as a result, the favorable impact it contains.
German artificial intelligence strategy
The German government’s artificial intelligence plan is expected to increase the number of job opportunities further. Necessitated by other countries making similar plans, Berlin announced an AI strategy that would generate at least 100 additional professorships for AI to ensure that AI has a firm place within the higher education system”.
At technical universities, the hiring spree has been particularly intense, with 37 percent of new professorships focusing on digitalization in some form, according to the survey.
The survey also found that German universities are leaning towards digitalization as research topics. Almost three in 10 leaders of state universities of applied sciences said they would increase their focus on digital transformation. University managers were far more likely to be planning a research shift towards digitalization than environmental sustainability, the survey found.
