50 Years 50 Faces
Marietta Mömken
Senior civil servant,
nearly ten years at the Accreditation Unit, which became the Accreditation Department of the new Quality and Project Management Unit in the 2021 summer semester
At FHWS since 1989
For me, FHWS is ...
my professional home and has been for over 30 years, and a place where I have an amazingly varied and interesting job.
What do you appreciate about FHWS?
The great range of areas I deal with in my job at FHWS. FHWS is a vibrant higher education institution with strong, active internal and external exchange. Communication with a wide range of internal units and with contact people at external accreditation agencies and the Accreditation Council is central to my role. I particularly enjoy exploring the whole range of subjects at FHWS as part of accreditation processes.
What was the best decision in your professional career and why? What has changed since then?
A decision early on in my civil service career to switch from local government to higher education as head of what was then called the Studenten- und Prüfungsamt (department of student affairs) in Schweinfurt. This meant work not in a “typical” public authority but in an academic environment with students and teachers – something I still hugely appreciate today.
What do you think has shaped FHWS the most over the last 50 years?
The switch to the Bachelor’s and Master’s system as part of the Bologna Process, which heralded a new international approach and thus also the creation of the central accreditation body. Another great international driver was the first TWIN programmes, which give German students, too, the opportunity to study in an international environment.
This went hand in hand with the establishment and development of the Campus for Professional Development and Language Proficiency (CWS) with its attractive advanced training and language courses.
New pioneering and innovative degree programmes now starting are also set to have a huge impact – in particular the Hydrogen Technology Bachelor’s degree programme with its focus on sustainability and the English-language Artificial Intelligence Master’s.
What is your vision of the future for FHWS? What might FHWS look like in 50 years’ time?
FHWS will harness the opportunities offered by the planned Bavarian Hochschulinnovationsgesetz [Law on Innovation in Higher Education Institutions] and launch more degree programmes on innovative technologies; FHWS will become even stronger on the research side and be granted the right to offer doctorates. At the same time, it will not neglect the artistic programmes or the arts and social sciences.
Future content will be even more global; modular studies will become ever more important, and no longer tied to completion of a conventional degree programme. The CWS will expand further in response to a huge rise in demand for academic professional development.
FHWS will remain true to the ideal of a community of students and teaching staff seeking to develop innovative approaches through discourse, with a good combination of analogue and digital teaching. Knowledge-sharing processes will become less and less fixed to a particular place or time and become less dependent on actual lecture halls; virtual learning spaces will offer an individualised learning environment through simulation.
What is your insider tip for the cities of Würzburg or Schweinfurt and why?
The “Schindturm” tower, beautifully restored in 2017, with views of Schweinfurt’s Höllental valley. This is my go-to place when I’m jogging or mountain biking, an oasis in the heart of the countryside close to the “Almrösl” inn and “Dianenslust” hunting lodge.