Within the field of general professional skills courses (Allgemeine Berufsvorbereitung or ABV), the Career Service is not only responsible for organising the internship modules, but also for planning and hosting events about communication skills. We regularly offer project modules on the following topics:

• Gesprächsführung und Verhandlung (conducting discussions and negotiations)
• Präsentieren, Diskutieren, Moderieren (presenting, discussing, moderating)
• Persönliche Lern- und Arbeitsprozesse aktiv gestalten (actively developing personal learning and working processes)
• Kooperative Projektarbeit (Cooperative project work)

In these courses, you will work on both a theoretical and a practical level. The content and methods will help you to better understand and make lasting improvements to your social and communication skills, time management, as well as study and working techniques. These modules have a pronounced focus on hands-on practice, meaning that you apply what you learn through exercises, group work, and role-playing. Most importantly, you will receive feedback regarding your results and guidance on how you can further develop cross-disciplinary skills and abilities, which you will need during your studies and later on in your professional life.

Structure and Requirements of Project Modules

Each module consists of one seminar and one exercise and is limited to a maximum of 30 participants. To give you an opportunity for intensive practice, the seminar group is divided in half for the exercises, with up to 15 participants per subgroup. Some modules are offered as courses during the semester with four weekly credit hours, while others are offered as eight-day block courses during the period when classes are not in session (the vorlesungsfreie Zeit).

Because these modules focus on practice, you are required not only to participate actively and regularly in the course, but also to be open to working with students from a wide range of different departments and be willing to make a personal contribution.

You will be granted five credits for successfully completing a module. You will also be asked to write a term paper or take a written exam for exam credit, and to participate actively in discussion exercises, role-playing, and other practical tasks as assigned in class.

Registration and Assignment of Placements

Registration for project modules in communication skills takes place via Campus Management and is subject to the time limits for courses with limitations on the number of participants. For deadlines, please refer to the course catalog under “Career Service.”

In our experience, more people sign up to take these modules than there are spaces available. Campus Management assigns placements by lottery in this case. You will not be notified automatically of whether you can participate in your desired course. Thus, it is very important for you to check whether your registration is complete after the lottery process has concluded. If so, you will see the module marked with a green check mark.

If you have not been assigned a spot, please contact the Career Service by email or visit us in person. We maintain waiting lists, because it is certainly possible for students to cancel their participation or simply fail to show up for class. However, please refrain from simply going to class without being registered. Students on the waiting lists always have priority.

Students who have children up to the age of 12 years and are caring for these children can request preferential admission to courses. If you wish to request preferential admission, you are required to contact the Career Service in writing as soon as possible, meaning before course placements are allocated. You will need to provide proof of eligibility, such as a valid notice of child benefits (Kindergeld) or similar documentation. The module registration will then be handled directly by the Career Service.

Further Details on Communicative Competence

Follow the links to our German website and for further details on the skill area of Communication Skills (in German):

• Present, discuss, moderate (Präsentieren, Diskutieren, Moderieren)
• Conducting discussions and negotiations (Gesprächsführung und Verhandlung)
• Actively developing personal learning and working processes (persönliche Lern- und Arbeitsprozesse aktiv gestalten)
• Cooperative project work (Kooperative Projektarbeit)
• Recognition (Anerkennung)