Ethnicity
With regard to the ethnicity of its employees and students, the University of Freiburg already faces a dual challenge today: On the one hand, the university’s internationalization strategy is leading to more and more international students and employees. On the other hand, more and more people with a migration background – primarily people who were born in Germany themselves with at least one parent who was born abroad – are also taking up a course of studies or seeking employment at the University of Freiburg.
Whereas in most cases foreign students and employees come to the University of Freiburg to study or work for a clearly defined time period, were born and raised abroad, and have little or no relation to Germany, students and employees with a migration background were usually born in Germany and raised under the influence of both the culture of their parents’ native country and German culture.
What both groups have in common is that they – on the basis of their cultural, social, and religious norms and values – contribute to making the university community more heterogeneous and thus exert a structural influence on the University of Freiburg. In the coming years the University of Freiburg therefore plans to intensify efforts to implement structures and measures that contribute to intercultural exchange and raise awareness for cultures, norms, and values perceived as being different.