History

From the project idea to the qualification of the first educational specialists to the establishment of the Competence Center for Inclusive Education Saxony-Anhalt

In June 2017 Prof. Anne Lequy, then rector of the Magdeburg-Stendal University of Applied Sciences, was made aware of the "Inclusive Education" project in Kiel by the Ministry of Economics, Science, and Digitalization of the State of Saxony-Anhalt. The Institute for Inclusive Education gGmbH had, for the first time, trained people with disabilities to become educational specialists and thus developed a concept that should also be applied in Saxony-Anhalt. Upon being approached, Prof. Matthias Morfeld, Faculty of Applied Human Sciences, recognized the great potential of involving educational specialists in university teaching: After all, who could better inform students about rehabilitation and inclusion topics than people with disabilities themselves? The decision to bring the project to the university was quickly made.

In August/September 2018, a kick-off event marked the official start of the "Inclusive Education Saxony-Anhalt" project, providing information about the preparations for the first qualification. In the meantime, all contractual, procedural, and financial issues were resolved, and coordination with the Ministry of Economics, Science, and Digitalization was completed.

In March 2019, the time had finally come: The first qualification began with the goal of educating (future) teachers, professionals, and managers about inclusion. Six people with disabilities from “Werkstätten für Menschen mit Behinderungen” (these are specialized institutions in Germany designed to provide employment opportunities for people with disabilities who are not able to work in the regular job market due to the nature of their disability) were trained as educational specialists at the Magdeburg-Stendal University of Applied Sciences at the Stendal campus. Even during their training, the participants conducted seminars with students, following the dual concept, to be well-prepared for the challenging educational work.

In February 2022, five educational specialists celebrated the successful completion of their qualification. Since then, these educational specialists have been imparting their knowledge as experts in their field in various event formats at universities and companies across the state.

In October 2022, the Competence Center for Inclusive Education Saxony-Anhalt was founded and became a permanent part of the Magdeburg-Stendal University of Applied Sciences. As part of this project consolidation, the educational specialists were given temporary employment at the university, and the Competence Center began expanding its educational offerings.