Enhancing Social and Personal Skills

Not only expert know-how is required to start a career, but also social and personal skills. To enhance these skills, the “Stiftung Wissen plus Kompetenzen” (Knowledge plus Competence Foundation), in cooperation with the KIT House of Competence (HoC), grants awards to students for team projects that reflect these skills. On Thursday, November 26, 16 hrs, this year’s award will be handed over during a ceremony at BBBank Karlsruhe (Herrenstraße 2-10).

Requirements made on employees and management staff are constantly increasing, especially in a globalized working environment, and even more so during the current crisis. Employees do not only have to have profound expert know-how, but also social and personal skills. Young professionals, however, are often lacking these skills: They have problems in integrating their theoretical knowledge in entrepreneurial practice, they are lacking social skills, and they fail to integrate in the team.
 
To enhance social skills, the Knowledge plus Competence Foundation supports the work of the HoC with seminars and an annual award: In addition to specialized studies, the central institution of KIT for competence development and further training conveys major key qualifications for efficient studies and professional practice. This year, the award of the Foundation goes to exemplary team projects that are especially committed to social and personal skills. Students, lecturers, and institutes were invited to apply for this award. A total of 17 submitted an application.

An independent jury evaluated the quality of the task, the composition of the project team, the acquisition of skills, the relation to entrepreneurial practice, practical relevance, and the possibility of direct implementation as well as the degree of innovativeness and creativity. The award will be handed over by Mayor Margret Mergen, chairwoman of the jury. The award carries a value of EUR 5000 (3000 for students and 2000 for the institute or the lecturer). The event takes place under the auspices of Peter Frankenberg, Minister of Science, Research, and Art of the State of Baden-Wuerttemberg.


Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) is a public corporation and state institution of Baden-Württemberg. It fulfills the mission of a university and the mission of a national research center of the Helmholtz Association. KIT focuses on a knowledge triangle that links the tasks of research, teaching, and innovation.