Have you ever felt completely alone or excluded from a group? We all know the painful feeling of not belonging and simply being different from “the others,” and we all search for a place in the world where we are welcome with all our quirks and peculiarities.
In our new Focus topic, we therefore highlight the issues of diversity and inclusion. Whether young or old, healthy or sick, born in Germany or a newcomer, in the city or in the countryside, at work or in private life: all people need a community to which they feel they belong.
Numerous projects at universities of applied sciences (UAS) address these issues and examine them from different perspectives: POINTED looks at how diverse care teams can help each other in their stressful everyday working lives through intravision. In a video interview with the IGel-A project, we explored the question of how inclusion can be achieved in the workplace. Other projects at universities of applied sciences deal with digital aids for people with dementia or physical and mental disabilities, ideas for improving quality of life in rural areas, and support for people who have experienced migration or violence.
In our overview text, we also take a closer look at the various dimensions of diversity and what they mean for our coexistence.
Find out more about inclusion and diversity in politics, society, and everyday life, as well as the latest research on this topic at universities of applied sciences:
More projects on this topic
PraeWi: Participatory concept for addiction prevention among refugees
People who flee their home countries often experience terrible things during their escape, upon arrival, and even later in shared accommodation. These experiences mean that refugees are at high risk of alcohol and drug abuse. The PraeWi project, which was completed in March 2025, developed addiction prevention services specifically tailored to the situation of refugees in shared accommodation. In a participatory process, the participants – including refugees as well as social service employees, volunteers, and the providers and operators of the accommodation facilities as well as their employees – jointly developed a set of measures that give refugees more self-determination and personal responsibility, thereby minimising the risk factors for addiction problems.
Project title: Präventionsmaßnahmen und Wissenstransfer innerhalb der Sozialen Arbeit bezüglich riskanten Substanzkonsums für Menschen mit Fluchterfahrungen in Übergangswohnheimen (PraeWi)
Funding recipients: Hochschule Esslingen
Project reference number: 13FH045SX7
Project duration: August 2019 to March 2025
Funding: FH-Sozial
KIAssist: More inclusion in the workplace due to AI
Workshops for people with disabilities are an important place of inclusion in the workplace, but their resilience depends crucially on the individual needs of the people working there, and thus their requirements, being identified at an early stage. This is where the KIAssist project comes in with an AI-supported assistance system: The algorithm-based assistance is designed to enable workshop employees to take on more complex tasks, learn new work content and carry out some of these activities from home. The system is supplemented by situation-specific support from a coach. The project aims to demonstrate how the integration of machine learning with technical assistance systems can improve inclusion in existing work systems.
Project title: KI-gestützte Assistenz zur Förderung dezentraler Inklusion (KIAssist)
Funding recipients: Hochschule Bielefeld (HSBI) | Technische Hochschule Ostwestfalen-Lippe
Project reference number: 13FH560KA0 | 13FH560KB0
Project duration: August 2022 to July 2026
Funding: FH-Kooperativ
Find out more: Website of the KIAssist project
DEIN-ORT: A connection to the homeland helps with the inclusion of dementia patients
The number of people suffering from dementia is rising steadily. According to statistics, there will be around 3 million dementia patients in Germany by 2050, twice as many as today. In the DEIN-ORT project, the FH Dortmund is taking advantage of the fact that older people often have a close relationship with their home region – for instance in the large conurbation on the Ruhr, which its older residents often affectionately refer to as “my Ruhr region” and where they have strong roots. Together with numerous partners from the region, the interdisciplinary project team is investigating the potential of public space to promote inclusion and how it can also be used for the growing group of people with dementia. Thus, innovative, transdisciplinary measures and services that promote inclusion are being developed.
Project title: Perspektive Demenz. Inklusionsförderung durch sozialräumliche Organisation, inklusionsfördernden Raum und personenzentrierte Technik (DEIN-ORT)
Funding recipients: Fachhochschule Dortmund
Project reference number: 13FH075SX8
Project duration: January 2021 to December 2025
Funding: FH-Sozial
IDEAL: Helping rural communities cope with demographic change
Demographic change poses challenges, especially for structurally weak rural regions. The IDEAL research project used multi-stage participatory formats to demonstrate that communication is a key factor for stimulating participation in social activities, and that it is often perceived as inadequate. As a solution, the IDEAL project, which ended in January 2025, developed the online network SoLokal in close cooperation with three municipalities in Thuringia: a cost-effective digital tool for exchange within the community that can be transferred nationwide. SoLokal meets extremely high data protection standards and enables citizens to network with each other as well as providing a modern and direct link to the administration. Particular attention was paid to the participation of citizens with weaker digital skills through close integration with analogue formats.
Project title: Miteinander im ländlichen Raum für mehr Lebensqualität und Gesundheit von Jung und Alt (IDEAL)
Funding recipients: Fachhochschule Erfurt University of Applied Sciences
Project reference number: 13FH082SB8
Project duration: December 2020 to January 2025
Funding: FH-Sozial
Find out more: Project description on the FH Erfurt website
PeerPAL: Enabling stroke patients to participate more
Every year, around 270,000 people in Germany suffer a stroke, and this number is expected to rise against the backdrop of demographic change. One consequence of stroke can be a speech disorder (aphasia), which often leads to a loss of autonomy and social withdrawal. The PeerPAL project, which ran until November 2024, has therefore developed and evaluated a digital social network that is easy and intuitive to use and thus supports self-help for people with speech disorders via peer-to-peer approaches. In addition to digital exchange, real-life meetings with other affected people and participation in social activities are also encouraged. This creates a long-term multimodal network with peer support that significantly improves the quality of life of people with chronic neurological speech disorders.
Project title: Peer-to-Peer-Unterstützung: Digitale Vernetzung bei Aphasie zur Steigerung der Lebensqualität (PeerPAL)
Funding recipients: Ostbayerische Technische Hochschule Regensburg | Katholische Hochschule Mainz
Project reference number: 13FH077SA8 | 13FH077SB8
Project duration: December 2020 to November 2024
Funding: FH-Sozial
Find out more: Website of the PeerPAL project
PAGAnInI: Finding your way in public spaces
For people with cognitive impairments, unplanned events and even daily routines can be challenging. The PAGAnInI project, which ended in January 2025, researched, designed, developed, and created a wayfinding system with augmented reality (AR) components. The system supports people in navigating the most important daily routes in public spaces more independently and safely. In addition, research was conducted into the extent to which such systems can be integrated into organisational structures, and how participatory cooperation with people with disabilities can be organised. Both users and service providers were involved in the entire development process.
Project title: Adaptives Smartphone-gestütztes Lernsystem zur Begleitung von Menschen mit kognitiver Beeinträchtigung in ihrem Lernprozess beim Wegetraining im öffentlichen Raum (PAGAnInI)
Funding recipients: Hochschule Bielefeld (HSBI)
Project reference number: 13FH514SX7
Project duration: September 2019 to January 2025
Funding: FH-Sozial
Find out more: Press release about the project on the HSBI website
Jula: Improving quality of life for young people in rural areas
This project also addressed demographic change and its effects, particularly in rural areas. The Jula project, which was completed in January 2025, focused on the quality of life of young people: in the affected regions, political and social initiatives mainly concentrate on older population groups. There are fewer and fewer services available for young people, and young people are becoming less attached to their home region. The aim of Jula was therefore to innovatively reorganise youth work and develop new forms of participation and communication in analogue and virtual spaces. Young people from all social backgrounds were involved in the project. The model regions were Oberallgäu, Ostallgäu and Friesland, which are characterised by tourism and demographic change.
Project title: Jugend leben im ländlichen Raum – analog(e) und digital(e) Zukunft gestalten (Jula)
Funding recipients: Hochschule für angewandte Wissenschaften Kempten | Jade Hochschule Wilhelmshaven/Oldenburg/Elsfleth
Project reference number: 13FH059SA8 | 13FH059SB8
Project duration: August 2020 to January 2025
Funding: FH-Sozial
SHELTER: Safe vireal-digital spaces for people who have experienced violence
Experiencing sexual violence is a traumatic (survival) experience for most victims and, according to studies, has a massive impact on their subjective quality of life. The challenge in dealing with sexual violence lies in acknowledging the suffering of those affected while still allowing them to retain control over the interpretation of their experiences and their lives. In the SHELTER project, which ran until March 2025, protected spaces were developed by victims for victims, where they can meet and receive support by pursuing self-help methods. In addition to an on-site space in Mannheim, the project created protected chats and virtual exchange and meeting spaces in a mobile software application (app) where victims can move around as avatars and interact with each other.
Project title: Entwicklung eines inklusiv-virealen (analog und digital zugänglichen) Auffang-, Schutz-, Begegnungs- und Beratungsraumes für alle Erwachsenen, die seit ihrer Kindheit sexualisierte Gewalt erlebt haben. (SHELTER)
Funding recipients: Hochschule Mannheim
Project reference number: 13FH522SA7
Project duration: July 2019 to March 2025
Funding: FH-Sozial
Find out more: Website of the SHELTER project