The Continuing Education Development Award 2018 – CEDA for short – endowed with 70,000 euros goes to the project „Wissenschaftliche Weiterbildung Kunsttherapie“ (“Academic Continuing Education in Art Therapy”) from the Institute for Applied Research, Development and Further Education at the Catholic University of Applied Sciences Freiburg.

The funding is intended to further develop the continuing education program “Art Therapy,” which has a long-standing tradition at the Catholic University of Applied Sciences in Freiburg. For the first time, the Freiburg University of Education will contribute its expertise from the Institute of Fine Arts. The integration of the Clinic for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy and the Centre for Geriatric Medicine and Gerontology at the University Medical Center Freiburg is also new. The project team from the Catholic University of Freiburg, Dr. Henriette Schwarz and Prof. Dr. Monika Wigger from the field of art therapy and Prof. Dr. Cornelia Kricheldorff, Director of the Institute for Applied Research, Development and Further Education (IAF) and Prorector for Research and Further Education, is planning to establish cooperation and didactic development.

In recent years, art therapy has become an integral part of inpatient and outpatient treatment in Germany. The range of applications as well as the need for professionalization at the highest possible academic level is constantly growing. The further education offer is aimed at professionals from health science, social and curative education, pedagogical or artistic fields as well as students. Organization, methods and learning culture are tailored to meet the needs of the target group. The use of e-learning formats and integration into the European Credit Point System (ECTS) are planned. The academic further education will conclude with an internationally recognized Diploma of Advanced Studies (DAS). The Freiburg Academy of Continuing Education (FRAUW) and the central academic institution of Furtwangen University (HFU Akademie) are supporting the project with regard to quality assurance and standards in academic further education.

CEDA will be awarded for the second time in 2018 by the cooperation project “Weiter in Südbaden.” Eight universities from the Upper Rhine Black Forest region are involved in the project, which is led by the University of Freiburg and HFU. The aim is to create a further education network in order to bundle the offers of the partners and increase their visibility. The Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Science, Research and the Arts and the European Social Fund from the European Union have been funding the project since January 2016 until the end of 2020.

The CEDA awards prizes to projects for the development and expansion of university and interdisciplinary continuing education programs. The focus is on two criteria: In continuing education, it should be possible to combine different building blocks so that the range of courses becomes more diverse, and uniform degrees should ensure transparency, comparability and high quality standards. Both criteria are reflected in the requirements of the staged continuing education qualifications Certificate of Advanced Studies (CAS) and Diploma of Advanced Studies (DAS).

Statement

“What makes this proposal so special is that three universities are involved in the concept and its joint implementation seems very promising. Such collaborations are most definitely in alignment with the project ‘Weiter in Südbaden’.”

Prof. Dr. Juliane Besters-Dilger, Vice-President for Academic Affairs at the University of Freiburg

For more information on “Weiter in Südbaden”