Creating knowledge for people
As a Church university of applied sciences, the EHD fulfils the responsibility arising from its subsidiary position as a tertiary educational institution and a specialist in the fields of social work, health, care and education between the state and society with a special approach.
It emphasises the use of science for practical action in the Church, state and society and, vice-versa, the value of practice as a starting point for research. The EHD supports the connection between teaching, research and practice and develops innovative research formats with the involvement of its students. It recognises the heterogeneity of methodical and methodical access in a society shaped by diversity and plurality.
The research work conducted by the EHD is not only aimed to support the Church and its social welfare but also, and above all, ministries, local authorities, clubs, associations, the academic community and affected individuals.
Building on the foundation of this basic understanding, the EHD conducts a multitude of research projects financed with its own funds and third-party funding every year – many of which are completed in close cooperation with various disciplines and practitioners. As a result, the last few years have welcomed the establishment of several institutes that bring together and strategically develop research topics both within and beyond the EHD.
The Research department was created to support this mission. Here, the Executive Board of the EHD, represented by the Vice-President for Research and International Affairs, works together with the Senate Commission for Research and the Research Service Centre in close cooperation on a strong basis of trust. The department supports research in a variety of different ways, for example with:
- Internal research funding
- Initial funding for applications for third-party funding
- Publication support for the utilisation of scientific findings
- Assistance with applications and administrative support
- Development of a third-mission or transfer strategy
- Informative events and exchanges held with and by researchers and for members of the university and interested members of the public
As Church university of applied sciences, the EHD strives to achieve these aims with special consideration of the responsibility for life, health and peaceful coexistence arising from the Christian view of humanity (cf. Section 1 of the Law on Universities in the German Federal State of Hesse (Hessisches Hochschulgesetz – HHG)). When doing so, it places a special focus on cooperation between different disciplines in connection with the social problems discussed in the Social Word of the Churches (1997) and the Ecumenical Social Initiative (2014) and the corresponding desired dialogue between the fields of theology, social sciences and human sciences.