The demographic problem of ageing is well known in Germany and all modern societies. For example, the 1880 cohort was the last in Germany to be able to reproduce itself. By 2050, the population of the Federal Republic will have fallen to 70 million. In contrast, the number of older people will increase from the current 20 million to 28 million by 2030. The increase in the number of older people represents a major challenge for the economy and society, politics and administration in Germany.
As an educational institution, the Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences is facing up to this challenge with its Master's degree course in "Social Gerontology" and making a contribution to overcoming the problems associated with demographic change. The location of the university in a region which, since the fall of communism and according to forecasts, is increasingly affected by emigration, ageing and impoverishment, is a particular obligation.
As a Master's degree course, building on a first professionally qualifying university degree, the course prepares students for activities with an independent and creative profile as well as management and team responsibility. Special attention is paid to the ability to plan, develop, implement and evaluate appropriate care structures for the elderly in the future, with the aim of training highly-qualified experts in gerontological issues who will take on the role of thought leaders. In this understanding, thought leaders are not shaken when they encounter barely proven work structures, routines and resources, but are able to "invent" these in state administrations, welfare organizations and commercial service companies with the help of their studies. This means that the course is essentially about the ability to perform complex organizational and intervention management, which is essentially not about routine tasks, but about mastering solution-oriented, cross-case tasks.
The Master's degree in Social Gerontology is recognized as an entry qualification for the higher civil service in Saxony and entitles students to a doctorate.