Certificate "Global Competence for Academic Administration" (GloCAA)

Applications to participate in the GloCAA certificate program are accepted once a year. The next call for applications is expected to be published in November 2026. As the number of places is limited, participants will be selected based on the program's relevance to their daily work and their motivation to participate.

The program begins with a mandatory kick-off event, the date of which will be announced well in advance. At the kick-off event, you will receive further information about the requirements for obtaining the certificate and begin to reflect on the challenges and opportunities of internationalization in your field of work.

Pillar 1—Language skills: you attend English or German courses for a minimum of 12 hours (equivalent to 16 teaching hours of 45 minutes each). You can complete courses with the University of Hamburg Language Center, an Erasmus+ language trip, or a course from an external provider.

If you already have English language skills of C1 or higher, you can replace the English course with another English-language offer for 12 hours from pillars 2 or 3 and have that recognized towards your certificate.

If you are interested in German as a Foreign Language, please contact fortbildung.uhh"AT"uni-hamburg.de. 

Pillar 2—Transferable skills: this will help you cultivate the skills and knowledge required to work in an international, diverse environment at the University of Hamburg as well as in cooperation with international partner institutions; to cultivate cultural awareness; and to reflect upon your own ways of thinking and acting in a global context.

To obtain the certificate, you attend workshops and receive training amounting to 16 hours.

We are offering workshops and trainings designed specifically for this certification program that you can find on our events page. You can also consult our overview (filter: GloCAA – key skills) to find a range of providers offering professional development and workshops that may have links to international topics. If you are not sure about whether a specific course can be recognized toward the certificate, please contact international-administration"AT"uni-hamburg.de. 

Pillar 3—International exchange: in this pillar you will engage in professional exchanges with staff from international partner universities, reflect on challenges and current developments in higher education administration, share best practices, and jointly develop solutions to emerging problems.

Possible formats include individual work shadowing, virtual tandem exchange, participation in staff exchanges with partner universities, staff training abroad, or international conferences and workshops in Hamburg for at least 12 hours. You can find current opportunities in our overview page (filter: GloCAA – international exchange). Travel abroad is possible within the framework of this program pillar, but not mandatory. We’d be happy to advise you on finding a format that suits your needs.

To earn the GloCAA certificate, you will participate in the practical workshop in addition to the activities offered in the program’s three pillars. During the workshop, you will present an idea for how you can bring about direct, easy to implement changes in your area of work that improve services for international target groups or make your department more internationally oriented. You may present your idea on your own or, if you wish, together with up to two other participants. You will receive feedback from the group and work together to identify the next steps towards implementation.

Once you have completed all components of the program, you will write a final report of approximately 5 pages. In the report, you will reflect on how the knowledge and skills you have gaied through the courses and training sessions, as well as the insights and ideas gained through exchanges with international partners, relate to your day-to-day work. You will also consider how they can be applied in practice, and what has changed for you as a result of participating in the certificate program.

If your experiences and international exchanges have led to an idea for a follow-up project related to internationalization, we would like to invite you to include a brief project outline in your report. We will be happy to advise you on potential funding opportunities.

Please submit your final report, along with proof of attendance for the events in all three program pillars, via email to international-administration"AT"uni-hamburg.de . We will then issue your GloCAA certificate.

As a rule, you should complete the program no later than 4 semesters after you were accepted to it.