On November 25, 2025, Alice Salomon Hochschule Berlin (ASH Berlin) welcomed the President of the German Rectors' Conference (HRK), Prof. Dr. Walter Rosenthal. During his visit, he met with the President of ASH Berlin, Prof. Dr. Bettina Völter, the Vice Presidents Prof. Dr. Gesine Bär and Prof. Dr. Anja Voss, the Dean of Faculty II, Prof. Dr. Michael Erhart, and Vered Berman, the contact person for anti-Semitism at ASH Berlin.
Profile development and SAGE focal points of the university
Bettina Völter began by presenting ASH Berlin's SAGE profile to the HRK President and explaining the special features that link the disciplines of social work, health, education and training. These include in particular the academization of the SAGE professions, the commitment to combating the shortage of skilled workers, the commitment to equality, diversity, inclusion and anti-discrimination as well as the opening of the university to a diverse student body. Community work and interprofessional collaboration are also key elements of the profile.
Current challenges against the backdrop of budget cuts
Völter described to Walter Rosenthal the advanced state of ASH Berlin in the process of structural development of the Berlin university system under the conditions of the terminated university contract and drastic budget cuts. The Presidential Board presented Rosenthal with the new anthology "akademisieren, professionalisieren, transformieren. SAGE-Hochschulen im Strukturwandel am Beispiel Alice Salomon Hochschule Berlin".
The HRK President confirmed that profile development is a central task of every single university, especially now: "We have to get ahead of politics here," said Rosenthal, "and at the same time convey confidence despite all the challenges - especially in view of global right-wing populist tendencies."
Exchange on cooperation and degree programs
Another topic of discussion was ASH Berlin's cooperation with Charité. As a former Charité Professor of Molecular Pharmacology and President of the HRK, who is intensively involved with the status of academization in nursing, physiotherapy and occupational therapy, Rosenthal showed particular interest in this.
Michael Erhart explained the balancing act between cooperation and sensible differentiation in the nursing degree course: while Charité stands for highly specialized clinical intensive care, ASH Berlin focuses on community care, gender- and diversity-sensitive nursing, paediatrics and gerontology.
The Berlin School of Public Health was also discussed. Gesine Bär emphasized the cooperatively organized joint Master's degree program of ASH Berlin, Charité and TU Berlin, but also pointed out the dramatic 45% funding cut, which threatens the existence of the successful Public Health degree program. Rosenthal emphasized that prevention and public health are increasingly coming into focus nationwide - also at the Science Council, and encouraged ASH Berlin to continue to pursue the aforementioned degree courses as well as the academization of physiotherapy and occupational therapy despite all adversities. With regard to the physiotherapy/occupational therapy course, Rosenthal reiterated that it was also an urgent concern of the HRK to push ahead with this course.
Democratic work and international issues
During the discussion, Völter recalled the occupation of ASH Berlin by pro-Palestinian students in January and thanked Rosenthal for receiving and listening to her at the time. She reported that the response and publications have been overwhelmingly positive since then. However, the university's democracy-promoting approach is not a sure-fire success. This is why ASH Berlin has developed a wide range of activities, such as order and protection concepts, adopted values for respectful interaction with one another and organized events with the aim of working against polarization and for understanding. Vered Berman reported on the event "Two Years of Pain: Voices from Gaza and Israel", which took place on October 7, 2025 and at which Noy Katsman and Hamza Howidy shared their perspectives as activists and migrants from Israel, Gaza and Germany.
Rosenthal emphasized how important it is to create spaces in which Palestinian and Israeli students can come together. In this context, Völter referred to the cooperation with Oranim College in Haifa, from which a delegation of Palestinian and Jewish colleagues will soon be coming to ASH Berlin.
Overall, the discussion made it clear that profile building, the promotion of democracy and regional and international cooperation are central pillars of ASH Berlin's further development.
