From November 26-28, 2025, Prof. Dr. Knut Petzold and Dipl.-Soz. Jonatan Möller took part in the project launch meeting of the joint research project SuitEd in Oslo. The project is based at the Nordic Institute for Studies in Innovation, Research and Education(NIFU), is funded by the Research Council of Norway (RCN) and will run from 2025 to 2029. Dr. Lene Korseberg (NIFU) leads the project and cooperates with Prof. Dr. Knut Petzold (HSZG), particularly in the area of multi-method research design. Jonatan Möller is involved in the data collection and analysis and plans to utilize the data as part of his dissertation at Leipzig University.

About the research project SuitEd

In Norway, the assessment of students in the fields of health, nursing, education and social services is required by law not only with regard to their professional-academic aptitude, but also their personal-character aptitude, which is determined in the context of professional aptitude tests. However, such aptitude tests have so far been based on the discretionary decisions of the responsible subject supervisors. Despite the importance of such assessments in higher education, we know little about how such discretionary decisions are made by the responsible staff and whether they are carried out uniformly.

The interdisciplinary project SuitEd combines approaches from the fields of law, educational research, sociology and economics to investigate how relevant actors proceed in aptitude assessments. In a multi-method approach, survey data is combined with qualitative case studies and document analyses at various universities in Norway. The aim of the project is not only to expand our knowledge of discretionary decisions in higher education, but also to improve the transparency and fairness of such assessments.

The cooperation not only strengthens the international networking and visibility of the HSZG, but also expands specific expertise in the area of aptitude assessment for sensitive professions in the health and social services sector.