With several ethnographic field studies our project examines the process of professional intergration from a linguistic and communicative perspective: which practices facilitate and or rather impede job-specific communication and the interpersonal integration into the work force? So far, these studies focussed on three areas:

1. Professional qualification measures: in 2016 and in 2017 we documented three professional qualification measures as participant observers and with help of video footage. Such measures are currently highly relevant because they are offered for refugees throughout Germany and often represent the first step of integration into the job market. 

2. Professional training: qualification measures are ideally followed by employment or (more often) by a dual professional education combining theory and practical experience . Since spring 2018, we have therefore been following the training of three refugees in the areas of office administration and media design in the Rhein-Neckar region. In this study, we are documenting and analyzing the communication between workers as well as interactions of the refugees with customers.

3. Academic studies in the applied sciences: in this longitudinal study we are investigating the academic and professional careers of refugees meeting university entrance qualifications in Germany. We are following up to six students with a refugee background, who started studying in the applied sciences at an institution of higher learning in Southern Germany. Using video documentation of their in-house training in different companies, we are examining linguistic, professional and interpersonal integration processes.