10 September 2026

Dr Bastian Fischer is joining the teaching and research team in the field of special educational needs with immediate effect – with a particular focus on understanding-based assessment and its significance for inclusion-oriented education, learning and support.

Photo: Mandy Tabatt / Nordhausen University of Applied Sciences

Nordhausen University of Applied Sciences has filled a new professorship in special educational needs: on 18 August, the Vice-President for Research and Development, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Viktor Wesselak, appointed Dr Bastian Fischer as professor. Fischer brings with him many years of experience in both practice and research within the field of special educational needs and will further expand the university’s range of courses in the social and special educational needs sectors.

Bastian Fischer is a remedial care worker, a special needs teacher and holds a PhD in educational science. After completing his studies, he worked for several years as a research assistant at the University of Magdeburg and at a Berlin-based research and consultancy institute. During this time, he conducted research into transitions in the context of inclusive education and into workshops for people with disabilities. At the same time, he completed his PhD on a comprehensive diagnostic approach to challenging behaviours in the context of inclusive schooling.

After serving as acting professor of Special Education/Inclusion Studies at Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences for three years, Fischer has spent the last two years working as an additional educational specialist on the „Kinder stärken 2.0’ programme at a children’s centre in Görlitz. He also worked on a research project into the quality of life of people with intellectual disabilities. He is currently conducting research into the conceptualisation of the field of practice known as ‘day-care social work’.

A key focus of Fischer’s academic work lies in the further development of ‘understanding-based assessment’. He is particularly interested in how different understanding-oriented approaches in education can be related to one another and made fruitful for practice in special educational needs. The aim here is not to view challenging behaviour in isolation as a personal trait, but to uncover its subjective meaning against the backdrop of biographical, social and institutional circumstances.

„In Bastian Fischer, we are gaining a colleague who combines academic research and practical experience in a truly unique way,“ says Prof. Dr.-Ing. Viktor Wesselak, Vice-President for Research and Development. „In special educational needs, in particular, this close link to practice is crucial for teaching and research. We are delighted that he will be passing on his knowledge to our students in future.“

„For me, special educational needs is a practical science which, at its core, aims to understand people through dialogue within their respective life circumstances and, building on this, to develop individualised support programmes,“ says Prof. Dr Bastian Fischer. „At Nordhausen University of Applied Sciences, I would like to work with the students to develop and reflect on the necessary knowledge, skills and professional attitude – keeping a close link to real-world practice and always remaining open to the questions that arise there.“