From left to right: Prof. Dr. Hans-Günther Roßbach, Dr. Jutta von Maurice, Dmitry Kurakin, Dr. Michaela Sixt, Valeriya Malik, Dr. Frank Reichert, Ekaterina Pavlenko. 

No longer does the National Educational Panel Study find recognition within the borders of Germany only. For the NEPS has built up its reputation as the biggest national educational project. Scientists from many different countries visit the Central Coordination Department of the NEPS in Bamberg to exchange ideas, learn from each other, or share their knowledge; not least, with the intention to adopt certain structures or procedures in their own projects in their respective countries afterwards.  

From June 3 to 5, three scientists from the Higher School of Economics (HSE) in Moscow came to Bamberg to communicate and work with NEPS staff as part of a workshop. The cause of their visit was a large-scale longitudinal study of their own in relation to educational careers of Russian citizens. The project was started in 2009 by a few Russian scientists and is called “Russian longitudinal study of educational and professional trajectories”. By rolling out three big survey waves (in 2009, 2012, and 2015), data on the Russian population are to be collected and analyzed.

The first day of the workshop was dedicated to the presentation of both projects. Due to the fact that both sides were very interested in the other's project, the conversation quickly revolved around detailed problems concerning data capture and data interpretation. The second day mainly included discussions on the strategies of data collection and the process toward data analysis, which also included the subject of data protection. On the last day of the workshop, the guests from Russia received a detailed introduction to the NEPS database, focusing on data of Starting Cohort 4—Grade 9.