Media, Careers and Professional Identities
of the research seminar, 10 June 2025
The research seminar "Media, Careers and Professional Identities", held on June 10, 2025, was organized as part of the collaborative research project "Streaming for Talent", led by Jochen Kinast, Johannes Riis and Katja Driesel-Lange. The project connects the University of Münster and the University of Copenhagen, investigating how media exposure intersects with career development and professional identity formation - particularly in law enforcement and welfare professions. Among the attendants were also professors from Aarhus University, contributing to a rich interdisciplinary and cross-institutional dialogue.
Presentations and key topics
- Johannes Riis (Associate Professor, University of Copenhagen) opened the seminar with “Characters in Film Series as a Resource for Developing a Professional Identity,” exploring how Danish police students draw on fictional media representations to shape their understanding of professionalism and role expectations.
- Jochen Kinast (Postdoctoral Researcher, University of Münster and University of Copenhagen) presented “A Comparative Analysis of Danish and German Police Officers’ Media Usage,” investigating how police officers in both countries use media for information and entertainment.
- Katja Driesel-Lange (Full Professor, University of Münster) followed with “Internships as a Central Activity of Career Guidance,” showcasing a cooperative teaching and research project designed to support adolescents’ career development through structured, practice-based learning experiences.
- Christoffer Bagger (Postdoctoral Researcher, University of Copenhagen) presented “The Third Arm of the Welfare State?” (by Schwarz, Bagger, and Søe), an ethnographic study of welfare controllers acting as “grey detectives” in balancing control and care within the welfare system.
- Jan Thorhauge Frederiksen (Associate Professor, University of Copenhagen) concluded the seminar with “Patriarchal Professionalization and Welfare Professional Career Inequalities,” analyzing gendered patterns in professional advancement and structural inequality within welfare sector careers.
The seminar furthermore served as a collaborative platform to prepare a proposal for the Velux Research Fund, aiming to expand and deepen the research cooperation between Münster University and Copenhagen University.