ABSTRACT
Recent socio-political and economic developments in Germany are key drivers for German universities to focus more on lifelong learning (LLL). Germany faces an increasing shortage in the skilled workforce and a constantly growing demand for qualified specialists and academics in the German job market, especially in informatics, technology and natural sciences but also in health care, social and media fields. Universities try to find ways to successfully respond to these challenges by increasing the numbers of graduates in total and by additionally integrating new, more diverse target groups into higher education institutions (HEIs). In order to better understand the new target groups, the OPULL (Opening Universities for Lifelong Learning) Project looked into students' motivation and developed a typology of a lifelong learner. This chapter discusses research focusing on vocationally qualified students, employed students, adult learners, distance learners and students with a non-traditional entrance qualification.
