Michael Noack

Michael Noack is a Professor for Methods of Social Work with a focus on community work and neighborhood management at the Department of Social Work, Niederrhein University of Applied Sciences, since 2017. He holds a habilitation at the Faculty II of the University of Siegen (2017–2024) and previously held teaching and research roles at the University of Duisburg-Essen and Koblenz University of Applied Sciences. His research bridges social work practice with empirical studies on social space orientation, loneliness, and migrant integration.

• Education: Bachelor (2008) and Master (2010) in Social Work from Cologne University of Applied Sciences.

His research interests center on social space orientation as a methodological and theoretical framework in social work, with empirical foci on loneliness across age groups, integration potentials in migrant communities, and participatory approaches like adressee research and social space analysis. He has led evaluations of projects such as QPlusAlter (funded by Evangelische Stiftung Alsterdorf) and Regionales Präventionszentrum Viersen (funded by Jobcenter Kreis Viersen), emphasizing community-based solutions and policy-practice gaps.

Notable projects include interdisziplinary collaborations like QUARTPOINT (2016–2018) on integration potentials with Humboldt University Berlin and KoKon (2020–2021) on post-pandemic social interactions. He has authored monographs such as Integrierte Methodik in der Sozialen Arbeit (2024) and Soziale Arbeit und Einsamkeitsregulation (2022), alongside co-editing the Handbuch Soziale Arbeit und Einsamkeit (2022).

Lectures and training courses span topics like loneliness in youth (Deutscher Ethikrat, 2024), social space orientation in migration contexts (Internationale Tagung Muttenz, 2019), and participatory methods in social work (Fachtag Fulda, 2015). His work integrates theoretical rigor with actionable insights for practitioners, often involving stakeholder feedback and comparative studies.