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STRENGTHENING HIGHER EDUCATION TEACHING THROUGH DIGITALIZATION

4.5 Million Euros for Innovative Teaching Projects

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Collage: two portraits of two men © Privat
Alongside their respective teams, Dr. Tobias Haertel (left) and Prof. Uwe Wilkesmann have successfully acquired funding for innovative digital teaching projects.
The Foundation for Innovation in Higher Education Teaching (Stiftung Innovation in der Hochschullehre) has announced the projects it has chosen to fund as part of the “Strengthening Higher Education Teaching Through Digitalization” program. Two projects from TU Dortmund University are among those selected. 3.3 million euros will go to the Hybrid Learning Center (HyLeC), which provides students and teachers with physical and virtual resources, rooms and advisory services. A further 1.2 million euros has been allocated to the “CrossLabs” joint project, in which easily combinable cross-reality laboratories are being developed in collaboration with TU Bergakademie Freiberg, the TU Ilmenau and the NORDAKADEMIE University of Applied Sciences.

Operated jointly by the University Library (UB), EngineeringEducation, and the Chairs of Computer Graphics, and Physical and Motor Development in Rehabilitation and Education, the HyLeC offers students and teachers physical and virtual resources, rooms and advisory services – all from a single source. The project is set to be located on UB premises. “With the HyLeC, we want to create innovative teaching and learning opportunities, combining the advantages of digital learning with our in-person courses,” explains project manager Dr. Tobias Haertel from EngineeringEducation. EngineeringEducation is researching ways of improving teaching in engineering courses.

The “Digital Media World” gives students the opportunity to create professional media themselves – this involves acquiring equipment such as mobile film studios, cameras and video editing software that students can use to produce their own learning videos. The “Digital Collaboration World” with accessible learning rooms equipped with media technology will make it possible for future groups to attend digital, interactive courses and work on digital learning content together.

In addition, digital and hybrid workshops and advisory services as well as a virtual campus are being developed, where students and teachers will also be able to interact in the form of digital avatars. What’s more, a “Maker World” will be created in the library as a creative workshop where students can use a variety of tools, such as 3D printers and laser cutters, to implement their own practical projects. What makes the Hybrid Learning Center so special is that all its services are developed not only on a technical level, but also from a pedagogical perspective, while also, above all, ensuring a barrier-free design.

The “CrossLabs” project is developing cross-reality laboratories

The “CrossLabs” joint project focuses on digital laboratory elements such as remote laboratories (i.e., real laboratories that can be controlled digitally from another location), virtual laboratory environments or simulations. Solutions of this kind are currently still being developed individually at various universities, meaning these elaborate systems are reserved for a limited group of users. CrossLabs aims to find didactic, technical and organizational solutions for open digital laboratory projects that can be combined across universities. This would result in an open teaching and learning system for the students, which can be flexibly tailored to their needs. This joint project is being funded with a total of almost 4.7 million euros, with 1.2 million euros going to TU Dortmund University. Prof. Uwe Wilkesmann from the Chair of Organizational Studies and Management of Continuing Education at the Center for Higher Education (zhb) is in charge of the sub-project. EngineeringEducation and the Fluid Mechanics team are also involved.

“I am delighted that TU Dortmund University’s joint and individual applications were both successful,” says Dr. Tobias Haertel. “Both projects promise to bring real added value for the students with their innovative ideas.”

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