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Four people are talking to each other in front of a window. © Felix Schmale​/​TU Dortmund
“Freiraum 2023” Funding Program

Ten TU Projects Selected for Funding within the “Freiraum” program

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Five students sit at a table with pens in their hands and paper in front of them on the table. © Roland Baege​/​TU Dortmund
The selected projects develop a wide range of new teaching concepts.

As part of the “Freiraum” funding program without thematic restrictions, teachers can develop new ideas and trial them in practice. The foundation “Stiftung Innovation in der Hochschullehre” – “innovation in university teaching” – has selected ten applications from TU Dortmund University in its 2023 call for proposals. From the total funding of almost 50 million euros for 174 projects across Germany, around three million euros go to the TU projects.

From exit games to digital laboratories to augmented reality – Prof. Wiebke Möhring, Vice President Academic Affairs, was delighted with the large number and diversity of successful applications: “This year, TU Dortmund University is the German university with the most funded projects. That’s a great achievement! The lively teaching and learning culture at our university thrives because our scientists constantly develop their teaching and try new approaches. The fact that so many applications from TU Dortmund University were successful in the foundation’s selection process is a testament to the innovative potential of the concepts that our teachers develop.”

When submitting the application, the teachers involved received internal support from the Center for Higher Education, the third-party funding management team and other internal contacts at TU Dortmund University. “I am very pleased that many of the selected projects integrate digital elements into their concepts,” explains Tobias R. Ortelt, coordinator for digital teaching at TU Dortmund University. “I am particularly happy that four projects are directly related to digital laboratories and were made possible by the developments in the “CrossLab” project, also funded by the Stiftung Innovation in der Hochschullehre.” The funding period for the selected projects begins in April of next year. Almost all projects at TU Dortmund University are funded over two years.

Award for “Freiraum 2022” project

The joint project “iBuild AR – Immersive Bauwelten”, which the  Stiftung Innovation in der Hochschullehre is supporting as part of the 2022 “Freiraum” call for proposals, was also met with success. The German Institute for Virtual Realities (DIVR e.V.) has honored a team led by Prof. Christian Hartz from the Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering with this year’s XR Science Award in the Best Practice category. With this prize, the DIVR recognizes the successful application of theory into practice.

Two hands hold a tablet PC on which an augmented reality app shows the underlying supporting structures of the room that can be seen behind the tablet. © Lehrstuhl Tragkonstruktionen
Using the digital models from the “iBuild AR” project, students can make underlying constructions visible.

The panel of judges praised the developed digital models and the associated teaching concepts, which allow structures to be experienced in three dimensions using virtual and augmented reality. The technical and didactic development is supported by the team led by Prof. Björn Elsche from the Ostfalia University of Applied Sciences and by the team of Prof. Liudvika Leišytė at the Center for Higher Education (zhb) at TU Dortmund University.

Students can use the digital models to interact with the teaching content: For example, they make the underlying construction of buildings that have already been built visible with a virtual X-ray view, break buildings down to their components or reconstruct the individual construction steps. Students can also apply abstract engineering models and numerical simulations directly to existing buildings. As the models are freely accessible and the learning spaces are digitally prepared, they can be used to develop new teaching concepts that can also be used at other universities and regardless of time and place.

List of newly selected projects

The following ten projects at TU Dortmund University will be funded in the “Freiraum 2023” program as of April 2024:

  • School – Common Place of Learning: Experience and learn about diagnosis and support in the school entry phase (Dr. Annabell Gutscher, Department of Mathematics)
  • Mathematical exit games for the integrated promotion of digital competence (DPACK) as well as technical and didactic knowledge (Dr. Raja Herold-Blasius, Department of Mathematics)
  • Digital Humanities Ruhr – Algorithmic Accountability at TU Dortmund University (Dr. Henrike Weinert, Department of Statistics)
  • Data Science Problem Solving (Jan Niklas Büscher, Department of Mechanical Engineering)
  • Welding Production in Mixed Reality (Philipp Kemper, Department of Mechanical Engineering)
  • Augmented Reality Flow (Christian Lehr, Department of Mechanical Engineering)
  • Digital Materials Laboratories in Courses and as an e-Examination Format (Dr. Lukas Wojarski, Department of Mechanical Engineering)
  • City Vision 2050: Designing the Future (Dr.-Ing. Vanessa Hellwig, Department of Economics)
  • Networked Educational Space for ESD (Dr. Magdalena Buddeberg, Department of Educational Sciences and Psychology)
  • KICK 4.0 – AI Chat Skills in Laboratories (Dr. Claudius Terkowsky, Center for Higher Education)

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