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07/03/2020 | Pressemitteilung

Excellent teaching at the University of Kassel: Two projects win prizes

Again, two projects of the University of Kassel have been awarded at the Hessian University Award for Excellence in Teaching: Science Minister Angela Dorn presented the 1st prize in the category Working Group/Organizational Unit to the Solarcampus project study on Thursday evening (July 2) in Wiesbaden. The second prize was awarded to the teaching format Building Construction.

Image: Sonja Rode.
Students of the module Building Construction during a practical unit.
Image: University of Kassel.
The Solacampus team during the climate campaign at the Filmladen.

For years, the University of Kassel has regularly been among the winners of the Hessian University Award for Excellence in Teaching, and in 2020 there will again be two winners from North Hesse: In the Solarcampus project study (1st prize), students from various disciplines apply theoretical knowledge to real-life energy transition projects. The students work - unlike in traditional courses - in the style of an engineering or consulting firm, with a high degree of initiative and self-organization. Accordingly, project management and teamwork skills are also part of the curriculum. 

The Solarcampus project study program has now been offered for 30 semesters. It was named after students who initiated the installation of photovoltaic systems in several university buildings in 2005. In recent years, the projects, which run over several semesters, have included, for example, an investigation of energy efficiency in the Kassel 1 correctional facility or - in cooperation with Filmladen Kassel e.V. - a 'climate campaign' forCO2-neutral cinemas. The award was given to the departments of Prof. Dr. Klaus Vajen (Mechanical Engineering), Prof. Dr. Astrid Dannenberg and Prof. Dr. Heike Wetzel (both Economics). The three disciplines will receive prize money totaling 60,000 euros.

The second prize in the working group/organizational unit category was also awarded to a team  from Kassel, specifically from the engineering sciences: In the introductory module on building construction, the lecturers succeeded with exemplary success in tailoring a large event with 200 to 300 first-year students individually to the students. To this end, they supplement a classic lecture and practice-oriented tutorials with an extensive accompanying online offering; for example, mandatory multiple-choice tests regularly check learning progress. Interactive elements are also incorporated into the lectures, for example through smartphone-based feedback. 

The module on structural design teaches basic content for civil engineers, such as the function, structure and joining of key structural elements. It is led by  Prof. Dr.-Ing. Werner Seim and his team from the Department of Building Conservation and Timber Construction. This second prize is endowed with 30,000 euros. 

The Vice President for Studies and Teaching, Prof. Dr. René Matzdorf, congratulated the winning teams and was pleased about a "meanwhile nice regularity with which the University of Kassel is present at the awards of this prize. This shows how many good ideas we have, not only in research but also in teaching." In the meantime, 17 teaching prizes have been awarded to Kassel in eleven years. A central unit at the university, the Teaching Service Center, supports lecturers in developing innovative formats. 

The Hessian Ministry of Science and the Arts awards the Hessian University Prize for Excellence in Teaching in the categories Working Group/Organizational Unit and Student Initiative. It thus honors outstanding and innovative teaching achievements, and the prize is endowed with a total of 115,000 euros. This year, the award ceremony took place in a small setting at the Ministry of Science and the Arts in Wiesbaden.

Press contact: 

Sebastian Mense
Press spokesman
University of Kassel
Tel.: 0561 804-1961
E-mail: presse[at]uni-kassel[dot]de