Project "Digitally Supported Teaching and Learning in Hesse" gets underway

Science Minister Boris Rhein: "Digitization is a major topic of our time and also shapes the work at universities. The use of new technologies has of course played a role for some time. With the joint project, however, we want to create innovative concepts for further improving university teaching and the learning process. The state government's goal is to promote the digitization of university teaching. Modern e-learning enables teaching that is independent of both time and location. Taking advantage of innovative teaching offers and the opportunities offered by digitization in terms of excellent teaching has a future."

Three topics are central to the project: students should have access to barrier-free, quality-assured digital learning content and the use of digital technologies in teaching and learning should be promoted. Teachers are to be given a (virtual) space in which they can exchange ideas about digitally supported teaching in a protected environment and discuss and test innovative digitization concepts. And finally, teachers are to be supported in the creation of digital learning content and individual qualification from a didactic, organizational-technical and legal perspective.

"We want to use the project to make our university fit for the future. Digital teaching and learning offerings enrich the degree programs, create flexibility and more freedom for valuable face-to-face offerings," said Prof. Dr. René Matzdorf, Vice President of the University of Kassel. "I am pleased that we are embarking on this journey together with the universities in Hesse, giving us the opportunity to provide a substantial offering very soon. Digital teaching offers can also be used excellently for lifelong learning - especially in informal ways - and thus contribute to rapid knowledge transfer."

The joint project "Digitally Supported Teaching and Learning in Hesse" is developing prototypes for development and cooperation formats between universities, as well as a web portal with digital teaching-learning offerings.

Local service facilities are being established or expanded at the participating universities. They provide digital support for teaching at the site and act as multipliers for the developments being pursued at the state level. The local service facilities are the points of contact for the teaching staff at the respective university and ensure feedback with the presidiums. At the end of the term, the project will be evaluated by a panel of experts. If the evaluation is positive, a joint Hessian offering for digitally supported teaching and learning will be established on a permanent basis, subject to funding.

Individual universities are also responsible for so-called innovation forums, in which didactic concepts on various topics are linked with digital technologies and developed further. For example, there will be innovation forums on the topics of e-assessment or qualification of teachers. The University of Kassel, together with the TU-Darmstadt, is designing the web portal on which the quality-assured teaching/learning offerings will be jointly developed and made available, and via which teachers can discuss higher education didactic issues. In Marburg, a joint service facility of the universities coordinates the networking in the project.

The following eleven universities are participating in the joint project: University of Kassel, Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences, Goethe University Frankfurt, Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences, Fulda University of Applied Sciences, Geisenheim University of Applied Sciences, RheinMain University of Applied Sciences, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Philipps University Marburg, Technical University of Central Hesse, Technical University Darmstadt.

The total funding for the project amounts to 9.9 million euros. Of this, all eleven universities will receive an equal share for the establishment of local service facilities. In Marburg, the budget for the central service facility, the organization and implementation of the innovation forums and the development of the web portal will be added. This means that just under half of the funding goes toward a joint digitally supported teaching program.

Contact:

Sebastian Mense
University of Kassel
Communications, Press and Public Relations
Tel.: +49 561 804-1961
E-mail: presse[at]uni-kassel[dot]de
www.uni-kassel.de