Freedom & Innovation in University Teaching

The project focuses on stronger activity- and competence-oriented examination formats in teacher training courses for vocational schools. Such formats are to be developed, tested and sustainably integrated for the subjects of nursing, health and personal care. The students are involved in the process, then go through the formats, systematically reflect on this and thereby build up their own examination skills for their later teaching activities. In addition, innovative examination formats that have long been tested and evaluated in the healthcare sector are to be combined with the requirements of the teacher training course. One of these examination formats is the performance examination, a practical exercise with simulated patients.

Applicant: Prof. Dr. Ursula Walkenhorst

Institute/(study) subject: Institute of Health Research and Education

In this project, course formats are being tested and documented to make individual student achievements publicly visible. Aspects of science communication also play a role here, as a "student journal" is being created to process the results of the work, in which students present their research findings in a generally understandable way. One example of this is the seminar "Learning about AI" in the coming winter semester, in which students will analyze and scientifically evaluate various online learning opportunities on artificial intelligence for school, university and further education. The STUPS project covers the entire range of cognitive science topics from philosophy to artificial intelligence and neuroscience.

Applicants: Prof. Dr. Gordon Pipa, Dr. Tobias Thelen, Prof. Dr. Rainer Mühlhoff, Laura Krieger

Institute/(study) subject: Institute of Cognitive Science

This project aims to create a virtual environment for the application of theoretical principles of (digital) music technology. Teaching content such as the functionality and nature of synthesizer modules will be transferred into virtual space. One focus is on concepts of electronic sound generation, editing and processing of audio signals. In simple terms, this is done by developing new tools for interacting with the virtual (acoustic) environment, e.g. via eye movements or facial expressions in addition to haptic input devices. Of particular importance in this context is the implementation as a multi-user environment in which several course participants can produce music together in the virtual environment.

Applicant: Tray Minh Voong

Institute/(study) subject: Institute of Musicology and Music Education, Department of Music and Media Technology

For 20 years, Osnabrück University has seen itself as a pioneer in the digitalization of studying and teaching and has established permanent support structures and an intensively used open source infrastructure. University didactics and digital teaching have been brought together organizationally and strategically linked in the Institutional Strategy. The "Digital Learning Life" (UOS.DLL) project focuses on the idea that university graduates, but also the university itself, must be able to actively shape the digitalized reality and not just be users of it. In order to achieve this goal, Osnabrück University wants to noticeably transform studies and teaching for everyone. At least two-thirds of all courses are to use an innovation toolkit geared towards digital and future skills, ultimately reducing attendance hours by a third. The remaining attendance time is to be used more flexibly and enthusiastically (measure 1). The success of the measure is based on individual digital knowledge and experience gained in the Digital Learning Lab (measure 2) and the targeted further development of open source tools (measure 3).

(Individual application by Osnabrück University)

Project responsibility: Prof. Dr. Martina Blasberg-Kuhnke

Contact person: Dr. Tobias Thelen, virtUOS

The aim of the application is to promote confident digital teaching and learning. This includes 1) the confident, i.e. competent and learning goal-oriented use of digital tools on the part of teachers and students (digital literacy) as well as 2) the professional development of high-quality digitally enriched teaching/learning concepts and content and 3) the digital sovereignty of the universities as institutions strengthened by the network. The intensive use of digital learning technologies in recent semesters has led to a massive increase in experiential knowledge and digital skills, as well as didactic, legal and technical needs and requirements. In line with the goal of digital sovereignty, the network partners have joined forces in order to be able to meet the increased requirements in the long term by pooling their expertise and services in the areas of IT basis, services and content (see Fig. 1). The SOUVER@N project sees itself as the nucleus for the development of a state-wide network whose services and offers are to be extended step by step to all universities in Lower Saxony and later rolled out throughout Germany in certain specialized areas.

(Network application)

Network universities: University of Oldenburg, Leuphana University of Lüneburg, University of Hildesheim Foundation, University of Vechta, Hannover Medical School, Clausthal University of Technology, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover Foundation, ELAN e. V.

Responsible for the project: Dr. Andreas Knaden, virtUOS

Contact: Jasmin de Nys, virtUOS