Saxon universities receive an additional 750,000 euros per year to strengthen digital higher education
In order to promote digital higher education, the cooperation project "Digital Higher Education in Saxony" was launched by the E-Learning Working Group of the Saxon Rectors' Conference (LRK) and the Saxon Center for Higher Education Didactics (details).
For the sub-project Fellowships for digitized higher education , all university members were able to submit applications for funding for projects in the field of digitally supported teaching and learning. After appropriate assessment, funding recommendations were made for 2019 and 2020.
Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences was successful with three fellowship applications.
The following projects are being funded:
In this cross-university tandem fellowship project between the Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences (Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Department of Technical Thermodynamics, Dr.-Ing. Sebastian Herrmann) and the Dresden University of Technology (Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Chair of Technical Thermodynamics, Prof. Dr. Cornelia Breitkopf), the e-learning system Thermopr@ctice, which was developed as part of SMWK projects and won the 2018 Saxon Teaching Award, is to be further developed and transferred to sustainable use throughout Saxony. This learning system for the internet-based calculation and checking of exercises with Mathcad in technical thermodynamics is characterized by a way of working that supports the learning process. Thermopr@ctice helps to support self-directed learning, promote digital skills and ensure academic success. Students are supported in the process of solving complex calculation tasks and receive direct feedback on the results obtained. The integration into the OPAL learning management system, which is the focus of this project, will make Thermopr@ctice available to all Saxon universities in the future. Supported by the project Lehrpraxis im Transfer plus, the transfer to the Technical University of Dresden will be carried out within this fellowship and will then be available as an example for future transfer projects.
Contact: Dr.-Ing. Sebastian Herrmann
In the multicultural fellowship project between the Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences (Faculty of Management and Cultural Studies, Prof. Dr. Martina Zschocke) and universities in Belgium, Finland, Canada, Italy, Israel, Ecuador, Russia and Brazil, the virtual joint learning, teaching and working project Working Across Borders is being carried out as part of teaching in Intercultural Communication and Competence. Students experience the opportunities and challenges of intercultural projects. They learn and work together worldwide in intercultural teams of 2 students from 3 different countries each and fulfill tasks and projects on intercultural competence and business taking into account the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). As part of this, virtual classrooms will be set up and a joint kick-off meeting will be held simultaneously in all countries, the project content will be communicated in a pre-lauch webinar, a joint film project for presentation, YouTube tutorials and webinars. The digital components complement the classroom teaching. Students are thus given the opportunity to experience the opportunities and challenges of a truly multicultural, multilocal joint project. Their respective project work and all supporting teaching materials are uploaded to a shared platform. The aim is to learn direct international communication and international teamwork in a joint project and to act together as business consultants, taking into account the UN sustainability goals. It serves to get to know each other, build trust and commitment in multi-local teams. In addition to interculturality, the project focuses on the topic of sustainability. The students should learn about the UN sustainability goals and implement them in their development of business opportunities worldwide and see in which regions of the world which goals should be implemented most urgently. Various possibilities of digitalization for collaboration should be used (Skype meetings, joint working groups in Office 365, virtual classrooms, joint meetings, etc.).
Contact (HSZG): Prof. Dr. Martina Zschocke
As part of this tandem fellowship project, the University Language Centers at Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences (HSZG; graduate translator Michaela Heidig) and Leipzig University of Applied Sciences (HTWK; Dr. phil. Antje Tober) are creating online placement tests for English and German to be made available in OPAL. The motivation for this project was that the majority of students at HSZG and HTWK take an English course during their studies and international students mostly take German courses. Due to the opening up of access to higher education, the language skills of students are increasingly heterogeneous, whereby homogeneous groups in foreign language seminars are a prerequisite for ensuring the quality of teaching as well as for motivation and learning success. For this reason, an online assessment of existing foreign language skills in reading, writing and listening is to be carried out in OPAL/ONYX before the start of a language seminar and relatively independently of time and place. An adaptive test can provide information on a wide range of levels in the foreign language. The evaluation after completion of the test makes strengths and weaknesses transparent to the learner and provides references to the appropriate language course and further learning opportunities, thus enabling self-directed learning.
Contact (HSZG): Graduate translator (FH) Michaela Heidig
