Anniversary of the Virtual University: Prizes awarded for inclusive education!

Anniversary of the Virtual University: Prizes awarded for inclusive education!

As part of the celebrations for the 25th anniversary of the Virtual University of Bavaria (vhb), outstanding online courses were recently honored. Particularly noteworthy is the course “Multiprofessional Design of Inclusive Schools,” which was developed by the University of Passau in collaboration with the Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt. This course received the award in the “Outstanding Support” category and was nominated based on feedback from students who attended it in the 2024/25 winter semester. The award ceremony took place on May 15, 2025 at the Otto Friedrich University of Bamberg.

The guests at the event included high-ranking representatives of the vhb, including Prof. Dr. Dr. habil. Godehard Ruppert, President of the vhb, and Prof. Dr. Niels Oberbeck, Vice President of vhb. Prof. Dr. Christina Hansen from the University of Passau emphasized the immense importance of this award for promoting multi-professional skills in inclusive educational settings. She explained how this collaboration offers benefits for everyone involved. Also present was Prof. DDr. Janusz Surzykiewicz from KU Eichstätt, who focused on the recognition of course support work in the university landscape.

New online offerings for inclusion

As part of efforts to promote inclusive learning, a new online course entitled “Inclusion and Participation” was launched at the Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt and the vhb. This course is part of the vhb's OPEN course program, which is available free of charge to anyone interested. The aim of the course is to address the topic of inclusion in various areas of life, from early education in daycare centers to the world of work.

The course is based on a joint project and receives project funding of around 30,000 euros from the vhb. The course design was led by Prof. Dr. Ulrich Bartosch created. Participants have the opportunity to develop information based on concrete scenarios and can choose between various options for in-depth study. The focus is on the development of inclusive and participatory processes in different areas of social life.

Further projects and awards

With over 600 teachers, the vhb is committed to developing online courses for prospective students and offers a variety of open courses. During the ceremony, awards were also presented in other categories: “Outstanding media didactics” and “Outstanding overall concept/integration into teaching”. All prize winners can look forward to prize money of 1,500 euros.

Another planned course on “Multiprofessional design of inclusive schools” is currently being developed by the project group. The vhb provided around 65,000 euros for this project. The commitment to inclusive education is clearly evident in the ongoing research and teaching projects and reinforces the focus on education that is accessible to all.

For detailed information about the courses and their content, those interested can visit the website University of Passau, Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt and the Pedagogy specialist portal visit.