University professor Thies Johannsen: New star in innovation teaching!

University professor Thies Johannsen: New star in innovation teaching!

Thies Johannsen, lecturer at the Institute for Mechanical Design and Systems Engineering at the Technical University of Berlin, was accepted into the Academy of Excellent University Teaching. This newly founded academy, which was launched in autumn 2024, serves as a network for active teachers at state and private universities in Germany. The aim of the academy is to promote innovative teaching methods and exceptional commitment to university teaching and to create visibility for excellent teaching formats, reports TU Berlin.

Johannsen is not only active in teaching, but is also intensively involved in research at the interface between the humanities and social sciences as well as the MINT disciplines. He is particularly interested in skills for innovation-oriented transfer action. For his course “Engineering for Impact – Responsible Innovations” he was awarded the 2023 prize for exemplary teaching from the Society of Friends of the TU Berlin e.V. This honor underscores his commitment to modern teaching approaches and promoting responsible innovation.

The academy and its goals

The Academy of Excellent University Teaching is a network of outstanding teachers who come from various status groups and disciplines. Members have developed their own innovative teaching projects or formats to expand the boundaries of traditional teaching and create dynamic learning environments. Loud excellent-hochschullehre.org The members are not only involved in teaching, but also actively contribute to the further development of higher education in Germany.

The network emerged from the “Fellowships for Innovations in University Teaching” funding program, which ran from 2011 to 2020. This program aimed to promote innovation in university teaching and strengthen the importance of teaching. There are currently no ongoing calls for new members, but applicants who took part in the last round will be informed of the results in the second half of February.

The importance of excellent teaching

The academy's commitment to innovative teaching methods is not only a benefit for the universities, but also for the students themselves. The academy creates an institutional framework to make visible and promote excellent teaching formats. This has the potential to sustainably change the academic landscape in Germany and further improve the quality of university teaching. Thies Johannsen is an outstanding example of how innovative approaches can be implemented in teaching, thereby laying the foundation for responsible innovations.

Future developments in the academy and the continuous promotion of innovative teaching approaches will be crucial for what higher education looks like in Germany and what standard setting can be expected in the coming years.