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Innovative teaching approaches: Prizes for pioneering university projects!
Dr. Cornelia Gerhardt from Saarland University wins prize for innovative teaching project to promote entrepreneurial skills.
Innovative teaching approaches: Prizes for pioneering university projects!
In 2023, the “Transform4Europe Innovative Teaching Awards” and the “Non-Academic Staff Awards” were presented for the first time by the Vytautas Magnus University (VMU) in Lithuania. These awards recognize significant changes in higher education, focusing on the most innovative practices at partner universities in the Transform4Europe alliance. The jury recognized, among others, Dr. Cornelia Gerhardt from Saarland University for her project “SaarPreneur”.
Dr. Gerhardt received the prize in the category “The growth of students’ entrepreneurial mindset”. Your project aims to develop a digital self-study course for non-German-speaking members of Saarland University. In doing so, she wants to promote business start-ups and emphasizes the importance of the visibility of innovative teaching approaches and collaboration between different departments.
Initiatives for a sustainable university culture
Another award winner is Dr. Birgit Michel-Dittgen, who was honored for her initiative “Towards a Respectful, Health-oriented and Sustainable Organizational Culture”. Michel-Dittgen, head of human resources development at Saarland University, emphasizes the need for patience and perseverance in order to achieve sustainable success in a university context. For each award, the winners receive project funding of 2,500 euros to help implement their initiatives.
The award ceremony took place as part of the international conference “Enhancing Professional Excellence: Synergy of Academic and Non-Academic Staff (PROF-SYNERGY)”, organized by VMU. The categories of the awards relate to digital transformation, social transformation, community building, inclusion and ecological transition and sustainability, reflecting the broad goals of the Transform4Europe alliance.
The context of digital higher education
Digitalization plays a central role in higher education and affects various aspects of teaching, examinations and advising students. Loud Wiho research However, the spread and use of digital media is often hesitant, which is due to a lack of scientifically proven knowledge about innovative teaching and learning formats. In order to counteract this, the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) supports projects that develop concrete recommendations for policy and practice in the area of digital formats.
An example of this is the T4ERI project, which is part of Workspace 3 (WP3) of the Transform4Europe alliance. It aims to develop fundraising strategies for international doctoral research networks. This strategy includes important elements such as public and private grants, identifying funding sources, and evaluating existing fundraising methods. The aim is to diversify financing beyond government subsidies.
Long-term planning, strategy development and collaboration between universities and business are crucial to effectively promote research and support for doctoral students. The innovation potential in digital higher education is being further investigated and promoted through various projects and funding lines. Topics such as the use of big data and artificial intelligence are playing an increasingly important role in the further development of teaching and examination formats.