New impulses in the field of sustainability - at Paderborn University's 13th "Teaching Day" on Tuesday, 3 June, participants discussed "Teaching for Future - Sustainable Teaching and Teaching about Sustainability" in various formats.
The "Teaching Day" has been held annually since 2012 and is organised by the Office of Educational Innovation and University Didactics. Prof Dr Beate Flath, Vice President for Teaching, Studies and Quality Management at Paderborn University, and Dr Nerea Vöing, Head of the Office for Educational Innovation and University Didactics, opened the event. "Teaching Day is a real highlight of the university year, because excellent teaching is a cornerstone of our university," said Prof Flath.
Keynote: "Sustainable development in higher education - challenges and experiences"
Prof Dr Gerd Michelsen from Leuphana University Lüneburg, who had stepped in at short notice as guest speaker for Prof Dr Matthias Barth from the Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development, devoted his keynote speech to the question of the challenges posed by the sustainable transformation in higher education. At the same time, Prof Michelsen reported on his own experiences. The key to success, he said, is openness and a willingness to adopt innovative approaches. "The focus here is not on lecturing, but on qualified support from lecturers," said Prof Michelsen. Students also help to shape sustainable change and are therefore multipliers of the process.
Interdisciplinary dialogue between lecturers and students
Sustainable teaching at universities can be viewed from different perspectives. During a panel discussion moderated by Daniel Al-Kabbani from Creaversity, Prof Michelsen, Prof Flath, Friederike Haver, Sustainability Officer at Paderborn University, and Svenja Volpers, Educational Culture and Sustainability Officer at the General Students' Committee (AStA), discussed fundamental issues in the field of sustainability as well as their implementation at Paderborn University. "It would be a big mistake to impose the topic of sustainability. It makes more sense to generate enthusiasm for the topic and allow it to grow organically," explained Prof Flath. There is a high level of intrinsic motivation for sustainable topics at the university. "There is an enormous desire on the part of lecturers to integrate sustainability into teaching," added Haver. Following the panel discussion, interdisciplinary round tables, workshops, a poster session and a university didactic "DisQspace" sponsored the university didactic exchange.
Presentation of university didactics certificates and awards for outstanding teaching
In addition to the exchange of ideas, the "Teaching Day" also served to recognise special achievements by Paderborn University lecturers. Three projects were honoured with the 2024 Award for Innovation and Quality Improvement. Prof Dr Yasemin Acar, Harshini Sri Ramulu and Anna Lena Rotthaler received the award for their project "Applied Inclusive Design for Software Engineers", Prof Dr Jochen Baumeister and Kathrin Hemschemeier for "STEPS: Study-related development planning for sports students" and Prof Dr Sebastian Rezat, Prof Dr Julia Bruns and Prof Dr Uta Häsel-Weide for "FourMath: strategically - together - accompanied - for success in basic mathematical education".
The Teaching Award for Young Academics 2024 went to Magdalena Can for "Oral Communication in German" and Svenja Langer for "Site-Specific Sculpture in the Paderborn Space for Art". In addition, Isabel Elsner, Irene Kunert, Mats Vernholz and Freya Dehn and, in their absence, Madeleine Hörnlein, Rebecca Meier and Mario Engemann were awarded the "Professional Teaching Expertise in Higher Education" didactic certificates. In addition, the "E-Learning Label" was awarded for the previous semester, which recognises courses in which e-learning is used as an essential part of teaching. Prof Dr Mark Beutner and Prof Dr Tobias Jenert achieved the highest number of points in the "professorial teaching" category, while Henrike Herdramm was honoured for outstanding "non-professorial teaching".
