HSZG "Digital Fellows" Introduce Themselves at the Forum for Digital Higher Education in Dresden

The event focused on the question: “How can digitalization be used to systematically improve teaching?” and featured a varied program of expert presentations, posters, and a speed-dating session for sharing experiences.

Since 2019, the SMWK has been supporting the collaboration between the Saxony Center for University Didactics and the E-Learning Working Group of the State Rectors’ Conference on“Digital Higher Education in Saxony” with approximately 750,000 euros annually. This funding includes, among other things, the Digital Fellows Program. Here, faculty members further develop their own teaching practices and professional identities using digital media. In doing so, they contribute to the digitization of higher education in Saxony in the undergraduate education of students. Digital Fellows thus serve as representatives of a specific approach to using digital media to optimize their teaching. These projects are intended to serve as models for other faculty members and are publicly presented and discussed by the Digital Fellows. Among the 43 Digital Fellows working to advance digitized higher education, HSZG staff also presented the initial results of their Digital Fellowships projects:

• “OnlineLanguagePlacement (OLP)” – Fellow: Michaela Heidig, Diplom-Übersetzerin (FH)
• Working Across Borders – Fellow: Prof. Dr. Martina Zschocke
• Thermopr@ctice for OPAL – Fellow: Dr.-Ing. Sebastian Herrmann

As part of these projects, innovative, digitally supported teaching and learning scenarios are being tested, and efforts are being made to ensure their long-term integration into higher education.

Under this cooperation agreement, digitization processes for teaching will initially be advanced at all 14 state universities, universities of applied sciences, and colleges of art and music in Saxony through the end of 2023. In addition to supporting individual faculty members, the funds provided will also be used for continuing education programs and to support change management at the universities.

The new call for applications for “Digital Fellows” was also launched on January 22, 2020, at the conclusion of the forum (https://bildungsportal.sachsen.de/fellows).

In summary, the event offered a wide range of opportunities for discussion with subject matter experts as well as for building and maintaining networks.

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