Strategy consulting for digitalization in studies and teaching

The Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences (HSZG) is one of five universities to qualify for strategic consulting on digitization in academic studies and teaching. For one year, experts from the Higher Education Forum on Digitization will support the HSZG in its strategic exploration of digital teaching and learning. This peer-to-peer format focuses on the key areas of the digital workplace, as well as educational equity, access, and openness.

"In line with the HSZG’s research focus on ‘Transformation Processes in Business and Society’ , a strategic goal of the university is to establish itself as a partner in lifelong learning, thereby helping to ensure that skilled workers in the region can continuously generate new innovations within their companies,” explains Prof. Dr. Sophia Keil, Vice President for Education and International Affairs at HSZG. "Another strategic goal is to strengthen the economic and societal relevance of our degree programs. For this reason, we aim to develop interdisciplinary and cross-faculty / trans-faculty programs that integrate technical, digital, and cultural innovation competencies. Being accepted into the Higher Education Forum on Digitalization’s program represents an opportunity to further develop our digital teaching and learning scenarios, which we are very pleased about."

Through a peer-to-peer advisory process, the Higher Education Forum on Digitalization will provide individual support to six universities annually through 2020 as they develop their strategies. At HSZG, the advisory process is actively led and supported—both substantively and organizationally—by the Office of Education. Prioritizing the participation of the broader university community in a collaborative strategy development process is central to this effort. The next step in the process involves forming an internal university strategy group consisting of representatives from the Rector’s Office, the deans of studies, the Office of Education, the Center for eLearning, the Student Council, and representatives from the business community. Independent studies on the topic will be conducted with selected experts, with the goal of identifying overarching strategies and university profiles for the digital age. The results will be published in the form of working papers. At the annual strategy conference, the findings will be shared with and discussed by a broad public.

A total of 26 universities submitted applications for the peer-to-peer strategy consultation this year. In selecting the universities, the jury paid particular attention to whether they could formulate clear goals for the further development of teaching and demonstrate a concrete development and transformation process for digitization in academic programs and teaching at their university. Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences impressed the jury with its application, which was formulated by the “Digital Higher Education” working group (comprising the Vice President for Education and International Affairs, members of the Office of Education, the Center for Knowledge Transfer and Education, and the Center for E-Learning).

The Higher Education Forum on Digitalization (HFD) orchestrates the discourse on higher education in the digital age. As a key driving force, it informs, advises, and connects stakeholders from universities, politics, business, and society. The HFD was founded in 2014. It is a joint initiative of the Stifterverband, the CHE Center for Higher Education Development, and the German Rectors' Conference (HRK). It is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF).