HSZG convinces with three fellowship concepts
Universities in Saxony will receive an additional 750,000 euros per year to strengthen digital higher education
The university's Fellowship Projects Introduce Themselves
To advance digital higher education, the collaborative project“Digital Higher Education in Saxony”was launched by the E-Learning Working Group of the Saxony State Rectors’ Conference (LRK) and the Saxony Center for Higher Education Pedagogy (details).
For the subprogram “Fellowships for Digitalized Higher Education,” all university staff and faculty were eligible to submit proposals for funding projects in the field of digitally supported teaching and learning. Following a review process, funding recommendations were issued for the years 2019 and 2020.
The Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences successfully secured funding for three fellowship proposals.
The following projects will receive funding:
In this inter-university Tandem Fellowship project between Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences (Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Department of Technical Thermodynamics, Dr.-Ing. Sebastian Herrmann) and the Technical University of Dresden (Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Chair of Technical Thermodynamics, Prof. Dr. Cornelia Breitkopf), the e-learning system Thermopr@ctice—developed as part of SMWK projects and awarded the 2018 Saxon Teaching Prize—is to be further developed and transitioned to sustainable, Saxony-wide use. This e-learning system for internet-based calculation and verification of exercises using Mathcad in technical thermodynamics is characterized by a learning approach that supports the learning process. Thermopr@ctice helps support self-directed learning, promote digital competencies, and ensure academic success. Students are supported in the process of solving complex computational problems and receive immediate feedback on their results. Through the integration into the OPAL learning management system—a key focus of this project—Thermopr@ctice will be available to all universities in Saxony in the future. Supported by the “Lehrpraxis im Transfer plus” project, the transfer to the Technical University of Dresden is to be carried out within this fellowship and will subsequently serve as a model for future transfer projects.
Contact: Dr.-Ing. Sebastian Herrmann
As part of the multicultural fellowship project between Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences (Faculty of Managerial and Cultural Studies, Prof. Dr. Martina Zschocke) and universities in Belgium, Finland, Canada, Italy, Israel, Ecuador, Russia, and Brazil, the virtual collaborative learning, teaching, and work project “Working Across Borders” is being carried out as part of the curriculum in Intercultural Communication and Competence. Students explore the opportunities and challenges of intercultural projects. They collaborate globally in intercultural teams consisting of two students from three different countries each, and within this framework, they complete tasks and projects related to intercultural competence and business while taking into account the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). As part of this initiative, virtual classrooms are set up, and a joint kick-off meeting is held simultaneously in all countries; project content is introduced in a pre-launch webinar; and a joint film project for introductions, YouTube tutorials, and webinars are conducted. The digital components complement in-person instruction. This gives students the opportunity to experience the opportunities and challenges of a truly multicultural, multi-local collaborative project. Their respective project work and all supporting teaching materials are uploaded to a shared platform. The goal is to learn direct international communication and international teamwork within a collaborative project and to work together as business consultants while taking the UN Sustainable Development Goals into account. It serves to foster mutual understanding, build trust, and promote engagement within multi-local teams. In addition to intercultural exchange, the project focuses on the topic of sustainability. Students are expected to familiarize themselves with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, implement these goals as they develop business opportunities worldwide, and identify which goals need to be addressed most urgently in which regions around the world. Various digital collaboration tools will be utilized for this purpose (Skype meetings, shared workgroups in Office 365, virtual classrooms, joint meetings, etc.).
Contact (HSZG): Prof. Dr. Martina Zschocke
The university language centers at Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences (HSZG; Michaela Heidig, certified translator) and the Leipzig University of Applied Sciences for Technology, Business, and Culture (HTWK; Dr. phil. Antje Tober) are developing online placement tests for English and German as part of this Tandem Fellowship project, which will be made available on OPAL. The motivation for this project was that the majority of students at HSZG and HTWK take an English course during their studies, and international students typically take German courses. As access to higher education has expanded, students’ language proficiency levels have become increasingly heterogeneous; however, homogeneous groups in foreign language seminars are essential for ensuring the quality of instruction as well as for student motivation and learning success. For this reason, in the future, an online assessment of existing foreign language proficiency in reading, writing, and listening will be conducted in OPAL/ONYX before the start of a language seminar and relatively independently of time and location. An adaptive test can provide insights into a wide range of proficiency levels in the foreign language. The evaluation following the test makes learners’ strengths and weaknesses transparent and provides recommendations for the appropriate language course and further learning opportunities, thereby enabling self-directed learning.
Contact (HSZG): Michaela Heidig, Diplom Translator (FH)
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