ThermoACTIVE promotes good teaching

In April, the 8th HDS Forum took place at the Leipzig University of Applied Sciences for Technology, Business, and Culture. Participants were treated to a diverse program focused on the theme “The Third Mission in Higher Education—Learning Through Engagement, Teaching with Responsibility.”

During the event, the new projects funded by LiT—part of the “Lehrpraxis im Transfer plus” consortium, which is supported by the Federal Ministry of Research and Education—were officially announced. With this funding, the Saxony Center for University Didactics (HDS) supports cross-institutional collaborations between universities and universities of applied sciences and promotes the transfer of experiences, knowledge, and competencies in university didactics. Each year, four collaborative classes or instructional development initiatives in degree programs are funded over a period of two semesters. The goal is to support good teaching and raise its profile in Saxony.

The Technical Thermodynamics Department at Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences and the Chair of Technical Thermodynamics at TU Bergakademie Freiberg were able to prevail against a large number of applications with their proposal and secure one of these coveted project grants. At the heart of the project is a didactic concept for actively ensuring understanding and providing differentiated support in Technical Thermodynamics, called “thermoACTIVE.” With this grant, the HDS recognizes innovative didactic approaches to improving teaching and honors exceptional commitment.

“thermoACTIVE” is based on the“thermoE method”(funded by the Saxon State Ministry of Science and the Arts) as well as the results of the E-AssessMINT projects (funded by the European Social Fund), which were developed at the university of applied sciences Zittau/Görlitz by Prof. Dr.-Ing. habil. Hans-Joachim Kretzschmar (Department of Technical Thermodynamics) in cooperation with other educational partners. These innovative approaches make it possible to digitally replicate typical STEM exercises and create a wide range of e-learning-based teaching and learning opportunities. The project is actively supported at the participating locations by staff members of the “Lehrpraxis im Transfer” project.