How can practical relevance and the structure of a degree programme be successfully combined? At the annual conference of the Netzwerk Wissenschaftsmanagement, a workshop focused precisely on this challenge.
This year’s annual conference of the Science Management Network was held at the Haus der Wissenschaft at the Technical University of Braunschweig. On Thursday, Vanessa Fehlig and Katja Heier led a workshop there that addressed the tension between high expectations and practical implementation: how can a practical focus be achieved without being thwarted by the structures of a degree programme?
The starting point was the service-learning project ‘Tackling Transformation!’, funded by the Stiftung Innovationen in der Hochschule. A brief report on experiences from the project demonstrated what practice-oriented teaching can look like in reality and where it reaches its limits. The focus then shifted to dialogue: participants from various universities and educational institutions came together in small groups, shared their own experiences and jointly developed ideas for addressing typical challenges.
The main topics of discussion were the conditions under which collaboration with external partners can succeed, how such initiatives can be integrated into existing curricula, and what is needed to turn a one-off collaboration into a lasting partnership.
The results of the workshop now form the basis for a practical set of criteria. It is intended to serve as a guide for higher education institutions when they wish to plan, implement or further develop collaborative teaching formats.
