"Next Normal - How much digitalisation does presence need?" was the motto and guiding question of this year's hybrid Learning and Teaching Day 2023 and Teaching Award 2023 at HFT Stuttgart.
The SkiLL team invited to a compact afternoon to discover (digital) learning environments and to discuss the spatial aspects of the design of teaching and learning from different perspectives. The focus was on the concepts of the teaching award applicants, who answered the topic "Next Normal" very differently, but always didactically creative.
The greetings from Rector Prof. Dr. Katja Rade and from Vice-Rector for Studies and Teaching Prof. Dr. Lutz Gaspers opened the event and formed a perfect transition to the keynote address entitled "Holodeck instead of Lecture Hall - Classroom Learning in Virtual 3D Environments". Here, Prof. Rolf Kruse of the University of Applied Sciences Erfurt demonstrated the possibilities and limitations of immersive 3D technologies for teaching and studying. He addressed the questions of how the university as a place of learning can be digitally expanded and which learning spaces students need and prefer for their learning processes. With a view to the modernization of the lecture rooms at the HFT Stuttgart and the establishment of a digital laboratory, Prof. Kruse addressed a highly topical issue that will continue to occupy the HFT Stuttgart intensively in the coming years.
Afterwards, a panel discussion was devoted to the core question of how much digitization presence actually requires. The panel consisted of professorial and student representatives from all faculties and the keynote speaker. Emma von Bergenspitz moderated the panel with skill and humor. She succeeded in giving room to the more subject-specific perspectives of the professors as well as to the views of the students. For example, one important statement was that despite the advantage of flexibilization through digitization, students appreciate face-to-face lectures in order to "connect emotionally". In response to the future question of how they would recognize if today was "Next Normal", the panel was relatively unanimous: there are clearly assigned rooms for different occasions, such as individual work or group work, with appropriate (digital) equipment, as well as quiet zones and meeting spaces that make the stay at the HFT more attractive.
The subsequent Gallery Walk with coffee break invited all participants to take a look at the teaching award concepts of the applicants for the Teaching Award 2023 in a lively atmosphere. In addition, the first designs of the interior design students of the seminar "Furniture Design" were exhibited in the Senate Hall. In cooperation with the AG Modernization and Prof. Carsten Weigl, the students used the opportunity to deal with the topic of teaching and learning spaces from a design perspective. This resulted in a variety of spatial concepts that invite further thinking.
The highlight of the event was the awarding of the teaching prize and the prize for student commitment. The teaching award recognizes outstanding teachers for their innovative teaching methods and their contribution to the further development of teaching and studies at HFT Stuttgart. Winners of the 4th Teaching Award 2023 in the amount of 5000 euros were Prof. Christine Kappei (Faculty A) and Prof. Dr. Siri Krauß (Faculty B) for their cross-course teaching concept BIM AVA and Construction Management I. In her laudation, Ms. Rade emphasized that the two professors convincingly demonstrate how interdisciplinary collaboration between students of architecture and civil engineering can be facilitated in the digital tendering and contracting process. In the course, students reflect on their own professional actions in a special way by directly experiencing the consequences of their decisions in the interdisciplinary collaboration. Even though only one teaching prize was awarded, the concepts submitted make it clear how high the teaching quality is at the university. All three faculties were represented among the best concepts and presented convincing teaching and learning scenarios, which will also be presented beyond the Gallery Walk in the Confluence Wiki.
This year's student engagement award went to Ann-Kathrin Brodel (Faculty A, MA Architecture), Linus Häberle (Faculty B, BA Business Psychology) and Stefanie Prahl (Faculty C, BA Surveying and Geoinformatics) for their outstanding, university-wide involvement in various university committees and beyond. The prize in a total amount of 600 Euros was sponsored by the Friends of HFT Stuttgart Association and presented by the chairman Mr. Bernd Göhner.
We would like to thank all participants and supporters who contributed to the success of the event.
