The nationwide joint project ‘Souver@nes digitales Lehren und Lernen in Niedersachsen’ (Souver@n) has given rise to a co-operation project involving eight universities, made possible by funding from the Foundation for Innovation in Higher Education.

Over the course of the four-year project (2021–2025), practical knowledge was pooled and digital skills from various departments across the participating universities were honed in order to contribute to the promotion of confident digital teaching and learning. Overall coordination was the responsibility of the University of Oldenburg, the University of Osnabrück and Leuphana University of Lüneburg.

The focus of this project can be described by three overarching objectives:

1. the competent and learning-objective-oriented (i.e. confident) use of digital tools by lecturers and students (digital literacy),
2. the professional development of high-quality digital teaching and learning concepts and content, and
3. the strengthening of the universities’ autonomy as institutions through the partnership.

The Souver@n project was divided into four work packages. Souver@n fell under Work Package 2, ‘Content/OER’. This work package was coordinated by the University of Oldenburg and Hannover Medical School and comprised the development of digital learning content, the training of tutors in digital teaching skills, and a collection of best practice examples of teaching and learning concepts.

In the field of general studies didactics at the University of Oldenburg, in collaboration with the University of Hildesheim Foundation, digital learning resources were developed for the basic qualification in General Studies in two areas:

At the University of Oldenburg, Laura Haarhus, under the supervision of Prof. Dr Maja Brückmann, developed digital teaching materials on out-of-school learning locations and excursions in General Studies; and at the University of Hildesheim, Dr Lena Ohnesorge, under the supervision of Prof. Dr Katrin Hauenschild, digital teaching materials on multi-perspectivity in General Studies. Both sets of materials can be accessed, adapted and used as part of the basic qualification in General Studies at the respective universities. The materials from Oldenburg are available in H5P format, which can be used with the LMS platforms Moodle, StudIP and ELIAS. The Hildesheim material has been implemented in StudIP and Moodle.

For further information, please refer to the QR code on the handout on this page, which provides a brief overview of both sets of materials. A detailed explanation can be found in the concept document for the materials. If we have sparked your interest and you would like to view the materials, please contact Dr Norbert Kleinefeld or Verena Honkomp-Wilkens regarding the Oldenburg materials. For the materials from Hildesheim, please contact the Office of the Institute for Primary School Didactics and General Studies.