Which issues would you like to address during your term in office?

As Vice President for Instruction and International Affairs, I have a broad portfolio. As far as academic affairs are concerned, the current priority as we start the summer semester is developing viable strategies that will enable the university to manage the ongoing coronavirus situation as part of the return to normal operations. This is closely connected to promoting the digital transformation of teaching by using pedagogical methods in collaboration with the projects, professorships and schools at our university where instruction is first and foremost in-person. I also want to ensure a smooth transition to institutional accreditation (Systemakkreditierung) and, in doing so, to ensure the autonomy of the University of Oldenburg through the professional recognition of its degree programmes. I also want to do something about the general conditions for studying and teaching for both students and faculty. This encompasses, for instance, the standardisation of examination regulations, academic guidance and psychosocial counselling for students, but also paying greater attention to work-related stress and promoting attractive career paths for faculty and instructors.

Regarding internationalisation, I want to reactivate our international partnerships and exchange programmes and expand our strategic partnerships with the University of Groningen in the Netherlands and the Nelson Mandela University in South Africa. We also need to look at mobility in the wake of Brexit. To achieve these goals, I will be working closely with various offices at the university, such as the International Office and the Internationalisation working group, as well as the internationalisation officers at the schools. As we continue to develop our internationalisation strategy, topics such as diversity, inclusion, digitalisation and sustainability become increasingly important.

How did you find your first few months as Vice President for Instruction and International Affairs?

Although I only started on 1 January 2022, it feels as though I've been here much longer. I see it as my job to be a contact person for students and instructors. So I am open to critical and constructive dialogues with student representatives, such as the Student Council (AStA) and the student associations, as well as with representatives of teaching staff, such as the Deans of Studies and the Staff Council. The first few months, however, were largely dominated by factors and events beyond our control – studying and teaching with coronavirus measures still in place and wrapping up the winter semesters with a high number of coronavirus infections, immediately followed by a whole host of decisions that needed to be made about the summer semester. The transition to institutional accreditation and the university accrediting its own degree programmes is a crucial task for all those involved, including myself, because this is how we can guarantee the quality of our degree programmes for the future. And, of course, over the past few weeks we have also been following discussions regarding the breach of international law with the Russian government’s war in Ukraine and the effect in might have on our university and academic life.

Research-based learning is one of the cornerstones of the mission statement for teaching. Why is research-based learning so important at our university?

Research-based learning has certainly become a hallmark of study programmes and teaching at the University of Oldenburg over the past few years. It is an integral component of the mission statement and many degree programmes as well modules. Supervised by specialists in the field, students have the chance to experience and go through the entire research process from start to finish largely on their own; from identifying a topic and formulating a research question, to choosing the research design and data collection instruments, to conducting a study and interpreting the data. The University of Oldenburg is a pioneer in this respect in Germany, especially with regard to disseminating student research by promoting participation in conferences or publishing articles in forsch!, the online student journal. But at the same time, we have to make sure that students are able to experience research-based learning as part of an larger research process and that there is ample room for creativity, so that students do not become overwhelmed with research projects and group work.

Which societal issues do you think have or will have an impact on studying and teaching at the University of Oldenburg?

Universities constantly have to adapt to the demands and changes in their surrounding environment ­­– such as the labour market, society, demographic changes, migration – but also in respect to their internal structures – such as the diversity of students and instructors. Only in this way can institutions of higher education make sure to remain attractive places to study and work. In this regard, I think that studying and teaching at the University of Oldenburg – with the exception of the coronavirus pandemic – is and will continue to be influenced, at least for the next few years, by the issues already I already addressed in the answers above. However, other issues, such as diversity and inclusion, increasing flexibility of degree programmes, digital transformation of teaching, international opportunities for students, faculty and instructors, as well as ongoing efforts to improve practical relevance and employability also deserve a mention here. As do issues such as the University of Oldenburg being an attractive place to work for researchers and instructors in terms of workload and freedom, being accessible and open to new groups such as non-traditional students and offering continued academic education for professionals. Like other universities, we will have to make considerable efforts in the areas of studying and teaching in order to maintain our student numbers and retain our researchers and teaching staff. We can't take that for granted.

Are you planning to introduce major reforms to studying and teaching during your appointment?

I am somewhat cautious about introducing changes during my two-year term as Vice President since degree programmes offered by the schools are well-established and faculty and instructors enjoy a great deal of freedom in designing their teaching. However, we will have to tackle these trends together if we want to continue to be an attractive university for students, academics and teaching staff. I have set myself the task of raising awareness about the need to modernise degree programmes in good time, to establish closer links between outstanding research and degree programmes, to raise the profile and improve the recognition of teaching and to show greater appreciation for the hard-working schools, degree programmes and teaching staff.