End of lecturing

What are good study conditions? And what is it like to study at the University of Oldenburg? In this interview, Gunilla Budde, Vice President for Teaching and Learning, explains why good teaching must constantly evolve and what the challenges of the future are.

QUESTION: Ms Budde, what do you consider to be good study conditions?

BUDDE: For me, good study conditions are, on the one hand, subject-specific study programmes at the highest academic level, innovative forms of teaching and learning and reliable, good support from teaching staff. On the other hand, good study conditions also include atmospherically attractive learning and living conditions at the university and in the city.

QUESTION: All things that exist at the University of Oldenburg?

BUDDE: Yes, absolutely. But we also have to realise that these conditions can always be improved and at the same time are a constant source of new resources. The university as a whole has to keep pushing hard to ensure that the good supervision ratios and the high academic quality of teaching can be maintained with the resources available. This also applies to the equipment of facilities such as the library and university sports or counselling services for students. Fortunately, teaching and the learning and study conditions at our university are highly valued by all those involved.

QUESTION: In which areas do you still see a need for improvement?

BUDDE: At almost 40 years old, our university is still young, but the years can still be felt in some areas. This is particularly noticeable in the shortage of suitable event and study rooms for students. On the one hand, the need for space has grown in recent years due to the increased demand for our degree programmes, and on the other hand, the scarce funds for building maintenance are making themselves felt. This sometimes makes it difficult to optimally implement utilisation concepts that correspond to our idea of modern teaching and learning. In addition, due to the procedures prescribed by the state, it often takes many years from approval to the start of construction for urgently needed buildings such as student service centres or experimental lecture halls.

QUESTION: What role does internationalisation play in maintaining and further developing good study conditions?

BUDDE: For us, the further internationalisation of degree programmes is a particular concern for the future. Our aim is to provide students with more opportunities to experience international teaching at our university, but also as part of study abroad programmes. After all, we see it as our mission to prepare our students for the world of the future in the best possible way - and this will undoubtedly be a global, cross-border world. We already have potential here that can be utilised even better.

QUESTION: In your opinion, how should teaching be set up for the future?

BUDDE: Outstanding teaching must not stand still. If it wants to maintain its high quality, it must undergo a constant process of adjustment and development in line with scientific developments in the disciplines. In addition, the expectations of university didactics have quite rightly risen enormously in recent years. This means constantly testing and reflecting on suitable teaching and learning scenarios - a process that teachers and students organise together. Reliable funding for universities is essential for the positive progression of these dynamic developments, especially in the area of teaching.

QUESTION: The FLiF project is intended to lead to a new teaching and learning culture. What exactly does this mean?

BUDDE: By the development of a new teaching-learning culture, we mean the so-called "shift from teaching to learning". This means a paradigm shift in university teaching: in contrast to the usual form of university teaching, we are striving for a more student-centred form of teaching and learning. The students' learning processes take centre stage. Students and lecturers work together to organise learning events. As a result, the roles of all participants change: The teacher is no longer in the position of the lecturer who provides input, but acts as a learning facilitator who interacts with the students to support their learning processes. This gives students a much more active role in which they are actively responsible for their learning progress. The FLiF project is all about implementing a new teaching and learning culture of this kind by integrating research and teaching even more closely. Students' curiosity should be awakened and kept alive. They should ask their own questions and answer them using scientific methods. Instead of "learning by viewing", "learning by doing".

QUESTION: Why is this change so important?

BUDDE: At the University of Oldenburg, we have opted for the approach described above because we are convinced that this new form of teaching prepares students for complex activities both within and, of course, outside academia. The students acquire competences that are central to highly complex professional fields, regardless of the subject discipline: independent action, skills in analysis and problem solving as well as the ability to critically reflect and self-reflect.

QUESTION: Are there any initial successes and examples that illustrate the change?

BUDDE: The staff of the FLiF projects are realising the idea of the project in many creative teaching concepts. In a two-semester course in School III, for example, a group of students worked intensively on different facets of the topic of "beauty". In small groups, they investigated research questions such as "The visual representation of veganism" or "Ideals of beauty in travesty". At the end of this research process, there was not only a presentation of the results to their own group, but also a two-day workshop in which the methods and results were presented to other students and discussed with them. Another example: As part of an event in philosophy, the students prepared a "miniature conference" to which an external expert was invited. The students prepared short presentations for the guest's visit and were then able to discuss their own research questions with the external expert.

QUESTION: What happens to the students' research work?

BUDDE: To ensure that the students' numerous and in some cases high-quality research results don't just disappear into a drawer, the FLiF project is currently setting up a student online journal entitled "forsch!". This is intended to offer students a platform to publish their research results and thus familiarise them with publishing as an important part of academic work.