The University of Oldenburg was the only university to win the Telekom Foundation's university competition for better teacher training in the STEM subjects (Mathematics, Computing Science, Natural Sciences and Technology) in two subject areas. There were 63 proposals in total. A total of 400,000 euros will flow to Oldenburg for the areas of "Teaching and Learning Laboratories" and "Development in Heterogeneous Learning Groups". In nationwide networks, a total of nine locations will deal with central issues of STEM teacher training, with the foundation investing a total of four million euros.

The Physics Didactics and Technology Didactics departments at the Institute of Physics are involved in the "Teaching-Learning Labs Development Network". This is coordinated by Freie Universität and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin; other project partners are the universities of Kiel, Münster and Koblenz-Landau. "The network is dedicated to the question of how universities can further develop their student laboratories into teaching-learning laboratories and embed them in the curriculum of teacher training programmes so that future teachers can already gain experience in practical teaching during their studies," says Prof. Dr Michael Komorek, didactics expert at the Institute of Physics. In the OLELA (Oldenburg Teaching-Learning Laboratories) network, the Oldenburg didactics of science, technology and Computing Science have gained a wide range of insights from teaching and learning research, which will be incorporated into the development network. At the Institute of Physics, OLELA includes the school laboratory physiXS and the technology didactics programmes.

In the second network coordinated by the Technical University of Dortmund, Oldenburg scientists are researching the topic of diagnosis and support for heterogeneous learning groups together with colleagues from the Universities of Bremen and Gießen. "The aim is to analyse how STEM teacher candidates can be prepared to deal with an increasingly diverse student body - also with regard to issues of inclusion. The focus here is on the important processes of diagnosing and supporting learning processes," says Komorek. In addition to the specialised didactics departments mentioned above, the mathematics didactics department of School V and the university's educational sciences department are also involved in the programme.

"The double success in the Telekom Foundation's university programme impressively demonstrates that Oldenburg's research enjoys a first-class reputation in the field of teacher training. The jury considers the Oldenburg concepts to be coherent, innovative and sustainable," says Prof Dr Gunilla Budde, Vice President for Studies and Teaching at the University of Oldenburg and also responsible for research projects in teacher training. The funding will make it possible to develop and test new approaches to STEM teacher training at the Institute of Physics.