Excellent teaching: two more awards go to Kassel

"I am delighted that our university has once again been recognized as a place of outstanding teaching," commented Vice President Prof. Dr. René Matzdorf. "I am particularly pleased for the colleagues involved. The lecture on structural engineering shows how basic courses can be designed in a varied, individual and practical way, even in technical fields in which we have to keep attracting the interest of young people in Germany. The project focusing on the Middle Ages, on the other hand, meets a didactic challenge in history, where it is difficult to study ancient sources using the originals."

In his course "Constructive Fundamentals 1, Phenomena: Structural Design", Prof. Dr.-Ing. Julian Lienhard provides first-year architecture students in Kassel with clear basic knowledge about supporting structures and construction. In contrast to traditional lectures, he uses the "flipped classroom" concept, in which students learn the material themselves using the materials provided and then present and discuss it themselves in the lecture hall using experiments. Elements such as question forums, homework and tutorials complement the format to consolidate knowledge. In a kick-off experiment in the first week of lectures, students build equilibrium sculptures from everyday objects and later learn how to calculate so-called moment equilibria.

"The concept is based on a lot of joint learning time with a focus on understanding and application," explained Lienhard. "In my experience, first-year students find this part of a motivating introduction to a challenging course of study." For the event, Lienhard received the 2nd project prize for a working group / organizational unit, endowed with 30,000 euros.

The 3rd project prize in the same category and 15,000 euros was awarded to the seminar "Forschungspraxis Interkulturell. Medieval Seminar with Florence Excursion". Prof. Dr. Ingrid Baumgärtner and her colleagues Anna Hollenbach and Manon Marlene Koch introduce students of history and participants in the Italicum study certificate to international research practice. After extensive preparation, not least with e-learning courses, the students go on an excursion to Florence to work on original medieval sources in a practical and research-oriented way and to get to know a particularly stimulating working atmosphere in the library of the Institute of Art History.

"With its variety of museums, archives and academic institutions, Florence is ideal for exploring Italian urban and cultural development, for career-related discourse, for acquiring internships abroad and for making international academic contacts," explains Ingrid Baumgärtner. The seminar has been offered since 2012.

Press contact:

Sebastian Mense
University of Kassel
Communication and Marketing
Phone: +49 561 804-1961
Email: presse[at]uni-kassel[dot]de
www.uni-kassel.de