A Space for Experimentation

Digital C@MPUS-le@rning was conceived as a space for experimentation. Faculty, staff, and students could test new teaching approaches, digital applications, and forms of collaboration—even knowing that not every idea had to work perfectly right away: “For us, the project was a space where we could test which formats and methods work—and which don’t. That was precisely where its great strength lay,” explains Dr. Karsten Senkbeil, who, along with his team, tested and researched the use of virtual and mixed reality formats. Dr. Sanne Ziethen, responsible for pedagogical consulting, transfer, and communication within the project, adds: “It was a luxury to be able to test ideas. This allowed us to gain experience that will endure beyond the project.” Today, these experiences are a key outcome of the project. They demonstrate which digital formats are viable in higher education, what support structures faculty and students need, and how good ideas can be disseminated beyond individual disciplines at the university and beyond. “That’s where we’re picking up the thread together now,” says Senkbeil.

From Individual Activities to Joint Development

Another important step in the project was to better connect many existing individual activities. Until 2020, the digitization of teaching at the University of Hildesheim was primarily characterized by innovative individual projects. With Digital C@MPUS-le@rning, these activities were more systematically networked and further developed.

The project was divided into four areas: SELF-le@rning, VIRTUAL-le@rning, CO-le@rning, and Transfer. This gave rise to a diverse range of offerings: from a digital self-learning platform, through concepts for virtual and augmented reality, to formats for digital collaboration, consulting, and knowledge transfer. Among the concrete results in the SELF-le@rning area is a digital self-learning platform with modular learning content that supports self-regulated learning and can be integrated into teaching. In the VIRTUAL-le@rning area, concepts were developed for how virtual reality and augmented reality can be used in courses, for example in foreign language learning, in international and intercultural teaching settings, or in the chemistry lab. CO-le@rning focused on digital forms of collaboration, for example through the establishment of the university’s internal social network HilNet, the use of project management tools, or concepts for collaborative work, such as in reading and writing. In the transfer sector, initiatives such as the le@rning-LOTSEN were established—student staff members who act as a link between university pedagogy and faculty, provide advice, and have helped shape exchange and workshop formats such as project communication.

One of the key successes of Digital C@MPUS-le@rning is the increased networking within the university. “Where work was often carried out in parallel before, exchange, cooperation, and joint development are now more firmly established,” emphasizes Birgit Oelker, project coordinator at the Service Center for Digital Teaching and Learning Formats. “The project has created more structure and, above all, clarity about who is working on what. People now know each other and can move forward together.” This new collaboration extends beyond the project itself. Many materials, concepts, and support services have been developed in such a way that they can also be used in other disciplines, at other universities, and in other educational institutions. Prof. Dr. Jürgen Sander, project leader and Vice President for Academic Affairs, Teaching, and Student Affairs, underscores the significance of this transfer: “As a result, the project’s impact extends well beyond the University of Hildesheim. The project’s influence is palpable—both internally and externally. Many of the concepts developed are adaptable and can be reused in other areas.”

Establishing Sustainable Structures

As an additional outcome of the project work, the anthology Innovative Higher Education Teaching on the Digital Campus has been published by the university press. It brings together didactic concepts, practical application scenarios, and empirical experiences from the project and highlights how higher education teaching is changing in the digital age. In addition to the substantive results, lasting structures have been created. Central to this is the Service Center for Digital Teaching and Learning Formats (SdLL), which was developed and institutionalized within the project context. It will continue to support faculty in the further development of digital teaching formats. In addition, there is the le@rningLAB on the main campus (Room I.0.10), a modern co-working space and classroom where new tools can be tested and collaborative work methods explored. “Project-related developments have evolved into permanent structures,” Ziethen summarizes. “This helps us to further develop digital teaching not just on an ad hoc basis, but in a sustainable way.”

What’s next? 

With the official end of the project, the work is by no means complete. Many of the developed products are already being used further, such as the self-learning platform in the new StIL joint project save_u together with the University of Marburg, or the transfer checklist for the systematic support of transfer processes in digital teaching. The focus is now primarily on further work within the SdLL as well as the consolidation of established networks and expertise. “Equally important is the networking that emerged during the project, both within the university and across institutional boundaries, to facilitate intensive collaboration,” says Sander. “At the Lower Saxony level, Digital C@MPUS-le@rning and the concurrently funded collaborative project SOUVER@N have laid the foundation for successful networking among the state’s universities within the framework of Hochschule.digital Niedersachsen. The fact that we now know each other and can build on existing expertise much more effectively than before is perhaps one of the most important outcomes of the project. This network is here to stay—and it is the foundation for our next joint steps.”

Digital Teaching of the Future – with Artificial Intelligence 

An important aspect for the future will be the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in study and teaching. “When Digital C@MPUS-le@rning began in 2021, generative AI systems like ChatGPT hardly played a role in higher education. It is now clear that AI will continue to fundamentally transform teaching,” explains Oelker. “The project was AI-free at the start,” adds Senkbeil. “Today we see that artificial intelligence will once again fundamentally reshape digital teaching. We now have a solid foundation for these next developments.”

Thus, while Digital C@MPUS-le@rning ends as a project, it does not end as a source of inspiration. It has demonstrated how digital higher education can be further developed through a willingness to experiment, collaboration, reflection, and sustainable structures: tested, proven, and adaptable.

Further information

Click here for the anthology: Innovative Higher Education on the Digital Campus - University of Hildesheim

Click here for the Digital C@MPUS-le@rning project: Digital C@MPUS-le@rning - University of Hildesheim

Here is a final video featuring comments from project partners on the project: Tested – Proven – Scalable. Voices on the Digital C@MPUS-le@rning Project. on Vimeo

Click here for more information on SdLL: Support for Digital Teaching – The Service Center for Digital Teaching and Learning Formats (SdLL) – University of Hildesheim

Here you can find more information about the joint project save_u: save_u - University of Hildesheim