The winners of the award “Digitaler Aufbruch der Lehre” have been determined: The Society of Friends and Sponsors of Hof University of Applied Sciences (Gesellschaft der Freunde und Förderer der Hochschule Hof e.V.) awarded the winners of the years 2020 and 2021 within the framework of this year’s Dies Academicus, on April 25, 2022, and additionally awarded a special research prize for the year 2021.
Due to the Corona – pandemic, the prizes from two tender years were now officially awarded by the Society of Friends and Sponsors of Hof University.
With this award, we would like to promote innovative teaching activities and the teaching of skills that optimally prepare students for a professional life in the age of digitalization. In this way, we are supporting Hof in becoming one of the most attractive university locations in Germany.”
Dr. Dorothee Strunz, Chairwoman of the Board of Directors of the sponsoring association
About the “Digital awakening of teaching” award
In 2017, the Society of Friends and Sponsors of Hof University of Applied Sciences (Gesellschaft der Freunde und Förderer der Hochschule Hof e.V.) initiated the “Digital Awakening of Teaching” award for the first time to ensure that students’ studies already meet the requirements of the digital world of work. The idea of the award is based on the vision to introduce a cross-faculty “Studium generale” and the optimal preparation of students for the digital world of life and work. The aim is to award and promote new methods and tools for the acquisition and teaching of competencies. The award is aimed at all professors, laboratory staff, lecturers and lecturers at Hof University of Applied Sciences.
The award, which is endowed with 10,000 euros, is presented by the sponsoring association, while the second and third place awards are presented by Hof University of Applied Sciences. As part of the 2020 Award, a special prize for students was also offered for the first time to honor the ideas and approaches of learners. A total of 46 applications were received for the Award for Teachers since 2017. Submissions are judged on three main criteria: Competency Orientation, Creativity and Innovation, and Dissemination Capability and Sustainability.
The winners from 2020
The 2020 Awards call was all about Corona and the transition to all-digital teaching. The expert jury had to evaluate a total of 16 submissions for the Digitization Award of the Friends and Sponsors of Hof University. The panel consisted of prominent and creative experts from the region: Michael Bitzinger, Managing Director Bitzinger GmbH Hof, Dr. Alois Kastner-Maresch, CEO of Living Logic AG Bayreuth, Dr. Hubertus Porschen, Federal Chairman of the business association DIE JUNGEN UNTERNEHMNER, Markus Vogler, Managing Director of Vogler Engineering GmbH Hof, Benjamin Bauer, Managing Director Zollhof Betreiber GmbH, Aurelia Bauer, student representative of Hof University of Applied Sciences, Matthias Gedler, student representative of Hof University of Applied Sciences.
1st place – 2020 for remote-controlled execution of internships
Jürgen Rubitzko convinced the jury most in 2020 with the concept of conducting practicals on laboratory setups via Zoom. For this purpose, the individual teams are divided into breakout sessions and these are connected to the laboratory PCs so that the students have access to its control and can observe the experiment from home via webcam. Mr. Rubitzko’s submission “Remote-controlled execution of practicals on laboratory setups in student teamwork” was received very enthusiastically, as it is a complete and well-rounded concept that fits in well with the development of the university: The latter wants to be international and, in particular, offer practical phases for students who may live on another continent. Rubitzko’s idea brings students together – worldwide and in the fastest possible way.
2nd place – 2020 for Ideationweek
Second place in the 2020 award is shared by Prof. Dr.-Ing. Anke Müller and Prof. Dr. Michael Seidel with their submission “Ideationweek”. The idea behind the concept is to organize a kind of bootcamp week to learn about and apply agile working methods and creativity techniques. The submission is closely based on the well-known Design Thinking approach.
3rd place – 2020 for learning with the help of Web 2.0 tools
Through the concept idea of the third place winner Dr. Phil. Marcelo Kauer, students learn through the use of blended scenario-based learning in different variations, such as skill-based or problem-based scenarios, with the help of learning technologies. Behind Kauer’s submission, “Blended SB* Learning using Web 2.0 Tools,” is the combination of traditional blended learning with scenario-based learning.
Special “Digital Pioneer” Award 2020
A special “Digital Pioneer” award in 2020 went to Hof University President Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c.. Jürgen Lehmann. This award not only honored the concept for his submitted “Blendet Learning Module Business Law,” but much more his already years-long efforts to digitize teaching. For years, it has been his concern to prepare the students of the university for the digital world of life and work through the consistent use of the latest digital teaching and learning methods as well as the corresponding technology. For this reason, he is always at the side of the university’s “Digitization of Teaching” tam and also tests new applications and techniques himself.
Special prize Student 2020
Matthias Gedler, a former student at Hof University of Applied Sciences, won the Student Special Prize 2020 by programming the app “HofStudyMate,” where he programmed and provided an app that allows learning partnerships to form. Thanks to the app, students can quickly and easily find students who share the same learning strategies and want to learn together to compensate for their own knowledge gaps.
The winners from 2021
A total of nine submissions reached the jury in 2021 consisting of Michael Bitzinger, Managing Director Bitzinger GmbH, Denise Bohrisch, student representative of Hof University of Applied Sciences, Hermann Hohenberger, Project Manager hoferLand.digital, Dr. Alois Kastner-Maresch, CEO of Living Logic AG Bayreuth, Dr. Roman Pausch, CEO Rausch & Pausch SE and Managing Director of RAPA Automotive GmbH & Co. KG, Markus Vogler, Managing Director of Vogler Engineering GmbH Hof, Isabelle Völkel, student representative of Hof University of Applied Sciences. A special prize for students was again awarded in 2021.
1st place – 2021 for immersive learning and experience
First place in the 2021 award went to Prof. Dr. Sebastian Leuoth and Prof. Dr. René Peinl with their concept “iLE – immersive learning and experience”. Thanks to the concept, students can experience online learning in a new way by opening up new virtual reality techniques for teaching. Building on the latest products, students and lecturers can immerse themselves in special teaching spaces that convey a real sense of collaboration – no matter where they are in the world.
2nd place – 2021 for competence booster
The second-place development by Prof. Dr. Günter Müller- Czygan and Prof. Dr. Anke Müller is aimed at high school graduates and first-semester students. Behind the title “Students and studies = it fits! – “Kompetenz-Booster” für Abiturient*innen und Erstsemester” is the development and the offer of a competence assessment event with the title “Kompetenz-Booster” for the new modular engineering studies at Hof University of Applied Sciences. These events focus on questions such as students’ motives for studying, the future aspirations of current and future graduates, and existing competencies for successful ING studies.
Place 3 – 2021 for Industry 4.0
Prof. Dr. Heike Markus and student Aditya Patole took third place with “Industry 4.0 – a holsitic and hybrid teaching approach” 2021. This is a holistic teaching approach and didactic solutions that focus specifically on collaboration in teams that do not work together in one place. The concept addresses complex and heterogeneous aspects from Industrie 4.0, concepts as well as the integration of data-driven business processes. The main goal of this concept is to help students understand the relationships between business units and end-to-end processes.
Special award Student 2021
The students Denise Bohrisch, Vanessa Schulz, Jakob Voigt, Isabelle Völkel won the special Student 2021 award with “Workshop series studyOn – Digital teaching by students for students”. This is a joint workshop series of the SV Hof and the team Digitalization of Teaching (dal). In the workshops, students are to introduce other students – in the sense of the teaching/learning concept of peer teaching – to the university’s digital tools through practical application scenarios. Furthermore, the workshops should give students space to network and exchange ideas.
Special Research Award of the Fördergesellschaft 2021
The Special Research Award of the Fördergesellschaft 2021 was announced for the first time on the initiative of Prof. Dr. Valentin Plenk, winner of the first digital award in 2017. The special award, endowed with 10,000 euros, honors a research team at Hof University of Applied Sciences that has implemented the research goals of the university particularly well in the previous year. In particular, work with social relevance and direct benefit for companies or startups in the Upper Franconia region, India or the rest of the world was sought. The high-ranking jury from business and science, consisting of Hans Ulrich Gruber, IT Cluster Upper Franconia, Alfred Mayer, Environmental Technology Cluster Bavaria e.V., Dr. Thomas Rhönisch, Head Research, Innovation + Technology at REHAU AG, Dr. Patrick Prühs, Managing Director of Chemie-Cluster Bayern GmbH and Eva Döhla, Mayor of the City of Hof, decided on the award of the special prize.
Award for research project “KH Bett
Jessica Wittmann, research associate at the Institute of Materials Science at Hof University of Applied Sciences, wins the Special Research Award 2021 with her research project “KH Bett”.
The basic idea of the “KH Bett” research project: the development of an antibacterial coated surface for hospital and care beds with the active ingredient chitosan. The natural raw material chitosan is extracted from shellfish and seafood and can have antimicrobial, antiviral, antibacterial, antifungal and antifugal properties. Thus, chitosan holds great potential to be used as a natural raw material against microorganisms. The research team, which in addition to Jessica Wittmann consists of the industrial partner Christoph Holtmann, from Lacolor Lackfabrikation GmbH and Prof. Jörg Krumerich, the technical project manager on the part of the Institute of Materials Science at Hof University of Applied Sciences, has already been working on the investigations since April 2020. The project is funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy and is expected to be completed in September 2022.
The winners from 2020/2021
Front row from left to right: Jessica Wittmann, Denise Bohrisch, Isabell Völkel, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Anke Müller, Prof. Dr. Heike Markus, President of Hof University Prof. Dr. Dr. .h.c. Jürgen Lehmann, Chairwoman of the Board of Directors of the sponsoring association Dr. Dorothee Strunz, Dr. Phil. Marcelo Kauer, Prof. Dr. Sebastian Leuoth; Source: Jörg Schleicher
