Teaching

Sustainability issues are regularly addressed in courses across all faculties at our University. However, their relevance and the diversity of disciplinary and methodological approaches to sustainability are not always visible. We therefore aim to systematically highlight programmes that already address sustainability and create further incentives to include sustainability in teaching.

• L.1.1.1 Developing a system to describe how courses relate to sustainability and conducting a survey to identify existing sustainability aspects in all degree programmes
• L.1.1.2 Highlighting courses in the schedule of classes that are related to sustainability following the established system
• L.1.1.3 Introducing a sustainability award presented by the Executive Board for dissertations and theses related to sustainability
• L.1.1.4 Including information on sustainable teaching in our communications

Analysing and tackling complex sustainability issues requires interdisciplinary perspectives and skills. We want to offer our students a diverse range of opportunities to explore sustainability issues in depth and to qualify for relevant professional fields. We therefore aim to expand our range of sustainability-related programmes and to develop specialization options open to all students.

• L.1.2.1 Expanding the Academy for Teaching Development’s funding lines to support sustainability-related programmes
• L.1.2.2 Introducing a 'Sustainability' certificate programme open to all students

As a cross-cutting topic, sustainability is relevant to all degree programmes and can be included in almost all modules and courses. We want to offer our students the opportunity to explore sustainability issues in their respective programmes. We will therefore support our teaching staff in embedding sustainability topics into their programmes.

• L.1.3.1 Creating a pool of sustainability-related teaching materials to embed accessible sustainability topics in our courses
• L.1.3.2 Running regular exchange and networking formats on sustainability in teaching
• L.1.3.3 Continuously developing and expanding training on novel teaching and learning methods that help to meet the learning objectives of sustainability-related education
• L.1.3.4 Recommending to include cross-cutting topics such as sustainability in the development of our degree programmes

Involving external stakeholders in teaching is key to a transformative higher education. By engaging with real-world problems and external stakeholders in society (transdisciplinarity), established knowledge systems are called into question. This requires us to develop and practise new ways to generate knowledge collectively. Transdisciplinary settings are an ideal learning environment for students in which they learn to take responsibility and act as equal partners.

We therefore aim to offer transdisciplinary courses to as many students as possible and, where possible and appropriate, to increase the engagement of stakeholders from civil society, business and politics in teaching.

• L.1.4.1 Creating advisory services and staff training to plan and deliver transdisciplinary courses and critical service learning programmes (learning through civic engagement)
• L.1.4.2 Planning and implementing a Sustainability Week in cooperation with student initiatives on a regular basis
• L.1.4.3 Discussing and further developing our 'Principles of Good Teaching' with regard to aspects of transdisciplinary education

Teaching and learning activities will inevitably have an environmental impact. Modern higher education not only requires suitable building infrastructures (e.g. lecture theatres, seminar rooms and laboratories), it also relies on digital services and uses (laboratory) materials (e.g. in the natural and life sciences). In order to identify conflicting objectives and areas for potential savings, we aim to create an extensive database to record our resource use in teaching and develop targeted measures to reduce it.

• L.2.1.1 Developing information materials and guidelines for a responsible use of resources in teaching
• L.2.1.2 Developing a Sustainable Laboratory Policy for degree programmes in the natural and life sciences 

The increasing digitalization of teaching and teaching administration has contributed to a significant reduction of resource use (e.g. paper). However, as we can see from the energy use of digital infrastructures, among others, digital transformations also come with environmental side effects and are not in themselves a more sustainable option.

We therefore aim to make the digital transformation of our teaching and teaching administration as environmentally friendly and resource-efficient as possible. We will also embed environmental and climate protection issues into our digitalization strategy.

• L.2.2.1 Conducting a study on our resource use in digital education and developing recommendations for making it more efficient
• L.2.2.2 Working towards a complete digitalization of student administration (digital student life cycle management)
• L.2.2.3 Working with other higher education institutions in Thuringia to review options for an extended use of the thoska as a central identification element (PKI chip card)
• L.2.2.4 Promoting digital (paperless) course evaluations as an online-in-presence format

Good face-to-face teaching requires suitable learning environments and enough space to meet: Flexible and multifunctional learning spaces support modern teaching and learning approaches. Offering students enough space to meet and connect promotes communication and collaborative learning.

In order to support sustainable learning at our University, we aim to create modern and attractive learning facilities and to make available rooms accessible to as many students as possible.

• L.2.3.1 Developing and running a pilot project on flexible learning environments (e.g. multifunctional rooms and furniture)
• L.2.3.2 Implementing a didactically sound development concept for learning spaces (especially with regard to future building and conversion projects)
• L.2.3.3 Developing recommendations and examples of good practice for exploring novel learning spaces (teaching outside the classroom)

Promoting health and wellbeing is an essential part of sustainable teaching and learning. In order to ensure that we offer good teaching and learning in the long run, we not only require suitable infrastructures and adequate occupational and student health management services, we also need to promote a culture of self-care and mindfulness. This especially includes aspects of mental health in teaching and learning.

We strive to create an environment that promotes health and to support our students and teaching staff in developing a self-caring mindset.

• L.2.4.1 Developing recommendations for teaching practices that promote health
• L.2.4.2 Expanding our Digital Active Break programme (University Sports)

Individual learning and study paths as well as opportunities to actively engage in shaping the courses we offer not only enable students to develop their own professional profile, but also strengthen their motivation to get involved and take responsibility for successful teaching and learning. Taking our students' intellectual independence seriously and offering them real opportunities to engage creates a space for sustainable learning.

We therefore aim to offer students more opportunities to personalize their studies and to engage in shaping and initiating courses.

• L.3.1.1 Ensuring a flexible design of degree programmes whilst involving students
• L.3.1.2 Developing our degree programme surveys to include an optional section on sustainability
• L.3.1.3 Supporting activities related to sustainability and organized by students on a voluntary basis (e.g. Public Climate School)

Opportunities to access and participate in higher education are determined by intersectional dimensions of difference and discrimination. Conscious and unconscious mechanisms of exclusion not only lead to unequal opportunities and discrimination, they also have an indirect impact on the quality of courses we offer. Especially sustainability-related teaching, which deals with complex global issues, can benefit from the diversity of perspectives, biographical experiences, and personal circumstances of everyone involved.

We therefore aim to further reduce social, cultural, economic and other barriers to higher education and, in particular, to increase the inclusion of perspectives from the Global South in teaching.

• L.3.2.1 Developing recommendations for reducing unequal access to higher education (e.g. by developing relevant policies and recommendations for making selected courses available to non-students)
• L.3.2.2 Developing a concept to attract and support students from countries of the Global South.
• L.3.2.3 Continuing and further developing qualification measures for lecturers in higher education such as teaching and learning formats focusing on participation and diversity (e.g. workshops like 'Different Learning Paces and Prior Knowledge of Students', 'Inclusive Teaching in Higher Education')
• L.3.2.4 Developing (subject-specific) information on how to handle and integrate different forms of knowledge (e.g. indigenous knowledge and practices as well as experiences from the Global South)

Sustainable development requires intergenerational thoughts and actions. As a place where different generations meet and exchange ideas, universities have a unique potential to explore different pathways towards sustainability and to inspire societal change. In order to harness this potential, we need as many opportunities for interaction as possible and a culture that values different forms of knowledge and engagement.

We therefore aim to promote intergenerational discourse, both within the University (between students, teaching and non-academic staff) as well as with external stakeholders. Our mission is to turn this University into a living lab for sustainable development.

• L.3.3.1 Expanding the focus on sustainability issues in programmes for children and teenagers (University for Children, programmes for pupils) and in our University for Senior Citizens
• L.3.3.2 Developing measures specifically designed to engage students in our ongoing 'Sustainability Strategy Future Workshop'