Shift!

video production: Joanna Dill, Melanie André I student assistants for Shift!

If you are interested in an external facilitator, both lecturers and students can register their interest in a Shift! session for the Summer Semester 2026 by 23 April 2026 at shift@leuphana.de. We recommend holding the Shift! session midway through the semester so that you can put the ideas discussed into practice whilst the course is still running. Please provide us with the following information when registering:

• the title of your course,
• the approximate group size,
• the language of the seminar, and
• your preferred date for Shift! in your course.

Please ensure you register well in advance, as places are limited.
We will then get back to you.

Have you decided to run Shift! or do you have any questions about the programme? Please feel free to contact us at shift@leuphana.de.

Preliminary discussion

Once you have registered for the programme, one of our facilitators will contact the lecturer to arrange a date for a brief preliminary discussion, during which we will clarify your expectations and identify key questions.

At the same time, the student facilitator will give the students on the course the opportunity to contribute their ideas for the Shift! session to the planning process.

Implementation

The feedback session lasts approx. 45–60 minutes. Our facilitation team usually consists of a pair of trained students and/or full-time staff from the teaching support service.

The session is divided into four sections:

1. Introduction to the qualitative feedback format Shift!
2. Working through the pre-agreed guiding questions in small groups
3. Plenary discussion
4. Joint agreement on further collaboration or the further development of the course

Documentation

Upon completion of Shift!, the lecturer receives a brief report. This documents the key questions, discussion outcomes and the agreement reached. In addition, the lecturer can receive a certificate of attendance upon request.

The Shift! feedback tool is evaluated at regular intervals. 

Shift! provides an opportunity to discuss, in direct conversation, the conditions for success in a teaching session. This promotes both a change of perspective and transparency regarding objectives and resources.

Shift! can be usefully employed in situations where lecturers and students

• wish to give or receive feedback on their specific teaching or learning behaviour,
• wish to stimulate open discussion and reflect on themselves and the situation,
• wish to strengthen the teaching-learning relationship between lecturers and students,
• wish to discuss and resolve conflicts

Shift! can be conducted as an in-person event or digitally via a Zoom meeting.

Shift! is used as an alternative or supplement to questionnaire-based, predominantly quantitative course evaluations (LVE). The conditions of the evaluation regulations and quality agreements remain in place. Participation is voluntary and free of charge for you.