Leuphana designs new learning spaces
2022-06-16 Another success in the competition for funding
Lüneburg/Berlin. Leuphana University Lüneburg has received funding of 100,000 euros for its project "Transformations::Spaces for Future-Oriented Learning". The funds are provided by the Stifterverband für die Deutsche Wissenschaft (Donors' Association for the Promotion of Sciences and Humanities in Germany) and the Dieter Schwarz Foundation as part of the funding initiative "Spatial Laboratories. Experimental spaces for future-oriented learning architectures". It is intended to support universities in redesigning existing spaces and experimenting with innovative concepts there. Across Germany, 136 universities applied for funding, and five of them were successful with their concepts.
Leuphana is planning to create a new type of learning architecture in the former Campus Centre. To this end, an ensemble of innovative teaching/learning spaces and student innovation spaces is to be created. The aim of the project is to increase the quality of learning, to promote the personal development of students and to create a basis for independent lifelong learning. The concept envisages that students themselves will already be involved in the spatial development and design and will subsequently also manage and operate the spaces.
The student innovation spaces create new exchange and networking opportunities with groups within the university, but also with practical partners from business and civil society. The spatial infrastructure and the content-related orientation are intended to turn these "transformation labs" into experimental spaces for innovation and sustainable transformation and thus enable students to actively participate in social change processes.
University President Sascha Spoun sees the success in the competition as further confirmation of Leuphana's initiatives to improve the quality of studies: "Future-oriented, independent and competence-oriented learning is one of the core areas of our university's holistic educational aspirations. The current funding commitment enables us to further expand our offerings in this area."
Other universities receiving funding are: TU Berlin, TH Ingolstadt, University of Lübeck and Gutenberg University Mainz. In addition to the financial support, the selected universities will be included in an accompanying network in which they can exchange their experiences and challenges and develop proposals for solutions.
Operational responsibility for the project lies with Leuphana's Cooperation Service, where Dr Nicolas Meier, Dr Annette Schöneck and Andrea Japsen are in charge of supervision and coordination.
Scientific and didactic responsibility and support for the project is provided by: Jun.-Prof. Steffen Farny, Prof. Torben Schmidt, Prof. Matthias Wenzel and Prof. Boukje Cnossen. Dr. Julia Webersik and Katharina Trostorff support the project from the teaching service.
The students of the Social Change Hub (SCHub) at Leuphana and other practical partners from the region are involved as central partners, co-operators and co-developers.