Lehreplus! 2024
In January 2025, the Lehreplus! prize was awarded with a special focus on teaching interdisciplinary skills and promoting interaction between students and teachers. Two winners were selected and honoured from 42 submissions in a multi-stage selection process.
Winning project: Linguistic workshop: Fake news: Critical text competence for everyday life and school
Maria Stopfner
With fake news, the course focussed on a current socially important topic. The course impressively achieved the key outcome of "empowering students to responsibly shape the public discourse", as stated in the submission text, in a variety of ways.
Experience in recent years has shown that open access to information on the internet not only leads to the democratisation of public discourse in a positive way, but can also be misused to manipulate public opinion and spread misinformation. The situation is further exacerbated by the new possibilities of text and image generation using artificial intelligence. This makes the ability to critically scrutinise information all the more important. The central question that accompanied the participants of the linguistics workshop throughout the semester was: "How can we enable people to recognise fake news and react to it correctly?" The course was therefore not only intended to enable students to recognise and scientifically investigate fake news. Rather, they should look for ways to bring the newly acquired knowledge back into society. To this end, the students developed their own approaches, which they implemented at the "Long Night of Research". The feedback from the visitors showed impressively that the students succeeded in this complex transfer achievement in an outstanding manner. In the first part of the course, students were first introduced to linguistic theories and methods for analysing fake news. In the second part of the course, existing teaching strategies and didactic approaches for teaching critical text competence were examined and discussed for their transfer potential for different target groups as part of a learning workshop. Based on the reflection work, the students then developed various activities in small groups, which were used to sensitise visitors to the "Long Night of Research" to the topic in the workshop "Sharks on the Highway - Scope with Fake News in Everyday Life". In the third part of the course, the specialist knowledge acquired and the practical experience from the workshop ultimately became the basis for developing their own research question, which was explored by the students in the form of a scientific poster and discussed at a poster fair. Last but not least, it should be emphasised that the students made a significant contribution to the success of the course. Their commitment and creativity are the plus that makes good teaching possible.
Contact Faculty
Faculty: Faculty of Philological and Cultural Studies
Institute: Institute for German Studies
Head of the course: Maria Stopfner
maria.stopfner@uibk.ac.at
Winning project: Inter-/Transcultural Analyses: Exhibiting Diversity?! Diversity discourses in cultural mediation and museum practice
Teresa Millesi
The submitted contribution impresses with a well thought-out and clear concept right through to the performance review. The students' results are not only accessible, but also extremely worth seeing. The entry fulfils the criteria set out in the call for entries - the teaching of interdisciplinary skills and the promotion of interaction between students and teachers - in an outstanding way.
At the centre of the course was the special exhibition "Looking allowed? Human diversity from the 16th to 18th century" at Schloss Ambras in Innsbruck. The students in the seminar developed a scientific tour of the exhibition, inviting them to take a closer look at selected objects, familiarise themselves with their history and significance and explore questions about how society deals with diversity. The respective object descriptions deal with topics such as intersectionality, orientalism and the construction of the foreign, sexuality, gender roles and body norms. The course began with inputs and discussions on theories of diversity research as well as media science perspectives on museums and exhibitions. Thomas Kuster, the curator of the special exhibition, then presented his exhibition concept, which the students discussed critically with him. As part of an excursion to Ambras Castle, the students gained insights into different methods of cultural mediation as well as a look 'behind the scenes' at the ongoing construction of the special exhibition. They then developed scientific questions about objects in the exhibition. In doing so, they were able to set their own thematic focal points and, at their own discretion, tie in with individual experiences and lifeworlds. Following the presentation of their questions and (peer) feedback, the students worked on these independently as object descriptions and recorded them themselves. These recordings are available online as an audio guide (https://www.uibk.ac.at/de/fsp-kultur/vielfalt-ausstellen/) and were integrated into the exhibition at Ambras Castle using a QR code. The students also presented their work during a guided tour of the exhibition as part of the "Ethno Picnic" organised by the Institute of History and European Ethnology. As part of the course, the students not only learnt about various theories and concepts of diversity research, but also developed skills in the field of science communication, became familiar with the job profiles of museum curation and cultural mediation and experienced special appreciation for their achievements through their public presentation and integration into the special exhibition.
Contact Faculty
Faculty: Faculty of Philosophy and History
Institute: Institute for Historical Sciences and European Ethnology
Head of the course: Teresa Millesi
teresa.millesi@uibk.ac.at
Award ceremony
The Lehreplus! award ceremony took place on Wednesday, 8 January 2025 at 16:00 in the auditorium of the main building. As part of this ceremony, the teaching concepts of various shortlisted submissions were honoured and the two award winners Maria Stopfner and Teresa Millesi spoke about their experiences in university teaching. Markus Koschuh hosted the ceremony and took a humorous look at university activities.
Shortlist 2024
The course addresses the particular challenges faced by prospective inclusion educators against the backdrop of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2008) and the associated systemic changes in the education system. Based on international concepts, both personal development and the development of central professional competences for inclusive education are initiated and taught. The focus is on theoretical foundations for interdisciplinary and multi-professional cooperation within schools, current international research findings and inclusive practices in various team forms and constellations. Students should perceive themselves as future educators who are able to work in teams and cooperate in line with the objectives of an inclusive school system. They will be able to effectively organise, reflect on and advise on team and teaching processes together with specialist colleagues and other relevant staff. A research-orientated teaching concept is inherent in the proseminar, which goes beyond traditional teaching and learning methods to include methods that contribute to the development of awareness and place them in the context of an alternative performance assessment. The teaching concept also implies close cooperation with various actors in the educational landscape (including the Tyrolean Education Directorate, inclusion teachers, counselling teachers) and offers a wide range of opportunities for personal discussion, which provides the basis for students' self-reflective learning as part of a learning diary accompanying the seminar. The aim of the proseminar is to develop a professional ethos that considers cooperation with different actors in the school system to be enriching and beneficial in order to be able to meet the diverse needs of pupils professionally and break down barriers to learning.
The Erasmus+ project EUniverciné of the 6 universities (Innsbruck, Nantes, Genoa, Rome Sapienza, Perugia per Stranieri, Banja Luka) takes place beyond the curriculum and therefore runs across the courses and institutes (prerequisite: very good language skills in Italian and French and enthusiasm for film). Competitively, 3-4 students per university will be selected to work together and separately from 1 November to 30 June, hybrid and in presence on the film (participating in a German film festival in Nantes, forming a European film jury for an Italian film festival, subtitling an Italian feature film, discussing with a director in the master class, working on the public relations of the project). The film 'Palazzina LAF' (2023, Riondino), which was subtitled by the Innsbruck students and won several Italian film awards, was shown in the sold-out Leokino cinema - as was the film 'Stranizza d'amuri' (2023, Fiorello), which was awarded a prize by the students, in the presence of the main actor Gabriele Pizzurro (both premieres in German-speaking countries). Innsbruck students receive 7.5 ects for their successful participation over two semesters.
Trailer for the final event of the Innsbruck participants Nathalie Heiß, Verena Huber and Irene Zaccaria in cooperation with the BFÖ: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8cgpvSeM_c
Programme of the final event in Innsbruck https://www.uibk.ac.at/de/events/info/2024/giornate-internazionali-di-studi/
Homepage of the entire project: https://eunivercine.eu/
Our blog: progetto EUniverCiné (eunivercine-blog.blogspot.com)
Sabine Schrader
Faculty: Faculty of Philological and Cultural Studies
Institute: Romance Studies and Translation Studies
Lecturer responsible for the course: Sabine Schrader
Further lecturers: Gloria Paganini (Nantes), Evelyn Ferrari, Marco Agnetta
sabine.schrader@uibk.ac.at
Evelyn.Ferrari@uibk.ac.at
marco.agnetta@uibk.ac.at
gloria.paganini@univ-nantes.fr
The course "INNklusion - Development of assistance solutions for people with disabilities in interdisciplinary teams" brings together Master's students from different disciplines and people with disabilities to develop innovative assistance solutions. Students work in small interdisciplinary groups on practical projects such as a concept for stimulus-reduced shopping, a cover-up aid for people with mobility impairments or a social buddy app that connects people with and without disabilities. The work process is divided into four phases: Sensitisation and team building, co-design, prototype development and final presentation. At the beginning, the topics of inclusion and assistive technologies are introduced to ensure non-discriminatory collaboration. Students choose a project, define the goal together with the idea providers and develop solutions independently. Design thinking methods and creative techniques support them in conducting open dialogues and making decisions by consensus. Regular reflections in plenary sessions and presentations to experts promote the further development of the projects and provide space for constructive feedback. A particular focus is on the iterative further development of solutions, which are regularly evaluated with the idea providers to ensure acceptance and usability. Great emphasis is placed on cost-efficient design and sustainable implementation. The course offers students the opportunity to apply their theoretical knowledge in practice and develop skills in interdisciplinary teamwork, creative problem solving and project management. Close cooperation with external partners from business and science results in realistic solutions that have an impact beyond the course. Digital tools such as CAD for 3D modelling and virtual collaboration platforms are also used. Barrier-free learning environments with modern assistance technologies such as induction loops promote an inclusive way of working. INNklusion not only enables students to deal with the challenge of equal participation of people with disabilities, but also to make a socially relevant contribution to inclusion with their project.
Katharina Schmermbeck
Faculty: Faculty of Technical Sciences
Institute: Institute of Mechatronics / Production Engineering
Lecturer responsible for the course: Katharina Schmermbeck
Further lecturers: Samet Ersoysal, Oliver Ott, Lennart Ralfs, Robert Weidner
katharina.schmermbeck@uibk.ac.at
samet.ersoysal@uibk.ac.at
oliver.ott@uibk.ac.at
lennart.ralfs@uibk.ac.at
Under the Erasmus+ Blended Intensive Programme, an introductory but intensive 'field to lab' short study programme has been organised by the AURORA partner universities of Innsbruck, Naples and Iceland. The programme gives bachelor students from all three universities the opportunity to learn about the most important rock types in theory, in the field and in the laboratory. The course consists of a series of online seminars covering the different rock types and giving students an introduction to the geology of the field areas. The field trip in this edition of the course started in the Italian Alps, more precisely in the Dolomites, a World Heritage Site for the aesthetic value of its landscape and the scientific importance of its geology and geomorphology. The second part of the excursion took place in the Neapolitan area, where there are various Quaternary volcanic areas, most of which are currently active. The approach we want to take here is strongly focused on field activities, which are of paramount importance in the teaching of Earth Sciences disciplines. In the field, it is not only a matter of correctly identifying and handling a rock, but also of learning about its possible variability, the relationships between different rock types, the depositional environment and the general geological setting. However, many questions about rock composition and genesis cannot typically be answered by outcrop observations. Therefore, the field trips were complemented by short laboratory sessions in the evenings, where we worked on the same rocks we had observed during the day. We brought microscopes, thin sections and other equipment with us, bringing the laboratories into the field. After the excursion, the students prepare a final online seminar on a selected outcrop in small mixed groups from each partner university. The next edition of the course will take place in summer term 2025 and will include a field trip to Iceland.
Hannah Pomella
Faculty: Faculty of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
Institute: Institute of Geology, Institute of Mineralogy and Petrography
Lecturer responsible for the course: Hannah Pomella
Other lecturers: Peter Tropper, Diethard Sanders
hannah.pomella@uibk.ac.at
Peter.Tropper@uibk.ac.at
Diethard.G.Sanders@uibk.ac.at
In the course "Images-Media-Communication: Learning to Understand Ancient Sculptures", students professionally worked out the meaning of ancient statues and then presented the results to an interested non-university audience in the Archaeological University Museum. After the work placement, students should be able to deal with the topic of image-media communication, taking into account methodological aspects and current research trends. They should have mastered the subject matter, in this specific case ancient sculpture, have confidence in recognising connections and be able to contextualise and interpret the factual knowledge they have acquired and, in particular, pass it on to an interested (lay) audience in an understandable way. With regard to the latter point in particular, they should recognise which aspects of the content are of great importance to the respective specialist community, but may only be of secondary relevance to an interested public. Accordingly, a museum tour must be adapted in terms of content, structure, dramaturgy, sentence structure and choice of words. The ability to convey complicated facts clearly and concisely in free speech for target groups of different ages and levels of prior knowledge is particularly in demand outside the archaeological profession. However, this also seems to be an increasingly important qualification for future archaeologists, just think of approaching potential funding bodies and sponsors of your own research. In addition to academic knowledge and skills, this requires a high degree of social competence, i.e. empathy for the interests and knowledge of the audience and good communication skills. After the theoretical preparatory work, public guided tours "In dialogue with antiquity: making sculptures speak" were held on three dates in cooperation with the Archaeological Society of Innsbruck in the Archaeological University Museum, during which the students presented the exhibits they had been working on. The fact that they not only had to provide proof of achievement for the positive completion of a course, but also deliver a visible result in the context of communicating exhibits to "real" visitors to a museum, was a particular motivation, but of course also a particular challenge.
Erich Kistler
Faculty: Faculty of Philosophy and History
Institute: Institute of Archaeology / Archaeological University Museum
Lecturer responsible for the course: Erich Kistler
Further lecturers: Florian M. Müller, Daniel Haumer
Erich.Kistler@uibk.ac.at
daniel.haumer@uibk.ac.at
The 3M Microbial Material Matter course explored the integration of microbial materials, specifically SCOBY (Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast), into sustainable architectural design. This innovative seminar combined biology, material science, and design to foster interdisciplinary knowledge and creative problem-solving in the context of sustainable materials. Students developed hands-on experience with SCOBY cultivation, assessed its physical and mechanical properties, and used these findings to inform their design projects. The course began with a foundation in microbiology and material science, delivered through crash courses, lectures and discussions. This was followed by practical lab sessions, where students experimented with SCOBY, with a goal of creating a Material Library of standardised samples showcasing the material variety. Through their design studies the students were able to explore the SCOBY's material properties such as strength, translucency, flexibility, colour and integration with other materials. These findings were then shared for a collaborative learning. Students focused on applying the gained knowledge to their group final projects, where they designed their grown prototypes. During the semester internationally renowned critiques from various scientific disciplines were invited to join the course offering students a unique opportunity to enrich their projects with multiple perspectives and discussions. The course culminates in an exhibition, where students showcased their work, including prototypes, material library, portfolios, posters and lab books. The final presentation, with special guests from the field, was hosted in an intriguing format of a fashion show catwalk. The goal was to emphasise the relationship of their design with the human scale, highlighting both the functional and aesthetic possibilities of SCOBY-based materials. The outcomes of the course were exhibited through invitation during UIBK Sustainability Week 2024 "Mycelium & Beyond: Building with nature" and the 17th Action Day of the Young University. By combining theory, experimentation, and design, the course ensured students gain a comprehensive understanding of microbial materials, bridging the gap between science and architecture while addressing the urgent need for sustainable practices.
Barbara Imhof
Faculty: Faculty of Architecture
Institute: Institute for Experimental Architecture (Integrative/Design | EXTREMES)
Main responsible course leader: Barbara Imhof
Further lecturers: Natalia Piórecka, Judith Ascher-Jenull
Barbara.Imhof@uibk.ac.at
Natalia.Piorecka@uibk.ac.at
Judith.Ascher@uibk.ac.at
The Innsbruck architect Horst Parson (1953-2015) was convinced that architecture has an effect on society and people. Parson shaped the architectural and cultural landscape of the 1970s to 1990s in Tyrol, where architects such as Othmar Barth, Josef Lackner and Leopold Gerstel were working at the same time. They all taught at the newly founded Faculty of Architecture in Innsbruck. In the 1990s, Zehra Kuz and Kenneth Frampton coined the term "autochthonous architecture", to which they also categorised Parson's work. A time of new beginnings in Tyrol - and Parson as an important player beyond his architectural work: he gave numerous lectures, wrote theoretical writings, developed urban planning concepts and taught building theory at the University of Innsbruck (1979-1991). The estate of the architect Horst Parson can be found in the Archive for Building.Art.History and includes photographs, models, plans, furniture and extensive written material. The course focusses on the buildings as well as Parson's writings, the Tyrolean architectural scene, political and social contexts and the international trends of the time. The students were given the opportunity to research the archive and interview contemporary witnesses and colleagues. The next step involved visiting a selection of buildings in the Innsbruck area, where the students were able to interview the clients and users. Back in the archive, key topics were discussed and the theoretical writings analysed accordingly. In working groups, the students used participatory methods to develop an exhibition with originals and self-created materials, which was open to the public for two months in the Archive for Building.Art.History (https://www.uibk.ac.at/de/archiv-baukunstgeschichte/ruckblick/ruckblicke-2024/horst-parson-autochthon/). The exhibition ended with a discussion event with guests, which was very well attended. A co-operation with the association WuV. The topic was the current discussion about the conversion of one of Horst Parson's churches (Petrus Canisius) into a bouldering hall (https://www.uibk.ac.at/de/archiv-baukunstgeschichte/ruckblick/ruckblick-2025/kirche-klettern-und-kulturerbe/).
Vor zahlreichen interessierten Museumsbesucherinnen und -besuchern konnten die Studierenden kreativ ihre Ergebnisse präsentieren.
Vor zahlreichen interessierten Museumsbesucherinnen und -besuchern konnten die Studierenden kreativ ihre Ergebnisse präsentieren.
Hilde Strobl
Faculty: Faculty of Architecture
Institute: Archive for Building.Art.History
Main responsible course leader: Hilde Strobl
hilde.strobl@uibk.ac.at
A transparent, bilingual process (German and English) that communicated all essential information, including a timetable and the option to download the submission form with the judging criteria as a Word file in advance.
In order to address a possible gender bias in the awarding of prizes, three measures were taken in advance:
- The preliminary jury was supplemented by the Centre for Interdisciplinary Gender Studies Innsbruck (CGI) after appropriate consultation.
- The call for submissions was also advertised via the relevant mailing lists of the Office for Gender Equality.
- As usual, all submissions will be submitted to the jury for decision in anonymised form to ensure equal treatment.
Call for applications
In 2024, the University of Innsbruck will be awarding the "Lehreplus!" teaching prize to recognise excellence and innovation in university teaching. With this award, we recognise those teachers who not only impart knowledge through their work, but also proactively shape and tackle future challenges in society and education. We invite all teaching staff at the university to submit entries or nominate colleagues who have made outstanding achievements in the following areas:
- Teaching interdisciplinary skills (non-subject related skills or "future skills"): We are looking for teaching concepts that teach students not only subject-specific knowledge, but also non-subject related skills such as critical thinking, creativity, communication skills and digital skills.
- Promoting interaction between students and lecturers: Excellent teaching thrives on interaction. We recognise courses and teaching concepts that promote an intensive and constructive exchange between teachers and students and thus increase student engagement and learning success.
Application and selection procedure
Submission deadline: from May to 10 July 2024
Selection criteria: All submissions will be reviewed anonymously by a preliminary jury and ranked in a shortlist. Students will be interviewed about the shortlisted courses. The final prize is awarded in a high-calibre jury meeting.
Award ceremony: The award ceremony will take place at a festive event in November 2024. The winners will be notified in advance and invited to present their projects.
Tender start date: May 2024
End of the submission period: 10 July 2024
Structuring and review by a preliminary jury: August/September 2024
Survey of the students: October 2022
Jury meeting (final selection): Mid-November 2024
Award ceremony with ceremony: Wednesday, 8 January 2025 at 16:00 in the auditorium
- Silvia Rief (CGI)
- Gertraud Ladner (CGI)
- Lisa Pfahl (CGI)
- Bianca Gegenburger (VR Teaching and Students)
- Theresa Hohenauer-Todd (VR Teaching and Students)
- Marianne Prast (Office QS in Teaching)
- Karin Fröch (Office QA in Teaching)
- Christian Huemer (QA in Teaching Office)
- Philipp Umek (QA in Teaching Office)
All submissions will be reviewed by two randomly selected persons. Each person ranks the reviewed submissions and justifies the decision in favour of the three top-ranked submissions for the jury. A points system for the individual questions/categories is intended to help with the assessment, but it is up to everyone to decide whether they really want to use this as a guide or whether they prefer a more general, purely qualitative classification. The best-ranked submissions will be forwarded to the jury as a shortlist.
The Office for Quality Assurance in Teaching will be happy to answer any questions you may have: eval-lehre@uibk.ac.at