Why HFU? Center for Teaching and Learning (ZLL)

High-quality education is our incentive

At Furtwangen University, we're passionate about providing students with the knowledge they are curious about, which will help them advance in their future careers and make them the sought-after specialists of tomorrow.

At HFU, we've set up our own Center for Teaching and Learning, which ensures that we live up to our quality standards and continue to develop them.

As one of the leading universities in Germany, HFU also stands for excellence in teaching. The scientifically sound, practice-oriented and innovative education and training at the highest level creates attractive learning conditions for students and a supportive environment for teachers. In order to ensure and develop this in the long term, teachers and students at Furtwangen University have adopted this mission statement for teaching. Internally, the mission statement provides orientation for the actions of university members, while externally it provides insight into the university's goals and values.

Teaching objectives

In teaching, the professors, lecturers and university management staff ensure that the learning objectives of the degree programmes are fully achieved. This is why the course content meets the latest academic standards, the learning environment is practical and the teaching methods are tailored and innovative.

Teaching offers space for critical and constructive discussions that are characterised by mutual appreciation. The family atmosphere at HFU, the close supervisory relationship and the direct approachability as further special features of the university promote this basic attitude. Teachers and students treat each other with mutual respect.

Studying at HFU is not only about acquiring professional skills, but also personal and social skills. As students and also as teachers, we strive for lifelong learning. At HFU, students can develop their individual personalities and prepare themselves for employment in business, society and science. At HFU, they find the necessary framework conditions for this − in the technical and spatial equipment as well as with the teaching staff. They have a wide range of professional experience and thus establish a link between the theoretical content and the students' later practical areas of work.
The education takes into account both the needs of the regional economy and the requirements of a globalised world. Teaching and the university promote the willingness to take responsibility for the sustainable development of human life.

Transfer is of the utmost importance for learning at HFU. At the end of their studies at HFU, students are in a position to put the knowledge they have acquired into professional practice. Graduates are valuable employees for companies and social institutions. They combine theoretical knowledge and practical implementation skills.

Research-based teaching staff take students to the limits of current knowledge and allow them to participate in the development of innovations. Interested graduates are inspired to work in research and development. The doctoral programme combines education and science. Graduates find a wide range of support at HFU for setting up their own companies.

HFU promotes international exchange and offers its students a stay at a partner university abroad. People from all over the world are welcome at HFU and are supported in their integration into their studies at HFU. The diversity of biographies and personalities of university members is accepted as an enrichment and consciously integrated into university life.

Learning and teaching

Learning is the goal of students who are preparing for their careers at HFU. The professors, lecturers and university management staff set the framework for this. They accompany students on their path to learning success and their careers and use their experience and expertise to create a wide range of learning opportunities that support both professional and personal development.

Learning and teaching at HFU demands a great deal of commitment and motivation, full concentration and curiosity, courage and the will to achieve from both teachers and students. This is how we jointly shape the university into a place of learning at HFU.

Since learning is always individual, students at HFU can take advantage of a variety of learning opportunities. Students receive a wide range of support and find people at HFU with whom they can discuss their learning and study situations.

At HFU as a place of learning, people come together with their different life paths and experiences and shape university life anew every day. The diversity of content and personnel is an important asset for the university.

Quality of teaching

The teaching staff develop the quality of teaching on the basis of this mission statement together at all levels − from the degree programme to the faculties to the university level. A high degree of permeability between the levels helps to work together on improvements. All members of HFU are involved − teaching staff, students and employees.

We conduct a self-critical and ongoing discussion about teaching quality. We value internal and external expertise in the design of degree programmes and in quality assurance, and involve practitioners from the respective professions.

Furtwangen University draws its strength from joint action at central level, where appropriate, and in decentralised units, where possible. The teaching staff and the university's organisational units have the necessary freedom of action to implement this mission statement adapted to their respective circumstances. Advice and monitoring at university-wide level provide support.

Teaching staff and the university's support services take up innovations in teaching and develop them themselves. These innovations are based on the latest results of educational research as well as new technical solutions. HFU supports teaching staff in their continuing education and students in their studies and makes it possible to combine work, teaching, studies and family life.

Teaching and learning at Furtwangen University is innovative, personal and practical. We work together every day to implement and further develop this goal.

Our Center for Teaching and Learning (ZLL)

The "Center for Teaching and Learning" (ZLL) is an academic institution of HFU founded in 2022. It bundles the diverse and extensive range of services to support teachers in the design and implementation of teaching and accompanies learners in a variety of ways as part of their student journey. The "Center for Teaching and Learning (ZLL)" aims to support an open, experimental, innovative and active teaching and learning culture at HFU.

Open The ZLL openly advocates an open teaching-learning culture towards different teaching and learning methods and forms. In an open teaching-learning culture, different teaching and learning methods coexist without prejudice and mutually benefit from shared critical and evidence-based discussion. In doing so, ZLL also shows openness in its organisation and integrates teachers with learners with the goal of openly discussing, designing and evaluating teaching and learning in a rapidly changing environment.

Experimental The ZLL provides access to good teaching in an experimental way. In doing so, the ZLL supports the testing of new teaching and learning formats and their joint reflection.

Innovative The ZLL has an innovative attitude towards findings from teaching-learning research and the practical implications of subject teaching methods, thus transferring new theoretical findings into teaching practice.

Active The ZLL encourages the active involvement of all interested teachers and learners and facilitates a broad exchange of experiences. The teaching and learning approaches that the ZLL will introduce to HFU in order to anchor, promote and continuously develop future-oriented teaching at HFU also play an activating role.

The diverse initiatives of the "Center for Teaching and Learning (ZLL)" address different interest and target groups within HFU.

Teaching staff The ZLL supports teaching staff in the development, implementation and further development of contemporary and innovative teaching.
Learners The ZLL supports learners through the various stages of the Student Journey, from the first semester to graduation.
Faculties The ZLL supports faculties in the (further) development of study and continuing education programmes.

Reflection space The ZLL provides all stakeholders with a reflection space for open exchange about experiences in teaching and learning, so that we can learn and benefit from each other thus together further developing HFU as a modern, attractive and leading university in the south-west.

Structure of Center for Teaching and Learning

As the youngest scientific body at HFU, ZLL is still developing. We have a clear idea of what we want to achieve − to support teachers and learners in the best possible way, to further develop teaching and learning concepts together with them, and support the exchange of experience.

The ZLL will work closely, not only with the directly addressed target groups, but also with the Information and Media Center and the Student Affairs Department at HFU.

Learning Services The Learning Services department has been successfully established for many years. Its innovative teaching and learning technologies and targeted support help our teachers to tailor their teaching to the needs of our students and the respective subject area.
Learning Support In the future, the ZLL would like to expand and make more visible the diverse counselling opportunities for learners that Learning Support offers. The initiatives, which are already actively used today, will be expanded, offering centralised yet personal counselling.
Learning Design The area of Learning Design is intended to support faculties and teachers in developing and testing new approaches to teaching and, if successful, to disseminate them widely. The aim is to establish the conscious design of teaching and learning at HFU and to support the acquisition of third-party funding in the field of modern teaching.

HFU Teaching prize

The HFU Teaching Prize is awarded to teachers of the university and aims to support qualitative, innovative teaching in a sustainable manner. Both professors and lecturers of HFU can be nominated for the prize.

The prize is awarded annually and the winner is decided by means of the following multi-step process:

Every semester students nominate courses for the HFU Teaching Prize.

Step 1: All students who attend the nominated course have the opportunity the evaluate the course using various criteria (topicality and quality of teaching content, innovative teaching approaches, supervision and support in the course, teacher's personality, teaching style).

Step 2: The courses which come out top in these student evaluations are then reviewed by a commission made up of internal and external advisors who select the winner using further criteria (learning outcomes, teaching concept, use of e-teaching elements, assessment of learning progress, diversity, sustainability).

Any course which has been awarded the HFU Teaching Prize is ineligible for nomination for the next 2 semesters. A course can only be awarded with the HFU Teaching Prize a maximum of 3 times.

The HFU Teaching Prize, which was initiated in the winter semester of 2014/2015 and is the successor to the HFU e-Teaching Award.

Quality assurance of our teaching

The quality of a study programme is confirmed through accreditation. Basically either the individual study programmes are accredited (programme accreditation), or the quality assurance system of the whole university (system accreditation). HFU decided upon the latter.

Certified study programmes

With its system accreditation the university proved to the Accreditation Council that it has a highly developed and effective quality management system. With this, the university can itself develop and certify study programmes which meet the European and national requirements of the the Standing Conference of the State Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs in Germany, the German Rectors' Conference and the Accreditation Council. The University is itself responsible for regularly checking and developing the study programmes. At HFU this is carried out by means of a complex peer review procedure with internal and external specialists with which all study programmes are regularly certified.

Pioneer

Furtwangen University was one of the first in Germany to take these steps. In 2020 it went one step further becoming one of the first universities again to introduce an alternative accreditation procedure with an Advisory Board model. The Quality Advisory Board of external members advises the University on its QMS on an ongoing basis. This is the most advanced form of quality assurance system at European universities.