Call for Contributions zur Strategiekonferenz „Transforming Higher Education in a Digital Age“

Im Rahmen der internationalen Strategiekonferenz „Strategies Beyond Borders - Transforming Higher Education in a Digital Age“ am 9. und 10. Dezember 2019 in Berlin bietet sich die Möglichkeit, einerseits Erfahrungen aus der HFD- und der DAAD-Community mit einer internationalen Hochschulöffentlichkeit zu diskutieren und andererseits internationale Perspektiven und Beispiele guter Praxis noch stärker in Deutschland sichtbar zu machen.

Mit einem Call for Contributions bitten die Veranstalter und Veranstalterinnen um Beiträge zur Strategiekonferenz. Vorzugsweise in englischer Sprache, können Abstracts mit maximal 500 Wörtern, bzw. einer Länge von 2 Seiten eingereicht werden. Inhaltlich soll diesen klar entnommen werden können, weshalb das beschriebene Thema eine strategische Relevanz für Hochschulen und Bildungsinstitutionen darstellt. Mögliche Formate sind Präsentationen (30 Minuten), Live-Demos von Bildungstechnologien und -szenarien (30 Minuten), Workshops (90 Minuten) und Poster-Sessions. Auch die Möglichkeit einer Barcamp-Session bietet sich während der Konferenz. Die Abstracts können über das Formular auf der Webseite des Hochschulforums Digitalisierung eingereicht werden. Alle angenommenen Einreichungen werden anschließend publiziert.

Es wird um Einreichungen zu folgenden Themenkomplexen gebeten:

1) Governance, Policy & Strategies

Digitalisation is a major strategic task for higher education institutions and higher education policy. Suitable strategic approaches are therefore needed at institutional, regional, national and european level. Higher education institutions must revise existing strategies, develop new ones and tackle comprehensive change processes. including all status groups and defining new ways of strategic cooperation is of particular importance in this context. Contributions to this cluster should focus on overarching higher education strategies and identify transferable approaches that provide new impetus for innovative strategies and structures.

2) Networks & Collaboration

The strategic further development of HEIs is generally increasingly characterised by networks and new forms of collaboration between institutions. The digital transformation of higher education is at the same time creating new opportunities and more innovative approaches to collaborate, often also in virtual environments. Contributions to this cluster should focus on novel and strategically relevant forms of collaboration between institutions or introduce networks in which digitisation plays a major role.

3) Infrastructure & Interoperability 

One particular field of action for shaping digital transformation is the existence of a modern technical infrastructure: Beyond comprehensive broadband connections and well-functioning Wifi equipment, the availability of modern hardware and software solutions is crucial for innovative teaching and learning. At the same time, infrastructures can increasingly be set up based on open standards and in partnerships of different stakeholders. The interoperability of digital solutions needs to be another focus of attention. Contributions to this cluster should identify strategically relevant infrastructure measures or transferable approaches and standards to enhance the openness and interoperability of digital solutions.

4) Innovation in Teaching & Learning

The digital transformation of higher education particularly means the promotion of innovative teaching and learning scenarios at higher education institutions. This requires clear strategic measures to support innovation and value the work of academic teachers. This includes aspects such as personnel development, incentive systems, appropriate communication that promotes innovation, but also an overarching innovation culture at universities. Contributions to this cluster should show how higher education institutions have strategically strengthened innovation in teaching and learning and/or show cross-university approaches to strengthening innovation and digitalisation in teaching and learning.

5) Skills & Curricula

Students attending higher education expect to acquire skills and knowledge that will empower them through personal and professional development to succeed in their future life. The strategic (further) development of higher education thus is always connected to the development of skills that students (and staff) need for the digital age. In particular, this means imparting appropriate cross-sectional and subject-specific skills. The implementation of future (digital) skills is therefore basically a question of new and innovative approaches towards curriculum development. HEIs and professors must be supported in this by their respective institutions in a sustainable manner. Contributions to this cluster should focus on such new approaches to curriculum development and skills for the digital age.

6) Student Perspectives

Students are the central target group of higher education institutions. Nevertheless, they are often still too little involved in strategic processes and rarely valued as changemakers and crucial experts. The #DigitaleChangemaker initiative of HFD has shown how valuable student contributions can be in the context of the digital transformation of higher education. Contributions to this cluster should accordingly focus on the perspective of students, either through student contributions or through the presentation of innovative and transferable approaches to student participation as digital changemakers at universities.