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Project Toolip − the toolbox for global digital learning
The German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) has awarded the HWR Berlin four years of funding for its digitalization project TOOLIP. TOOLIP is a digital toolbox for developing digital learning forms and establishing them in global practice.
What is Toolip about?
TOOLIP is the name of the planned package of measures developed by the Hochschule für Wirtschaft und Recht Berlin (HWR Berlin). This international digitalization project has been awarded four years of funding from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) amounting to around one million Euros. The acronym TOOLIP stands for »Toolbox for international, practice-oriented and digitally-supported teaching«.
Developing digital teaching and learning forms
Working together with international partner universities, the TOOLIP project team at the HWR Berlin is set to test new ways of digital teaching and learning. The project incorporates business case studies from partner companies to ensure that teaching and practice intertwine.
The building blocks of the project include:
01
Virtual Global Classrooms
This is what we call the virtual exchange and cooperation between the HWR Berlin and its international partner universities. Teaching staff from different universities join forces to enable students to work together internationally. The spectrum ranges from joint lectures to internationally mixed teams of students working virtually on a shared issue. In this way, students improve their language skills, build their intercultural competence and their ability to work in a team, and prepare themselves for their later everyday working lives, which increasingly take place in a global and digital world. Thanks to the virtual workspaces, students can also gain international experience who would otherwise not have the opportunity to spend time abroad.
02
Short-term mobility
Blended mobility formats: Two forms of short-term mobility add real encounters to virtual cooperation. Firstly, the Berlin International Week takes place once a year at the HWR Berlin. At this event, students of the HWR Berlin, together with students from partner universities, lecturers and international experts, dedicate themselves to a specific topic, which they work on interdisciplinarily in workshops, seminars, project papers, field trips and corporate talks. The focus of the Berlin International Week is on the topic of "Sustainability and Responsibility".
On the other hand, excursions enable students to travel to partner universities abroad or international students to visit the HWR Berlin. For example, students can work on, complete or present projects that were started digitally in global classrooms together on site. Project work, seminars, role plays, company visits and discussions on current business topics are all part of the programme. In addition, there are cultural offerings so that students not only get to know the working world of the other country, but also get to know the culture and people.
I would have thought that the whole trip would be more stressful and we wouldn't have much time to exchange ideas. It was super helpful that we could talk about our ideas in between. Getting out of the daily routine for a change. It's so inspiring!«
03
Scholarships for semesters and internships abroad
Students who have participated in a Virtual Global Classroom and/or short-term mobility often end up wanting more. The benefits of working together across national borders often outweigh the obstacles that prevent students from going on a longer exchange. If students decide to stay abroad for a longer period of time after participating in the TOOLIP programme, they can receive a scholarship. The International Office of the HWR Berlin is available to support them.
04
The toolbox includes formats, tools and methods
The approved formats, tools and methods are compiled by the project staff and partners in a digital toolbox. The box is continuously supplemented with practical tips and creative suggestions so that other departments at the HWR Berlin can also use it. The aim is to expand and consolidate digitalisation at the HWR Berlin and thus provide students with an optimal digital learning environment in order to make them fit for their future on many different levels.
At the end of the project, there will be a well-equipped toolbox that all interested parties can access to create more and better digital learning opportunities. This is because the format not only benefits students, but also the teaching staff and the university. Lecturers, just like students, expand their intercultural competence and learn to work together in international teaching teams. The HWR Berlin becomes more attractive for students and future international partners through a broad and innovative digital offer.
Toolip takes the internationalisation of the HWR Berlin to a new level. We involve international partner universities and partner companies and thus ensure the success of the practice-oriented projects.«
Take part and become a part of Toolip
Whether you are a student, a member of the teaching staff or a company − all are very welcome to take part in project TOOLIP and make their contribution to taking international digital teaching to the next level. Are you with us? Our TOOLIP coordinator Lina Nientimp is looking forward to hearing from you.
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Our Toolip partner universities
