Better would be better: learning places  [12.07.22]

Are you and your study group looking for an undisturbed spot? How about a cozy session outdoors? Effective immediately, a shed at the Agricultural Experiment Station on the golden field (near the residence hall Schwerzstraße / Egilolfstraße) with beer table set & flipchart is available for booking for students. Other outdoor learning locations will follow shortly. The Online Courier summarizes what else is going on in terms of learning spaces in a current "Besser wär besser" (Better would be better) article.

In the "Better would be better" series, you vote for suggestions for improvement in the Online Courier. The editors ask the responsible contact persons for a response. Today: "More learning areas away from the library". You can vote on the next topics.

The suggestion:

"Often when you are on campus for a face-to-face event and then have an online event, there is not enough time. For this, small rooms for one to two students to talk in would be helpful."

The response:

 Too few group learning spaces are an issue that weighs on the minds of many Hohenheim students - and not just since the pandemic. The university is therefore looking for short-term and longer-term solutions. Here is an overview of what is happening!

1. NEW: Outdoor learning locations

 Shortly before the start of the exam season, the pilot project "Outdoor Learning" will start. A total of 3 spots will be set up this summer, each of which you can book for 2 hours via ILIAS (using the tile "Learning Spots"). You can choose between:

"Green classroom" (bookable now)

• Location: Barn of the Agricultural Experiment Station Agricultural Sciences with a view of meadows, the teaching garden and the "Golden Field". Location: End of Turmallee, near the residence hall Schwerzstraße / Egilolfstraße (see map picture gallery below). The barn is shady and dry.
• Equipment: Behind the sliding door on the side there are beer tables and beer benches for 8 people as well as a flipchart (without pens). WiFi and electricity is not available.
• Impressions: see picture gallery

Learning location "Wilhelm" & "Katharina" (bookable soon)

• Location: Two lockable garden houses with basic equipment for your learning session. "House Wilhelm" will be placed in the garden of the Dean's Office of the Faculty of Natural Sciences (Garbenstr. 13), "House Katharina" at the Kavaliershäuser between the Palace and the parking lots (Fruwirthstr. 35): see map picture gallery below
• Special feature: After booking via ILIAS you first pick up the key at the Central Library and then bring it back there. Requirement: library account
• Equipment: two hexagonal camping tables each, which are well suited for group work, 12 chairs, 1 flipchart & 10 markers. WiFi access points are located nearby (on-site reception strength has yet to be tested).

Please be mindful of everything and don't take anything with you!

If the new outdoor learning spaces are popular, the pilot project may be expanded next season. You have suggestions for additional locations, additional equipment, or other comments and questions? Or something is missing? Then send an email to: outdoorlernen@uni-hohenheim.de

The outdoor learning sites are financed by the University of Hohenheim with funds from the Ministry of Science (#CatchUp).

2. In preparation: New equipment in the Departmental Library

Thanks to a generous donation of €75,000 from Honorary Senator Carl Herzog von Württemberg († June 7, 2022), the university will be able to re-equip some of the learning spaces in the Departmental Library in the coming months.

Two new meeting cabins are planned for the upper floor, where groups of 4 can study together undisturbed with electricity and WiFi. In addition, the old individual learning stations ("metal carrels") are to be replaced by modern models.

Tip: The existing learning spaces in the Central and Departmental Library are usually not fully occupied at the moment. So it is worthwhile to drop by! There are also seven group study rooms available in the Central Library.

3. Alternatives: Mensa & TMS

Outside of meal times, you can also use the dining rooms of the Mensa for your study group. The university has rented the rooms from Student Services for this purpose for another year. Times of use: Monday through Friday 8 - 11 a.m. and Monday through Thursday 2 - 5 p.m.

The Thomas-Müntzer-Scheuer (TMS) also serves as a meeting place for students and is also good for studying during the day. The student café provides you with coffee, tea, and drinks. The TMS is administrated by the student body.

4. Outlook: Learning Center in the Palace

In the West Wing of the Palace (near the Mensa) a new learning center with about 120 study places will be established in the future. However, an exact date for this has not yet been set.

Background: Actually, the learning center was to have been finished long ago. However, the State Office for Property and Construction, which is responsible for construction measures on campus, is currently experiencing long delays. The reasons include delivery bottlenecks, a shortage of skilled workers, and bureaucratic hurdles.

Since there is an acute shortage of space on campus, various construction measures are also directly interdependent. This means that if something is delayed in one place, construction cannot continue in another.

The learning center is a prime example of this: At the moment, the planned rooms still contain laboratories and offices. The labs were supposed to move to the new crop lab building a long time ago, and the offices were supposed to move to the old phytomedicine building. However, KIM staff members are temporarily housed there until the new campus area in the Steckfeldstraße is ready for occupancy.

In the Steckfeldstraße, the university already acquired a former conference hotel in 2016 with the help of donations to alleviate the lack of space on campus. However, the conversion into modern office space is proving much more complex than originally thought due to fire safety regulations and necessary IT infrastructure.

The result: delays in numerous construction projects on campus - including the learning center.

5. New Ideas: "Campus of the Future | Campus as Learning Space"

Despite all the challenges, the university continues to look for short-, medium- and long-term ideas to further develop the campus as a place for learning.

As part of the "Teaching 2030" strategy project under the director of the Vice President for Academic Affairs, a new working group entitled "Campus of the Future | Campus as a Learning Space" was established for this purpose this summer semester. Students and lecturers from all faculties as well as other employees from other areas are involved.

The working group is to provide impulses for concrete measures, e.g. for the continuation of the pilot project "Outdoor Learning".

Text: Leonhardmair | Photos: Schmid | Translation: Neudorfer