KLUGER Education Team at the IEEE EDUCON 2024

Frank Dieball and team present their teaching methods and research findings at the international conference in Greece

In May, the team from the KLUGER Transfer research project - Education sub-project participated in the IEEE EDUCON Conference 2024. The event, organized by the IEEE Education Society, provided a platform for the exchange of innovative ideas and best practices in the field of engineering and science. Frank Dieball, research assistant at H-BRS, and his student assistants Florian Bahl and Philipp Kruppe represented the KLUGER Transfer research project on the island of Kos (Greece) and presented their interesting approaches to student-centered teaching.

KLUGER Transfer Lehre - Frank Dieball und Team bei der EDUCON 2024

The IEEE EDUCON 2024 Conference

The 15th IEEE EDUCON (IEEE Global Engineering Education Conference) conference, organized by the University of Piraeus, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and the University of Western Attica, gathered academic leaders, university professors, STEM teachers, government representatives and industry partners from around the world from May 8-11. With over 400 participants from 57 countries, the conference offered a diverse mix of keynote speeches, workshops and paper sessions. The event took place in Kos, an island known for its cultural tradition and natural beauty.

KLUGER Teaching in front of an international audience

KLUGER employee Frank Dieball presented the student project developed as part of KLUGER Transfer and the associated teaching module, with the help of which sustainability-relevant content on the topics of “Indoor Air Quality” and “Thermal Comfort” from the basic research of the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry (MPIC) was taught to students at the Bonn-Rhein-Sieg University of Applied Sciences (H-BRS) in a skills-effective manner. His presentation was part of the session “Student-centered learning environments” and was aimed at an international audience interested in innovative teaching methods and knowledge transfer.

KLUGER Transfer Lehre - Philipp Kruppe und Frank Dieball bei der EDUCON 2024

Philipp Kruppe and Frank Dieball at EDUCON 2024

Innovative teaching methods and didactic concepts

In his presentation, Frank Dieball emphasized the special features of the designed student project, which conveys content from the MPIC's basic research. In order to promote the acquisition of skills, a three-week project was designed to run alongside the semester, in which the content from the MPIC's basic research taught in an accompanying seminar could be applied practically by the students.

Procedure of the KLUGER student project

The student project is divided into three thematic units: Firstly, the design of the exhaust air system, secondly, the data collection (including CO2, aerosols, temperature and humidity) and finally, the analysis of the collected data in relation to indoor air quality and thermal comfort.

Study design and research results

In terms of research methodology, the student project is based on the design-based research approach. This approach aims to iteratively improve teaching practice and at the same time advance theory development through empirical approaches. Specifically, the project and seminar were empirically accompanied by means of online surveys and observations. As the results of the empirical approaches diverged, didactic optimization options were developed on the basis of these findings. These optimizations are already being tested and evaluated in the current follow-up project. For example, the content of the accompanying seminar is now taught during the project weeks and the MPIC researchers are more closely involved in the evaluation of the students' interim and final results.

Conclusions and outlook

Participating in IEEE EDUCON 2024 was a valuable opportunity for the KLUGER teaching team to present their research and methods to an international audience. The insights and feedback gained will help to further improve the KLUGER elective and refine didactic practice. The dedicated collaboration between researchers and students once again demonstrates the importance of innovative teaching methods and their impact on the quality of education.

The aim of the “KLUGER Transfer” research project is to develop and test new methods and instruments for institutionalized transfer cooperation between non-university research institutions (AUF) and universities of applied sciences (HAW) using the example of global climate and environmental change and the associated effects. The project supports interdisciplinarity in research and investigates transfer formats that bring basic research to the public in order to develop it further.