Learning design at University of Technology Nuremberg

Have you ever felt anxious at the end of the semester due to the upcoming exams? Do you value close professional interactions with your professors and peers? Would you like to learn more effectively within a learning community?

If so, the UTN is the perfect place for you! Our innovative learning design, based on well-founded research, focuses on your active engagement and thoughtful reflection on your activities. This means that instead of facing a memorization marathon at the end of the semester, you will work on learning-oriented assignments throughout the term, receiving direct feedback from the teaching team on your activities. This regular and individualized feedback is a crucial part of your learning process.

We design Meaningful Learning Experiences that encourage you to make research-based decisions and use the knowledge gained to contribute to new academic initiatives.

Our teaching and learning concept

All courses have competency-based learning outcomes, which means they are designed to help you develop the knowledge and skills essential for your success. Our courses are based on these learning outcomes and developed collaboratively with the teaching teams, using innovative, digitally supported learning designs to promote active participation and engagement. We understand learning as a continuous, central process of our learning design.

What does that specifically mean? No traditional lectures! Instead, you’ll be expected and encouraged to participate actively and reflect on your learning! This will happen, among other things, through small course groups, individual feedback and new and diverse assessment methods. We will build on your existing academic knowledge and professional experience to support your further progress

Our courses combine online learning with in-person meetings. Don’t worry, you will never be left alone! During the online phase, you will receive constant guidance, instructions, and feedback from your teaching team.

Read the standards of Learning and Teaching at UTN here

Our competence-oriented examination system

You may be wondering what the assessment of your skills will look like when there is continuous assessment. UTN courses use several assignments for assessing and grading, e.g., oral conversations/oral exams or others spread throughout the semester.

Based on learning-oriented assignments

During the in-person meetings and online phases you are given various learning-oriented assignments on which you can directly apply your acquired knowledge, actively reflect on your actions and adapt them with the help of feedback from our lecturers. You will receive points for the learning-oriented assignments, which will be accumulated over the entire semester and will result in your final grade. As you can see, your assignments can be designed and structured quite differently.

For example, the learning-oriented assignments for your courses might look like this:

(Online) group discussions on a previously selected or assigned topic.

Reflective essays in which you analyze or explore the preceding discussions.

Practical individual or group work to apply the acquired knowledge.

Presentation of the results at the end of the course.

Based on a module final exam

Each course is divided into different learning units, called modules. At the end of each module, a final exam is required. However, instead of a traditional proctored exam, one of several learning-oriented assignments will be selected. Completing this assignment is necessary to earn your final grade. Depending on which assignment is chosen, you can start working on it during the semester.

You can read about all learning-oriented assignments in the General Study and Examination Regulations (ASPO) at any time. Please note that, as ASPO is only currently available in German, direct translations may not capture all details precisely due to language and cultural differences. For specific questions, we encourage you to reach out to stars stars@utn.de.

Our study program

To fit our teaching and learning concept, as well as our examination system into our study programs, we have also redesigned them. Basically, each study program is structured in the same way.

The Scientific Core is the heart of your study program and teaches you the basic knowledge of the subject. The number of modules varies from program to program. This is followed by three Specialization Modules that build on the Scientific Core.

The Interdisciplinary Track includes several modules that can be chosen from different subjects such as Design, Social Sciences, Ethics / Philosophy, Law or Economy / Business Studies.

The Key Competencies consist of a mandatory base module and two additional modules. The basic module includes the topics of good scientific practice, project management, and communication, which should form the basis for and support your Learning in Transformation Project. You can choose two additional modules from our elective offer, fitting to your studies or personal interests. Detailed information on the key competencies can be found in our fact sheet: Download PDF-file

‘Learning in Transformation’ is a student research project at UTN that runs over 2 semesters. Together with a project group, you will learn to use a science-based approach to solve real-world problems that exist in, for example, industry, society, and politics. Projects can be set up as an interdisciplinary module or focus on a specific research problem within one discipline. Every year, different project topics will be offered that you can choose from. An important part of this module is the transformation process. You will learn how to think and communicate across two different settings: you use your scientific knowledge (study setting) and apply it to the research problem (e.g., research setting or a non-university setting). In doing so, you will have to regularly reflect and re-think to check whether your approach works in the field. At the end, you transfer your knowledge gained from this into new research. The outcome of the project can also be, for example, a paper at a conference or the start of a start-up company. The project encourages you to creatively apply your knowledge including hands-on learning experiences.

You complete your studies with your master’s thesis, which consists of the final paper, a colloquium and final oral defense.

Digital LEAD (Learning Experience & Active Design) Lab

Still have questions? Then contact our Digital LEAD Lab! We are constantly developing our learning designs in cooperation with our teaching teams and you, our students!

lead-lab@utn.de