Eight teaching projects from 48 submissions will receive eTeach funding in 2026
The eTeach Network Thuringia has selected a total of eight particularly compelling projects for the 2026 funding year that provide new impetus for the digital transformation of university teaching. With 29 applications submitted for eTeach free spaces and 19 applications for cooperative impulse projects this year's funding round achieved an impressive response - a clear sign of the continuing high level of innovation among teachers at Thuringian universities.
The diversity and quality of the concepts submitted shows how committed and creative teachers in Thuringia are in developing digital and hybrid learning formats. All of the ideas submitted are evidence of great creative drive, interdisciplinary thinking and the aspiration to prepare students for their future professional roles in the best possible way.
The following will be funded in the coming year Three cooperative impulse projects and five eTeach open space projectswhich make a special contribution to transfer, the further development of digitally supported teaching and cross-university cooperation.
Cooperative impulse projects 2026
The Cooperative impulse projects connect teachers across subject and university boundaries. They enable curricula to be rethought, innovative examination formats to be tested and interdisciplinary learning environments to be designed. The funded teams address both technological and didactic challenges and develop solutions that can be used by many universities.
On-Campus Automated Assessment Suite (OCAAS)
Gera-Eisenach Cooperative State University & University of Jena
A team around Prof. Dr.-Ing. Falk Liebold and Prof. Dr. Holger Cartarius is developing a Moodle-based system for Continuous competence diagnosis in STEM degree programs. Instead of a few summative exams, OCAAS offers regular, structured feedback via an interactive skills dashboard.
The tool extends Moodle to include complex types of scientific tasks and helps students to track their learning progress transparently. Teachers benefit from anonymized learning progress data to better target their formats.
AI tutor in project-based teaching (KI-TuProL)
FH Erfurt & University of Erfurt
Under the direction of Prof. Rolf Kruse and Dr. Hasnain Bokhari a digital AI tutorwhich accompanies students in project-oriented teaching settings. The aim is to use AI tools in a reflective, responsible way so that they contribute to learning rather than replacing it.
The project combines didactic concepts of AI literacy with technological assistance and evaluates the tutor directly in real courses.
MI(N)Tmachen! - Students design learning opportunities for elementary school
University of Erfurt & TU Ilmenau
An interdisciplinary project team around Dr. Dagmar Brand and Dr.-Ing. Stefan Griebel develops practical, digital and analog learning materials for primary school lessons. Lego Education, Circuit Cubes and interdisciplinary approaches are used to create OER materials that promote early STEM education and at the same time provide student teachers with practical qualifications.
The project creates sustainable synergies between subject didactics, technology and school requirements.
>>> Click here to go to the main page of the cooperative impulse projects
eTeach open space projects 2026
The eTeach free space-funding directly supports teachers in the further development of their courses, in the production of materials and in the use of new tools and methods. The five selected projects show how targeted microinnovation can change teaching in the long term.
Water & Wastewater Teaching Toolbox
Ernst Abbe University of Applied Sciences Jena - Prof. Dr.-Ing. Paul Engelke
Following a successful first project phase, the digital teaching toolkit is now being expanded to include the topic of Waste water treatment expanded. The toolbox combines self-study units, video formats and H5P activities for internationally oriented environmental engineering courses and offers maximum flexibility through linguistically adaptable and modularly structured content.
Digitally supported teaching in sensor technology
Ernst Abbe University of Applied Sciences Jena - Prof. Dr. Alexander Richter
This project expands teaching in sensor technology to include modern digital elements that facilitate access to complex measurement principles. Digital tools and materials are intended to better illustrate practical examples and enable students to learn from any location.
Digital exercises for stochastics
University of Applied Sciences Erfurt - Dipl.-Math. Anja Haußen
With the Moodle plugins STACK and JSXGraph new, interactive and randomized stochastics tasks are created.
Students receive individual feedback and use visualizations to better understand challenging mathematical content. Computer science students in particular benefit, as statistics is a cornerstone of AI applications.
AI flashcards for IT security
Schmalkalden University of Applied Sciences - Prof. Dr. Ralf C. Staudemeyer
A digital card index box supports students in learning key IT security content independently. AI-supported mechanisms are designed to adaptively accompany learning behavior and promote learning strategies.
GELiFEM - Gamified e-learning for finite element methods
TU Ilmenau - Dr.-Ing. Stefan Griebel
The project extends existing FEM learning opportunities with gamified quiz elements and role-play scenarios in iSpring. Students improve their analysis and problem-solving skills through immediate feedback - independent of time and place via Moodle.
>>> Click here to go to the main page of the eTeach open space projects
Outlook
The projects funded in 2026 impressively demonstrate the extent to which the Innovative strength of the Thuringian university landscape in the field of digital teaching. From AI-supported learning guides and formative skills diagnostics to gamified engineering tools, international teaching kits and early STEM support approaches, the range of topics that teachers have driven forward this year.
What all projects have in common is the aim of providing better support for students, making learning processes more transparent and embedding modern technologies into university teaching in a meaningful way. The diversity of approaches - from mathematics, computer science and technology to subject didactics, environmental and security issues - underlines how broadly digital education is now anchored in Thuringia.
2026 will once again show how creatively and future-oriented teachers in Thuringia are working on the further development of learning and teaching and how diverse the impulses are that flow from Thuringia into the nationwide discussion on digital university teaching.
