On April 24, 2025, it was that time again: the eTeach network team spent a whole day away from the digital space to get together in person again. This time, the meeting took place on the green, rain-soaked campus of Schmalkalden University of Applied Sciences with a view of beautiful woods and meadows.
The working day began with a series of warm welcomes from Tim Wilke, the university's contact point, Prof. Uwe Hettler, Vice President for Studies and International Relations at Schmalkalden University of Applied Sciences, and Prof. Cordula Borbe, Vice President of Studies and Teaching at Nordhausen University of Applied Sciences and Head of the eTeach Strategy Council, who, together with the other university administrators, are always there to support us as an eTeach network.
With this sign of good cooperation, we began our work in the areas of AI, testing and Moodle. In the area of AI, we are currently working on the creation of an AI guideline and a comprehensive train-the-trainer concept for the certification of AI training courses.
At Moodle, handouts for creating accessible learning spaces are being designed and the Examination working group is focusing on a survey on dealing with examinations in the age of AI. The Communication working group also presented a video concept to make new results more visible.
After the lunch break, Tim Wilke gave us a guided tour of the campus with a wealth of knowledge about the history and organization of the university. We weren't the only ones to go into raptures about all the greenery around us - the people of Schmallkalden also affectionately call their home Schmallorca, Schmallediven or Schmalifornien.
On our tour, we were also given an insight into two highlights: In an inconspicuous room was a sleep laboratory with a night driving simulation, in which a converted small car wired with the appropriate technology was ready for test drives. During the presentation of the Student Research Center of the STEM Initiative of the Thuringian Foundation for Technology, Innovation and Research (STIFT), the workshop full of materials with countless experiment boxes and robot kits made us want to do some spontaneous tinkering.
The many sports facilities directly on campus seemed striking and very practical. Between the canteen, library and teaching buildings, a soccer pitch beckoned, but unfortunately we didn't have time for a match. Instead, after the campus tour, we took plenty of time to plan the dialog workshop and came a lot closer to the concrete concept in lively discussions.
As important as the weekly online routines are, the regular exchange in face-to-face form remains essential, which we as a team enjoyed very much once again, also thanks to Tim Wilke's dedicated organization. And speaking of green: a group photo in front of the green screen also popped up on our campus tour.
We are looking forward to the next face-to-face meeting in mid-July, when we will see Martin Groß at Nordhausen University of Applied Sciences and are excited to see what awaits us here.
