Professor Rüdiger von Nitzsch
Dean of Academic Affairs at the School of Business and Economics, RWTH Aachen University
Should we return to full live courses after the pandemic, continue to offer online-only teaching, or do hybrid teaching?
We will undoubtedly combine the best of both worlds. Large teaching formats will be accompanied and enhanced by many virtual elements that can also be well supported online. Smaller courses and events with active student participation, including presentations, should be held in person, although virtual elements will be integrated here as well.
Which teaching formats would you like to see online, which ones in personal settings?
Formats that use small films to teach content that is then applied in additional elements or discussed in groups.
Your vision: What should the successor model of a traditional lecture look like that integrates research and "doing" (no matter whether in presence or online)?
Before one conducts research and "does", some content must always be taught beforehand. In this respect, I find it difficult to speak of a "successor model" here. We always needs both.
Will lecturers still be needed in ten years' time or will AI/robots be enough to keep teaching?
I cannot and would not like to imagine teaching without human instructors, even if virtual support may become increasingly comprehensive and intelligent with time.
A number of demands are coming from industry and society as to what universities should include in their curricula in the future. If studies are not to be extended, one must also ask what we will no longer need in the future. Do you have any suggestions?
We can concentrate even more on teaching sophisticated, methodical knowledge and perhaps dispense with some factual knowledge, some of which is also short-lived or easy to look up. But our department is already moving in this direction anyway.