Strategic goals

The allocation of QIFs has proven very successful in improving and further developing study and teaching conditions overall at the University of Münster. The measures focus on promoting active learning through innovative teaching and learning formats, expanding the course offerings in degree programmes that have high student enrolment, and enriching smaller degree programmes with interdisciplinary courses. In addition, partial funding is available for developing needs-based student advice services and digitalising teaching activities.

In particular, quality-enhancing improvements can be continuously achieved in the areas of “support and advice”, “learning conditions”, “practical relevance” and “promotion of (digital) teaching”.

Improving student support and advice

Various support and advice services allow the University to personalise teaching activities and support students, especially in the early stages of their studies. For example, financing additional research/student assistants and expanding tutorials and mentoring programmes result in more intensive support for new students (e.g. the Learning Centers and Math Treff in the Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science, and the writing workshop in the Department of Philosophy). This especially benefits first-year students and helps them get off to a good start at the beginning of their studies, which in turn promotes their continued academic success. QIFs are another essential component in ensuring that students are well-supported.

Improving learning conditions

To create better learning conditions, for example, library opening hours are extended into the evenings and weekends. In addition, the number of study carrels and workstations in learning laboratories, media rooms and libraries has been increased. Book and journal holdings in the libraries have also been expanded and supplemented by the continuous acquisition of specialist literature. The purchase of further licences and databases and the use of material and investment funds for better technical equipment and furnishings also help improve learning conditions. In laboratories, media rooms, classrooms and seminar rooms, the learning conditions are optimised through upgraded equipment. Some current examples include the modernisation and reorientation of laboratory practical courses in the Faculty of Physics or the purchase of CPR training models in the Faculty of Biology.

Strengthening practical relevance

The introduction of additional practice-oriented course formats enables students in individual faculties to gain a better understanding of the practice-relevant aspects of their future profession. For example, funding is used to finance additional work placements with a focus on research-based teaching. In addition, the University holds practice-oriented events (e.g. the X-Ray Days of the Faculty of Medicine), and excursions are subsidised. In this context, courses that teach key practical skills complement the more theoretical expertise related to a professional occupation (e.g. business English courses and business games in the Faculty of Economics, the teaching hospital of the Faculty of Medicine).

Promoting (digital) teaching formats

QIFs support teaching in many ways. The provided funding helps the University develop and implement new teaching concepts (e.g. the PharMSchool of the Faculty of Chemistry and Pharmacy and the Unirep online portal in the Faculty of Law), which have garnered recognition even outside the University. In recent years, this has resulted in efforts to expand digital instruction and integrate digital and hybrid teaching and learning formats into university degree programmes.

These measures are continuously improved and offer both students and instructors opportunities to draw on a wide range of teaching formats and materials and to track teaching progress individually. Of course, the projects mentioned above can be assigned to multiple categories. The assignment to specific categories was only done to make the stated objectives more transparent.