Nachricht

More than 100 invited guests from academia and schools attended the grand opening of the Center of Excellence "University didactics in Mathematics" (KHDM) which is supported by both the Universities of Kassel and Paderborn at the University of Paderborn.

The center is headed by Prof. Dr. Rolf Biehler (University of Paderborn) and Prof. Dr. Reinhard Hochmuth (University of Kassel). Within the frame of the initiative "Bologna - the future of teaching" the Mercator Foundation and the Volkswagen Foundation have provided approximately one million Euros to fund this center which is also supported by the administrations of both universities as well as the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Computer Science and Mathematics at the University of Paderborn and the Department of Mathematics and Natural Sciences at the University of Kassel.

As one of only three centers funded by this initiative in Germany the center will make an important contributution to improving teaching in mathematics. It is also intended to "bridge the gap between mathematics and didactics", as emphasized by Dr. Nikolaus Risch, President of the University of Paderborn in his opening speech. According to him the cooperation which has evolved over a considerable period of time "paving the way for students to approach mathematics, enjoy studying it and successfully complete it."

According to Prof. Dr. Alexander Roßnagel, vice presiden of the University of Kassel, the new center will make an important contribution to ensure sound teaching despite extremely high nomuber of students. This is particularly important because "mathematics is a basic science subject essential to natural and engineering sciences as well as social and economic sciences". Often it is a much dreaded subject which many students fail. Thus, the development of didactics fitted to the specific purpose should be the objective of the center, enabling students to enjoy the independent study of their subjects. The project "Situated acquisition of mathematical knowledge in the engineering sciences" was presented on a poster by the GET Lab.

Prof. Dr. Dorothee M. Meister, Vice President of Teaching, Studies and Quality Management at the University of Paderborn stressed in her opening speech that university didactics are not a service to ease studying, but that by now it is an independent science. The University of Paderborn ist proud to have receive this recognition in university didactics. Raising these funds was due to many years of preparation by both universities, focussing on the development of didactics.

The funding institutions, i.e. the Mercator Foundation and the Volkswagen Foundation also regard the opening of the Center of Excellence as a milestone, says Dr. Gudrun Tegeder who was responsible for the announcement of this program at the Volkswagen Foundation. She also states:" The objective is the scientifically sound development of study programs and curricula" to improve the stuyability of mathematics as well as the mobility of students.

Prof. Dr. Hans Dietz, Dean of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, emphasized that despite large numbers of students the university is committed to the quality of teaching. "We have to balance between getting all these students through their study programs while guaranteeing excellent quality". Thus, the faculty is proud about the founding if the Center of Excellence while being aware of the expectations and responsibilities.

The importance of sound didactics in mathematics, especially early in the study program was also stressed by Prof. Dr. Rüdiger Raust, vice dean of the Department of Mathematics and Natural Sciences at the University of Kassel. Mathematics is a fundamental subject; in his own field of specialty there are more than 20 study programs based on mathematics. Given this, the new center is an important step towards further consolidating didactics that are well-established at both universities.

Photo (Universität Paderborn, Martin Decking): Happy about the successful start of the Center of Excellence "University didactics in Mathematics" : Prof. Dr. Nikolaus Risch, president of the University of Paderborn, Prof. Dr. Rolf Biehler, head of the Center of Excellence at the University of Paderborn, Prof. Dr. Hans Dietz, dean of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Computer Science and Mathematics at the University of Paderborn, Prof. Dr. Dorothee M. Meister, vice president of Teaching, Studies and Quality Management at the University of Paderborn, Dr. Gudrun Tegeder, VolkswagenStiftung, Hannover, Prof. Dr. Alexander Roßnagel, vice president of the University of Kassel, Prof. Dr. Rüdiger Faust, vice dean of the Department of Mathematics and Natural Sciences at the University of Kassel, Prof. Dr. Reinhard Hochmuth, head of the Center of Excellence at the University of Kassel.

Photo (Universität Paderborn, Martin Decking): Approx. 100 guests attended the opening of the Center of Excellence "University didactics in Mathematics".

Further informationen:

www.khdm.de