Funding for innovative, digital teaching projects

Project Leader:
Mag. Angelika Bernsteiner, MA MA PhD, Post-Doc, Institute of Physics, Department of Physics Education

Motivation/Background:
The digital transformation and societal challenges call for science teaching that goes beyond subject-specific content. Teachers need the skills to design socially relevant and digitally-driven learning processes. This requires learning opportunities within teacher training programmes in which digital tools can be used reflectively as part of authentic research processes (Sjöström, 2025; Thoms et al., 2022). Youth Participatory Science (YPS) (Morales-Doyle & Frausto, 2021) provides a suitable framework for this: as researchers, students tackle socially relevant questions whilst actively applying scientific methods and digital tools. This combines subject-specific learning, an understanding of science, digital skills and social participation.

Objective:
Such a YPS concept has so far been lacking in teacher training programmes (Rüschenpöhler et al., in review). The project therefore aims to develop and pilot a digitally integrated YPS teaching concept within the physics teacher training programme, one that can be transferred to other subjects. The grant enables the implementation of the project, the development of reusable materials, and the evaluation and dissemination of the results.

The aim is to further develop students’ understanding of the aims and functions of physics teaching in the digital age and in the context of the multitude of current societal challenges. The focus is on the topic of ‘Public lighting in Graz’ as a societal challenge, which is being examined scientifically from various perspectives (safety, health, energy consumption). Digital media such as sensors, KoboToolbox, Open Data, QGIS and tools for science communication are utilised throughout the entire research process.

Documentation of results:
The teaching concept developed will be integrated into the course ‘Societal Challenges in Physics Teaching’ and continuously refined. The teaching and learning materials are published via the University of Graz’s OER portal. The concept is flexible and can be adapted to various topics such as heat, biodiversity, mobility or flood risk. 

Project team:
Dr Sarah Feierabend, Research Associate, Lecturer, Department of Early Years Education, Project Lead
Ass.-Prof. Dr Eva Pölzl-Stefanec, Head of the Department of Early Years Education, Project team member
Dr Martin Stefanec, Research Fellow, Artificial Life Lab, Institute of Biology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Project team member
Nikoleta Ntola, M., Research Fellow, Department of Early Years Education, Project team member

Motivation/Background:
Generative AI tools are transforming teaching and presenting educators with challenges such as loss of control, ‘cognitive offloading’ and ‘deskilling’, whilst also offering potential for skills development. Concrete strategies for responsible use are needed, as teachers and students require AI literacy to remain capable of taking action. The relationship between teachers and learners remains central to learning success. The project addresses these challenges by using AI as a sparring partner, promoting adaptive learning and placing the focus on interpersonal relationships. 

Objective:
The aim of the project is to develop and test a modular framework that integrates the pedagogically informed use of generative AI with relationship-building and equality of opportunity.

• Transferable methodology & blended learning:
  The project aims to integrate asynchronous, AI-supported preparation with synchronous face-to-face sessions for discussion and reflection. The framework will be implemented and evaluated in the Master’s programme in Early Years Education and at the Institute of Biology to assess its transferability to various disciplines.
• Equality of opportunity:
  AI is deployed specifically to enable personalised learning processes and break down barriers to educational access. Adaptive learning methods compensate for differences in prior knowledge and learning styles, thereby promoting equality of opportunity.
• Relationship-building:
  The interpersonal relationships between lecturers and students, as well as amongst peers, are to be strengthened. Students are to play an active role in shaping teaching and learning processes, which promotes autonomy, a sense of competence and social integration. The ‘human-in-the-loop’ principle ensures that AI complements, but never replaces, the personal judgement of teaching staff.
• AI literacy:
  Teachers should support students in using AI systems critically and ethically. The aim is to help students understand AI as a tool for their own learning process and to question it.

Dissemination of results:
The project results will be made available as Open Educational Resources (OER) and will also be accessible to other disciplines. An accompanying MOOC explains the framework, provides practical examples and makes the results accessible and reusable.

Project team:
Haselberger, Stefan, Mag. Dr., postdoctoral researcher, Institute of Geography and Spatial Research, Cascade – Mountain Processes and Mountain Hazards research group; Project leader
Abermann, Jakob, Associate Professor, Dr., Institute of Geography and Spatial Research, CC-MoRE Working Group – Climate Change in Mountain Regions
Trügler, Andreas, Dr, Sermilik Station Manager, Institute of Geography and Spatial Research, CC-MoRE Working Group – Climate Change in Mountain Regions
Zandler, Harald, Dr, Postdoctoral Researcher, Institute of Geography and Spatial Research, GST Group – Geospatial Technologies
Pfeffer, Hanna, MSc PhD student, Institute of Geography and Spatial Research, Cascade Group – Mountain Processes and Mountain Hazards 

Motivation/Background:
Field excursions are central to physical geography, as they provide direct experience, foster scientific curiosity and teach key field methods and soft skills. However, they involve significant logistical, financial and environmental costs, particularly in remote locations such as the Sermilik research station (East Greenland). Health, economic or organisational barriers, as well as the carbon footprint, exclude many students from such field trips.
Virtual field trips have established themselves as supplementary teaching formats since the COVID-19 pandemic, but are often improvised and lack interactivity. The project is therefore developing a pedagogically designed, open-licenced virtual field environment that does not replace but rather complements real-life field trips: serving as an inclusive means of access, preparation for fieldwork and an archive of Arctic landscape change. It is based on current research data from the ÖAW project BIOGEO-ARC (2027/28).

Objective:
The aim is to create a modular, pedagogically well-designed virtual field environment of the Sermilik area: a 360° tour with integrated specialist information and interactive tasks. Students learn about Arctic landscape changes and the underlying glacial, geomorphological and biogeomorphological processes, and practise identifying, mapping and interpreting these in the virtual terrain. Research-based tasks such as ‘Find the Hotspot’, ‘Drag & Drop’ and ‘Image Sequencing’ are linked to learning objectives and model solutions, and are supplemented by quizzes with feedback.

Preservation of results:
All materials (360° modules, tasks, storyboard, documentation) are published under a CC BY licence on the University of Graz’s OER portal and can be used to prepare for field trips, for virtual field surveys and mapping, and for later use in teaching. The modular, technically streamlined structure ensures sustainability: from the 2027/28 winter semester onwards, the format can be integrated into the Institute’s courses, supervised and flexibly updated. The recordings also serve as a baseline for repeat surveys and as a growing archive of Arctic landscape change.

Project lead:
Assoc. Prof. Mag. Dr.rer.nat. Manuel Ninaus, Digital Psychology Lab, Institute of Psychology

Motivation/Background:
Psychological theories are often taught in an abstract manner in university settings, meaning that students do not always recognise their practical value for the design of digital learning environments. At the same time, game-based learning (e.g. educational games, serious games) is regarded as motivating and innovative, although effective learning design cannot be taken for granted: a failure to take cognitive and motivational processes into account can impair learning success and motivation. This is where psychology comes in: the project utilises educational game design to translate theoretical knowledge into well-founded, scientifically informed design decisions. In this way, theoretical work becomes a practical, creative and socially relevant experience, resulting in a portfolio-worthy concept that students can use in their job applications.

Objective:
The aim is to create a digitally supported teaching format in which psychology students develop scientifically sound educational game concepts. Working in teams, they create a game design document including a theoretical rationale and a visual prototype, without technical implementation. Students analyse existing games and use these to develop their own concepts, thereby strengthening their digital, media and educational psychology skills. 

Documentation of results:
The project results will be made available as a reusable teaching package (OER), including a game design document template, task descriptions, analysis tasks with a curated list of games, an assessment grid, peer feedback forms, an accessibility/ethics checklist, sample concepts and guidance on visual prototyping (https://oer-portal.uni-graz.at/start/index_de.html). Selected student concepts will be published on the research group’s website (https://digilab.uni-graz.at/de/) and made available as templates. 

The University of Graz awards a maximum of two grants to projects in which innovative digital teaching and learning formats are developed, tested, and evaluated. Project findings must be shared with the scientific community.

The award money per project is a maximum of €4,000 (individual application) and €10,000 (team application) to be used for material and personnel costs. Each project team is also provided with additional academic and media-related pedagogical consulting and support for project implementation.

Project proposals may be submitted by University of Graz individual faculty members or by teams of faculty members.

The award is given to teaching projects that aim to make innovative pedagogical use of digital media and technologies at the BA/B.Sc. or MA/M.Sc. level, or in teacher education programs—whether by revising existing teaching formats or by testing new digital approaches.

Funding is provided for self-contained projects with a project leader and defined start and end dates (within the academic year).

The award aims to promote the pedagogically informed and innovative use of digital media, tools, and methods in higher education. The focus is not on digitization as an end in itself, but on improving teaching and learning processes through well-thought-out media-based teaching design approaches.

Eligible teaching projects may have the following objectives:

• Developing and creating innovative digital teaching/learning materials that are shared with the entire teaching community in the form of OER,
• Establishing or further developing a pedagogically sound process for the use of digital media, which is subsequently shared/published (e.g., course design),
• Answering a research question regarding the use of digital technologies in teaching and publishing related findings,
• Reflection on and further development of one’s own digital teaching based on designing and testing,
• Promotion of digital competencies (e.g., AI literacy) as an explicit learning objective.

Submissions may address one or more of the following functions (non-exhaustive list):

• Interaction and engagement: synchronous and asynchronous collaboration, digital voting and feedback systems, peer feedback processes
• AI Literacy/Competence: AI as a learning tool for students (research, feedback, text processing); AI for teaching support (material creation, assignment creation, avatars); AI as a topic/subject (critical examination in a disciplinary context)
• Multimedia Knowledge Presentation: Instructional videos and screencasts, podcasts, interactive digital learning materials
• Simulation and experiential learning: Virtual labs, game-based learning scenarios, case-based digital exercise formats
• Reflection: Digital learning portfolios, structured learning journals
• Student-generated content: Creation of digital learning materials by students, publication as OER
• Research and data orientation: Integration of real-world datasets, citizen science elements

Award applications may be submitted by both individual instructors and teams of instructors at the University of Graz, regardless of their career stage.

Digital technologies are fundamentally transforming teaching and learning at universities—particularly through new opportunities for interaction, personalization, and collaboration. At the same time, it is becoming clear that the mere use of digital tools alone does not guarantee added value for learning. What is crucial is a pedagogically reflective, innovative, and effective use of these tools. The award specifically addresses this: It recognizes teaching projects in which digital tools are not used as an end in themselves, but are instead reflected upon, justified, and creatively utilized to sustainably improve teaching and learning processes. In this way, the University of Graz supports a future-oriented teaching culture that makes responsible use of technological opportunities.

The teaching projects are publicly presented on the university’s website. In addition, project results and findings must be made available to both the subject-specific and the broader teaching community. Options for doing so include:

• University of Graz OER Portal
• Presentations at events, e.g., High Noon – Didactics at Noon, Teaching Day
• Articles in subject-specific didactics publications
• Articles in higher education didactics publications (New Handbook of University Teaching, die hochschule, ZFHE, etc.)
• Conference contributions: papers, workshops, posters (e.g., at the Future Education Conference, the University Future Festival, or the TURN Conference)
• Workshops in continuing education programs (at universities, in university networks, within the academic community)

Project leaders receive internal support from the university. 

1. Background and Motivation: The submission should begin by explaining the observation, challenge, problem, and/or motivation that led to the submission.
2. Project Goal: The goal of the project should be described and linked to the initial motivation.
3. Innovative Aspects: The teaching concept employs a novel pedagogical approach that goes beyond the routine use of digital tools. The approach has the potential to be adapted to other subjects or contexts.
4. Learning Effectiveness: The use of digital tools engages students and contributes to improving learning processes.
5. Didactic Reflectiveness: The choice of digital tools is didactically justified. The instructor critically evaluates the use of technology. When using AI-supported tools, this includes, in particular: fostering critical thinking, transparency toward students, a reflective approach to risks (e.g., hallucinations), and addressing the issue of dependence on (commercial) systems.
6. Openness and Reusability: The developed materials are documented and accessible to others, preferably as Open Educational Resources (OER) under an open license.
7. Sustainability: The teaching concept can be permanently integrated into instruction and requires a reasonable investment of resources.
8. Ethics and Inclusion: The concept takes into account accessibility as well as data protection requirements. When using AI-based systems, the requirements of the EU AI Act as well as issues of algorithmic fairness and data sovereignty are additionally considered.
9. Visibility: Applicants and their roles in the project are introduced. The application explains how the visibility of the project results will be ensured.
10. Project plan: The application includes a detailed, realistic project plan (timeline).
11. Cost breakdown: A detailed outline is provided of how the project funds will be used.
12. Overall coherence: The entire project presentation is coherent and consistent.

Describe your teaching project in the form and check whether you have met all the award criteria. Submit your application by Friday, 31 July 2026 at zlk(at)uni-graz.at.

All applications for the award for innovative digital teaching projects are reviewed by a jury to determine whether they meet the award criteria. The jury is composed of members of the University of Graz and is chaired by the Vice Rector for Studies and Teaching. The decision will be made by August 10, 2026. All applicants will be informed of the decision following the jury meeting.

Prior to submission, the Center for Digital Teaching and Learning (Media Didactics & Multimedia Production) offers consultation on the project proposal. 
Once the grant has been awarded, support may be requested from University of Graz service units to implement the project. In particular, the Competence Center for University Teaching (Teaching Design) and the Center for Digital Teaching and Learning (Media Design & Multimedia Production) are available for this purpose.

Questions regarding the application process can be directed at any time to Lisa Scheer at the Competence Center for University Teaching.

External experts may be consulted at the applicant’s own expense to provide support during both the application phase and the implementation phase.

You may apply for the grant multiple times, but you must clearly explain in your application how the new teaching project differs from the one that previously received the grant.