HYbridCU is led by Dr Daria Dydzinskaya, a Project coordinator, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. Her team consists of support staff, student fellows, and educators from the Centres for Teaching & Learning from six partner universities: Aarhus University, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, King's College London, UCLouvain, Universitetet i Oslo and Universität Wien.
We've asked Daria to share some insights about her project and what the team is aiming to achieve this year.
Let's have a closer look at HybridCU
What is your project about?
HybridCU focuses on hybrid teaching and learning formats as a sustainable, low-key solution for intensifying the international and interdisciplinary exchange and collaboration among students and staff of Circle U. partners. This project, initiated by staff from Centers for teaching and learning (CTL) and under the umbrella of the CU.til, brings together expertise from six Circle U. universities to support teaching staff in implementing hybrid teaching, thus offering international experience for as many students and staff as possible.
Our objectives:
- Raise awareness of the potential benefits of hybrid teaching for inclusion, flexibility and internationalisation.
- Support the implementation of high-quality hybrid teaching and learning across the alliance.
- Foster long-term collaboration and knowledge-exchange between CTLs across the alliance.
Why is this topic important?
Although universities have historically relied on in-person teaching, the role of digital education has increased, a change accelerated by COVID-19. One combination of these approaches, hybrid teaching, offers the ability to bring together classrooms in different sites and connect live audiences with online participants, and presents a promising option for universities seeking to increase their international collaboration. However, hybrid teaching is still in its infancy and requires a unique blend of technical and pedagogical knowledge and competencies.
What are you aiming to achieve with this project over the year?
The project involves the following activities and outputs:
- Production of guidelines for awareness-raising and instructional purposes that will include: potential of hybrid formats; teaching scenarios spanning various types of hybrid integration; national, cultural, and institutional considerations specific for the alliance; recommendations for fostering inclusive hybrid learning environments.
- Training workshop "Hybrid teaching across borders: from ideas to practice" for educators and service staff from all universities of the alliance. The two-part workshop will be held on 22.09 and 26.09 in a hybrid format. The registration is already open!
- Survey on Circle U. educators' experiences with hybrid teaching. All CU-Universities are invited to participate in the survey. Take the survey here.
- Exchange workshop and on-site visits among partner CTLs in order to share materials on technical and pedagogical aspects of hybrid teaching, exchange best practices and better understand the needs and challenges of educators.
Explain in which way your project has an interdisciplinary approach.
HybridCU adopts an interdisciplinary approach by integrating expertise from multiple fields to enhance hybrid learning environments.
Education and pedagogy specialists from the CTLs will develop teaching strategies that integrate online and in-person learning, ensuring that the model is inclusive and adaptable to diverse student needs.
Meanwhile, technology and IT experts will be responsible for the recommendations on the digital platforms and tools that support seamless interaction between virtual and face-to-face components, focusing on accessibility and ease of use.
The questions of data protection, intellectual property, and compliance with international standards will be also in the focus in the Guidelines and workshops, ensuring that hybrid teaching is delivered within legal frameworks.
Finally, hybrid teaching and learning is a tool that enables international collaboration between teachers and students, whether they are engaged in interdisciplinary or transdisciplinary learning or research activities.
