A major success for the future direction of the Technical University of Applied Sciences Wildau (TH Wildau): the Brandenburg-based university has impressed the judges with its project “Spielraum für Innovation (SPIN)” as part of the nationwide funding programme “Die Welt ist mein Campus” run by the Foundation for Innovation in Higher Education. Over the next four years, it will receive around 2.8 million euros in funding.
Transformational demands in business, public administration and society are increasingly requiring university graduates to possess interdisciplinary skills. The project aims to systematically further develop existing curricula and to provide students across the university with structured opportunities for interdisciplinary, project-based learning addressing real-world societal issues. The project ties in directly with the university’s strategic vision of actively helping to shape the future of a society worth living in.
Education for the future – developing skills for tomorrow
SPIN addresses the need to structurally embed, across the board, practice-oriented project work, which has already been successfully trialled at TH Wildau in various laboratories and ‘learning factories’. To this end, four interlinked, scalable elements are being introduced in stages: These range from modular introductory formats and interdisciplinary project semesters to the design of a research- and practice-oriented Master’s programme, which is consistently based on the principle of challenge-based learning.
The student project teams will address scientific and practical questions within the three key themes that define TH Wildau’s research and knowledge transfer profile: ‘Sustainable Value Creation’, ‘Effective Ageing’ and ‘Future-Proof Mobility’. The programme utilises both on-campus facilities at TH Wildau, such as the Makerspace (ViNN:Lab) or the Wildauer Maschinen Werke (WMW), and external learning venues, such as the regional branch campuses of Brandenburg’s universities.
Digital infrastructure and evolving teaching roles
“The operational basis of SPIN is a kind of digital project marketplace. On this platform, partners from administration, business and society can submit specific problems. A matching algorithm brings these needs together with the students’ skills and interests. Through individual learning agreements, students play an active role in shaping their own learning pathways,” says Prof. Rainer Stollhoff, Vice-President for Studies and Teaching, describing the project.
To support these teaching formats, the project is establishing a qualified, interdisciplinary ‘teaching team’ that is trialling new approaches to student support:
- Teaching Architects are responsible for identifying industry partners and structuring the portfolio.
- Teaching coaches provide didactic support for the learning processes and pay particular attention to aspects of diversity and accessibility.
- Teaching Peers, as trained student tutors, support the learning process on an equal footing.
Prof. Stollhoff continues: “By the end of the project period, we aim to have expanded the programme to such an extent that up to 300 students per semester can be actively involved in SPIN projects at any one time. SPIN offers us excellent opportunities to bring genuine innovation to our teaching.”
Joint success for Brandenburg as a centre of higher education
The funding for TH Wildau is part of an overall success for the state of Brandenburg within the framework of the ‘Die Welt ist mein Campus’ programme run by the Foundation for Innovation in Higher Education, which supports a total of 37 projects nationwide. A total of around 4.5 million euros is being channelled into Brandenburg’s higher education landscape.
In addition to TH Wildau, the Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development (around 730,000 euros for the joint project ‘Resilient@Campus’) and Brandenburg University of Applied Sciences (one million euros for the joint project ‘Future Campus within the VFH Network’) are also receiving support from the programme.
In the MWFK’s press release* dated 28 May 2026, Brandenburg’s Minister for Science, Dr Manja Schüle, also congratulated the participating institutions on their success: “Congratulations to the three winning projects! Teaching is more than just the transfer of knowledge. It is also about empowering students as future leaders in science and society. Through their projects, the selected universities impressively demonstrate how this can be achieved: TH Wildau is developing project-based learning methods in which working in interdisciplinary teams on real-world societal challenges strengthens students’ self-efficacy, co-determination and participation. HNEE, for its part, is developing a holistic, integrated support programme designed to strengthen students’ resilience in the face of multiple crises. And Brandenburg University of Applied Sciences aims to involve its students in shaping teaching through new forms of participation, thereby motivating them to take on more responsibility. Three exciting projects, three different experimental formats – that’s innovation ‘Made in Brandenburg’.
Further information
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