Excellent Teaching Mission Statement – Teaching
Cognisant of the freedom of research and teaching and of its societal responsibility, Heidelberg University has defined the following guidelines and objectives for its educators and students, which describe the university’s private and public self-image and provide orientation for its stakeholders.
Heidelberg University is committed to excellent research-based education at the forefront of scientific discovery. It engages in international cooperation, yet remains firmly rooted in its region. As an educational institution that promotes equal opportunity and follows the guiding principles of participation, pluralism and inclusion, it offers a stimulating learning environment that allows students to enhance their skills, live up to their full potential and make optimal use of their talents. The university encourages lifelong learning.
Teaching and education at Heidelberg University are open-minded and cosmopolitan; collaboration among and between students and teachers is based on mutual trust and respect and on an appreciation of diversity, which is regarded as an asset.
The teaching staff of Heidelberg University deliver in-depth knowledge and methodological skills in a wide range of subjects, based on their own academic and scientific expertise and on didactic and methodological best practices. They challenge their students to reflect critically on complex issues, seek to engage them in dialogue and imbue them with a passion for science and scholarship.
Students of Heidelberg University are curious, highly motivated and willing to learn and achieve their goals. In the course of their education, they not only acquire skills in their various subjects; they also develop their cultural sensitivity and a capacity for methodologically sound, interdisciplinary thinking. Multilingualism, cooperativeness and compliance with good scientific practice are a matter of course for them.
By providing an effective and sustainable infrastructure that is conducive to learning, Heidelberg University supports its educators in offering excellent and attractive teaching. The university enables students to build an individual profile and promotes continuing education for its teaching staff, e.g. with in-house training offers. This includes developing innovative teaching and study concepts and making judicious use of both proven and new approaches. In the context of knowledge transfer, the university encourages students and staff to consider the practical relevance and applicability of learning content.
Equipped with the skills and knowledge they acquired, Heidelberg University graduates are able and willing to make their way in today’s world, become constructive members of society and accept responsibility for shaping the future.
Heidelberg, 4 February 2020