RWTH Teaching Award Won in the “Project“ Category
Photo: (f.l.t.r.) Professor Thomas H. Schmitz and graduate scenographer Hannah Groninger (Department of Pictorial Design), as well as Professor Torsten W. Kuhlen and graduate computer scientist Dominik Rausch (Virtual Reality Group in the IT Center) with Professor Aloys Krieg (prorector of teaching).
Since 2001, RWTH Aachen awards a teaching prize to honour exceptional accomplishments in the area of teaching at the university.
Until now, 1st to 3rd places were awarded with a total endowment of 18.000 Euros. However, in 2016, the teaching award was given in the categories “Lecturer of the Year” and “Project of the Year” for the first time to accommodate the diversity of the different activities, and the 2nd and 3rd places have been dropped. The project of the year is awarded with 12.000 Euros, and the lecturer of the year receives a financial award of 6.000 Euros. The respective prize money is to be fully invested in the areas of teaching and research, where at least two thirds are to be used for teaching.
The awarding of the prize in the “Project” category took place on January 27, 2017 as part of the festive ceremonial act RWTHtransparent.
Project of the Year
The project “Virtual Sketching” was honoured for distinguished achievements in the area of teaching.
Graduate computer scientist Dominik Rausch of the Virtual Reality Group (Univ.-Prof. Torsten W. Kuhlen), in close cooperation with the Department of Pictorial Design (Professor Thomas H. Schmitz and graduate scenographer Hannah Groninger), built and tested a three-dimensional drawing tool at the IT Center. As part of the elective module “Research Areas of Architecture and City Planning” in the master courses architecture and city planning, students tried new ways of designing three-dimensional objects. In the aixCave they were able to work freely with both hands, make draft sketches in the room and use these as walkable models.
The project was awarded for its innovative concept of teaching, because it’s a successful integration of research issues into teaching that gives students an explorative and at the same time scientifically conducted access to a complex medium.
Congratulations to all winners!