• How can study programs be designed coherently without losing their responsiveness to societal, technological, and professional change? How can students be involved as active co-creators? 

• How can curricula be designed in ways that connect disciplinary education, social responsibility, and the discourse on so-called “future skills” or presumed future competencies in a critical and reflective manner? 

• Which study structures enable flexible educational pathways without reinforcing fragmentation, arbitrariness, or new inequalities? How can study structures respond to the realities of a diverse student body? 

• Which institutional, resource-related, and organizational framework conditions and tensions support or constrain future-oriented curriculum development? 

• How do power relations, governance logics, and organizational tensions influence the design and implementation of teaching and learning development, and how can these dynamics be shaped productively and balanced? 

• How can the quality of teaching within higher education institutions be developed and managed, and what contribution does academic development make? Which competencies do instructors need in order to support students effectively? 

• Which governance structures are required to enable and sustainably anchor the professional development of instructors within higher education institutions? 

• How can (and should) academic development position itself in response to increasing pressure on academic and democratic values? How can this position be reflected in the design of academic development programs? 

• How does academic development address the rapid developments in Artificial Intelligence and their impact on higher education? How can academic development approaches respond to these developments? 

• How can the constantly evolving and reinventing academic development community ensure that its practices and professional self-understanding remain value-based, critical, open, and flexible? 

Your contribution: Preparation of a presentation on data- and theory-based research findings with practical relevance.

Format: Each presentation lasts 30 minutes in total (20 minutes presentation, 10 minutes questions). Several presentations are grouped into thematic sessions and moderated in relation to one another.

Suitable for: Development Contributions & Research Contributions

Goal: Presentation and discussion of findings with practical relevance.

Your contribution: Preparation of a short presentation with a clearly defined key message based on data-driven experience or theoretical models.

Format: Lightning talks are informative and presented consecutively. Each 7-minute talk is followed by a 3-minute discussion. Discussions take place directly before a break to encourage networking.

Suitable for: Development Contributions & Research Contributions

Goal: Presentation of innovative strategies and specific implementation approaches.

Your contribution: Preparation of a poster or artifact and a short presentation for a station in the poster session.

Format: Presenters give short presentations (2 minutes each) introducing their projects. Participants then move freely through the room and engage in deeper discussions at the stations that interest them most.

Suitable for: Development Contributions & Research Contributions

Goal: Initiating lively discussions and exchange on projects and research findings.

Your contribution: Development of a participant-oriented workshop with a clear learning objective. Workshops last between 45 and 90 minutes and are designed for groups of up to 15 participants.

Format: The format is designed by the submitters themselves and outlined within the abstract.

Suitable for: Professional Development Contributions

Goal: Promotion of practical competencies and collaborative problem-solving skills

Your contribution: Formulation of a specific practical question to be discussed with peers.

Format: Using the method of collegial case consultation, the question is systematically discussed within a peer group and solution ideas are documented.

Goal: Solution-oriented discussion of practical professional challenges.

Your contribution: Presentation of an unsuccessful approach resulting from misjudgement, poor planning, or miscalculation in the context of an academic development initiative or research project, including reflection on possible alternative approaches.

Format: Contributions are informative and self-critical and are presented consecutively. Each 10-minute presentation is followed by a 5-minute Q&A session. The format takes place directly before a break to facilitate networking afterwards.

Goal: Learning from the failed assumptions and decisions of others through self-critical reflection

The doctoral forum offers doctoral researchers in the field of academic development the opportunity to discuss their research projects and current questions with fellow doctoral researchers and experienced members of the dghd. Individuals considering pursuing a doctorate in academic development are also warmly invited to present and discuss initial ideas.