Authored by visiting academic Kerstin Böhm, Head of eLearning at Evangelische Hochschule Berlin (EHB). Kerstin visited UTS and the LX.lab during February and March, 2024.
Coming to UTS was a long-term project that started over a year ago. It took time to prepare and put all the pieces together; it was also a very positive experience, because everyone was so open and happy to help.
My motivation to start the process was to find a retreat to work on my PhD on the digitisation of universities. I found the perfect place in LX.lab: a space to work and focus on my PhD project, to connect on a professional level and to reach out for new cooperations and contacts. It also provided me with the opportunity to form completely new impressions coming from a small university like the Evangelische Hochschule Berlin (Protestant University of Applied Sciences, Berlin).
Different size and shape; same broad focus
EHB is a small university in Berlin, Germany, which was founded in 1904 by the Evangelical Church of Berlin/ Brandenburg. It has about 1700 students and focusses its courses on three main areas: social work, education and health. I work there as the director of the eLearning Office. The eLearning Office has broadly the same purpose as LX.lab, but with very different resources – not surprising, given the huge differences in student numbers.
The eLearning Office is a relatively young structure at EHB – very motivated with a young team, but also looking for its role and finding the right ways to get things done. My team is made up of students who I employ to help me and to work on the courses with various challenges of digital transformation. The students do the practical support and research, while I am more in a position to review the strategy, implement projects and try to connect the different stakeholders across the university. A great help in this journey is the connection across the Berlin universities – a community of practice and a network to support each other accomplishing the same goals.
A doctoral thesis on digitalisation
At the same time I’m enrolled at the FernUniversität in Hagen and working on my PhD about the digitalisation of universities in Germany with a focus on members of online teaching support teams and groups. My methodology is group discussions in different universities of applied sciences, using a qualitative research approach (documentary method). My work on digitalisation of universities puts support units like the LX.lab or even my office in the centre and focusses on the perception of the professionals working there and their roles.
Now that my stay has come to an end, I’m very happy with what I’ve achieved and learned. I’ve been able to work very hard on my dissertation, while at the same time participating in LX.lab activities such as Open Education Week or social activities – even reaching out to the Faculty of Health. But that’s another story, and maybe this will be the basis for future joint projects or even cooperation.
I would like to thank all the people who supported this project – especially the LX.lab team with Anna Stack. See ya!
If you have any questions, please get in touch: Kerstin Böhm, kerstin.boehm@eh-berlin.de