Short Questionnaire for Assessing Intercultural Competence

Promoting internationalization is a central goal of Freie Universität. This also includes increasing intercultural competence within study programs. Intercultural competence is not only important for the personal development of students but also serves as a criterion for the quality and accreditation of degree programs.

To make the promotion of intercultural competence more visible and to systematically assess it, the Unit for Teaching and Learning Quality developed a short questionnaire on behalf of the Executive Board between August 2022 and October 2023. The instrument is based on theory and has been tested in practice. In the future, it will be applied on request in the central surveys of bachelor’s and master’s students.

You can find the final project report here. (in German only).

Assessment of teachting competence in problem-based learning in higher education - a collaboration project with Charité, Universitätsmedizin Berlin

In a collaborative project with experts for problem-based learning at Charité, Universitätsmedizin, Berlin and colleagues from the Arbeitsbereich Schulpädagogik/Schulentwicklungsforschung of Freie Universität Berlin we investigated the question of which skills are required to support problem-based learning and how these skills can be assessed. Based on a model of teaching competence (available only in german) we developed a questionnaire that was administered in two validation studies in winter term 2020/21 and 2021/22 at the medical university Charité, Berlin. You can find an overview of the project in our newletter article (available only in german). The validation study is published here.

Evaluation of the Introductory and Orientation Program EinS@FU

Some first-year students are unsure which subject suits them best or want to explore several study options.The EinS@FU program provided a structured framework for this: students had the opportunity to try out different subjects and deepen their interests.

The program’s launch in the winter semester 2017/18 was accompanied by a comprehensive scientific evaluation. The findings are documented in the final report. You can find the report here (in German only).

The EinS@FU program ended at the end of the summer semester 2025.

Evaluation of the SUPPORT-Subproject: Mentoring

The SUPPORT project at Freie Universität Berlin

was funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) from 2012 to 2020 as part of the Quality Pact for Teaching. The project aimed to improve study conditions and further develop the quality of teaching. Freie Universität Berlin received funding in three key areas:

• Mentoring for students, 
• Learning Environments Online, and
• Higher education teaching qualifications.

Throughout its duration, SUPPORT was extensively evaluated and accompanied by scientific research. The findings from the evaluation of the mentoring program are documented in the final report.

You can find the report here (in German only).