Abstract:

From April to June 2016 a new and exclusively virtual teaching format – the international STEM Summer School – was provided at the University of Mining and Technology in Freiberg. The paper presents the approach, didactical design, and results of evaluation.
The international STEM Summer School was developed and tested within the project "Holistic International STEMs - Learning with case studies and real-life industry experiences". The aim was to better prepare STEM students for challenges in the current professional world that are characterized by internationalization and digitalization. The project offers some ideas on how to teach the currently required skills and competencies by industry in higher education. The conceptualization of the project was made possible with funding from the Donors' Association for the Promotion of Humanities and Sciences in Germany .
The exclusively virtual collaboration is due to the different geographical distances and locations of the participating students, which generates specific challenges. On the one hand, technical conditions at the particular places of residence have an impact on virtual collaboration. On the other hand, cultural, lingual, and occupational differences, as well as the differing media literacy, play an important role. In addition, the setting of objectives and provision of incentives is decisive for the shared virtual work. The results of the first round of the international STEM Summer School indicate possible solution strategies based on the three areas of media use, interaction, and task orientation.
During the Summer School, students from ten different countries solved real-life job case studies in small interdisciplinary teams. The exchange took place with the help of various e-learning tools like the virtual classroom, wiki, forum and e-portfolio. The participants were mentored by national and international industry partners, STEM professors, and e-tutors. After nine weeks work in intercultural teams they presented their results and learning outcomes during a web conference.
The following article focusses on the evaluation results as well as selected insights and challenges.

Keywords:

STEM, internationalization, digitalization, job orientation, employability, job orientation, quality enhancement higher education, curriculum development.