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Challenge Accepted: An Overview of the Innovative Teaching Projects from the ECIU Funding Rounds

At Hamburg University of Technology, a fundamental transformation in teaching is underway. Driven by the European alliance “ECIU University,” a new culture of learning and teaching is emerging—more international, interdisciplinary, and bold. At the heart of this transformation is seed funding for innovative teaching concepts based on the principles of Challenge-Based Learning (CBL). Here, students become active co-creators, working in international teams on the societal and scientific challenges of our time.

To provide a positive impetus and a space for experimentation, since the end of 2023 teaching staff at TUHH have been given the opportunity, through third-party funding, to acquire teaching innovation funds via an ECIU@TUHH call. The funding rounds to date have produced an impressive variety of pioneering projects. They are more than just new courses—they are proof of a vibrant, future-oriented teaching culture at TUHH.

More than just projects: A European vision for teaching

Behind every funded teaching innovation lies a clear strategic vision. ECIU University aims to create high-quality, research-led, and impactful education at a European level. Students are to be empowered to think critically, act innovatively, and lead responsibly in a changing world.

At the heart of this approach are lived internationality and interdisciplinarity, as well as a shared catalogue of courses offered by all ECIU partners. These offerings are open to master’s students from all 12 ECIU partners, regardless of their field of study. This creates heterogeneous teams in which future engineers, social scientists, and designers learn from one another. For teaching staff, this means a new and exciting role: they no longer act solely as subject-matter experts, but as “TeaMchers,” coaches, and facilitators who guide and enable the learning process.

Support that makes the difference: Seed funding

To enable this transformation and create space for pedagogical innovation, TUHH supports its teaching staff not only ideologically but also through substantial seed funding. This financial support underscores the commitment to valuing the additional effort required to design and deliver such demanding formats. The funded formats are divided into two categories:

 

Challenges

Challenges

Challenges: As large, semester-spanning projects, they receive funding of €20,000 for conception and initial implementation, as well as an additional €4,000 for the mandatory repetition.

Micromodule

Micromodules

Micromodules: These compact, focused learning units are funded with €3,000 for the initial implementation and €2,000 for the repetition.

Call 1: The pioneers who paved the way (SoSe 2024)

Challenges of the first call

Hydrogen – a relevant factor for tomorrow's carbon-free aviation?
  • Lead: Akin Ögrük, Francisco Encina, Prof. Dr. Christopher Thies
  • This project propels students directly into the heart of the energy transition. In close partnership with Airbus, they take on the role of innovation consultants and design blueprints for a functional hydrogen infrastructure—a highly complex and crucial task for climate-neutral aviation.
  • Links:1st iteration, 2nd iteration
Circular economy for office furniture
  • Lead: Mahsa Doostdar, Magdalena Kitzberger, Prof. Dr. Kerstin Kuchta
  • Here, the linear “take-use-dispose” model is directly challenged. Students act as change agents for an entire industry by developing innovative business models, sustainable material cycles, and new design principles to make the office furniture industry future-proof.
  • Links:1st iteration, 2nd iteration
Creativity and Artificial Intelligence
  • Lead: Dr. Jonas Bozenhardt, Prof. Dr. Maximilian Kiener
  • This format radically breaks with traditional curricula. Exploring the potential of AI-assisted creativity and seeking solutions for the associated risks requires experimentation and unconventional thinking. The seminar allows participating students to identify a challenge at the intersection of creativity and AI using their collective creativity and to collaboratively develop an innovative, interdisciplinary solution. In this challenge, students work together with artists, composers, filmmakers, and input from researchers across various disciplines.
  • Links:1st iteration, 2nd iteration, 3rd iteration

Micromodules of the first call

GPU Architectures and Programming
  • Lead: Tim Lühnen, Prof. S. Lal
  • A hands-on module that teaches students how to solve the computationally intensive tasks involved in a AI chatbot with a Large Language Model faster and more energy-efficiently—a core competency in high-performance computing.
  • Links: 1st iteration, 2nd iteration
Image Analysis for Intelligent Systems in Medicine
  • Lead: Maximilian Neidhardt, Dr. S. Latus, Prof. A. Schläfer
  • This module opens the door to a cutting-edge application of AI by introducing students to intelligent image analysis for medical diagnostics and systems.
  • Links:1st iteration, 2nd iteration

Call 2: Projects with a societal compass (WiSe24/25)

Challenges

Sustainable Process Design Project
  • Lead: Marius Fiedler, Dr.-Ing. Thomas Waluga, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Mirko Skiborowski
  • This project teaches a holistic engineering approach for the 21st century. Using the example of planning a chemical plant, students learn that technical excellence is inseparably linked to ecological requirements, legal frameworks, and societal acceptance.
  • Status: Details on the challenge
Everyday Heroes: Innovating Assistive Tools for Children with Special Needs
  • Lead: Lennart Osterhus, Gesine Liese, Dr. Barbara Klippel, Dr. Neele Meyer-Heydecke, Prof. A-L Heins
  • Here, empathy is at the center of engineering practice. Through direct collaboration with Elfenwiese School, students develop ideas and solutions not for, but with the students. This results in tailored assistive technologies that make a real difference in the daily lives of children.
  • Status: Details on the challenge

Call 3: Future Skills for a Changing World (SoSe2025)

Challenges

Leading Agile Teams
  • Lead: A. Musawi, Prof. Dr.-Ing. N. Bursac
  • This format transforms the learning space into an agile leadership lab, spanning an entire semester. In a real engineering project, students apply agile methods such as Scrum and reflect on their leadership roles in international teams. They learn to handle complexity and diverse work cultures constructively—an essential preparation for the modern workplace.
  • Links: Implementation as Micromodule, Implementation as Challenge
Ethical Innovation and AI
  • Lead: Dr. J. Bozenhardt, Prof. Dr. M. Kiener
  • This project addresses one of the most urgent questions of our time: How do we develop responsible AI? Students learn to proactively integrate ethical considerations into the technological development process from the very beginning using methods such as “Ethics by Design”—a key competency for future innovators.
  • Links:Details on the challenge

Call 4: Keeping Pace with the Times (WiSe25/26 und SoSe2026)

Micromodules

Innovation to Impact: Empowering Startups
  • Lead: In cooperation with StartUpDock, Prof. Lissel
  • A catalyst for entrepreneurial action: This module provides students with the tools and network to develop an initial idea into a validated concept and pave the way toward a real startup.
  • Links:Details on the micromodule
Enabling Industry 4.0
  • Lead: Yevhenii Shudrenko, Dr. Koojana Kuladinithi
  • Here, students become designers of the fourth industrial revolution. The module provides in-depth knowledge of the key technologies and concepts necessary to actively drive and manage digital transformation in industry.
  • Links:Details on the micromodule
SE-CHOC: transform a conventional 3D printer into a functional chocolate printer

  • Lead: Part of the CAD&C curriculum at Technische Universität Hamburg

  • Hands-on Systems Engineering micro-module where international teams redesign a 3D printer into a chocolate printer, learning system thinking, architectural reasoning, and decision-making under uncertainty while integrating stakeholder needs, functions, interfaces, and constraints

  • Link:Details about the micro-module

Impact that goes beyond the lecture hall

The success of these formats is evident not only in the project outcomes but also in the response they have received. Three of the supported instructors have already published their innovative teaching approaches in scientific outlets and share their experiences with the academic community, for example at the EWSN Conference or at the Challenge-Based Learning Conference 2025.

Student feedback has also been overwhelmingly positive. Reports from the challenges:

show how motivating and educational the format is for participants.

Your path to your own challenge: Support and outlook

Do you also have an idea for an innovative teaching format? The team at the Center for Teaching and Learning (ZLL) is your key partner. We advise you on conception, assist with the application process, and, if desired, actively support the implementation as co-instructors.

The ECIU initiative is a dynamic project that is continuously evolving. Even in the current phase, we actively support teaching staff in implementing their ideas. Seed funding for flexible formats such as micromodules continues to be available. At the same time, we are working at the European level to secure funding for the coming years to continue enabling larger challenge formats.

Our message is: Don’t wait! Bring your ideas for a challenge to us at any time. We have already found many creative solutions—from tapping into alternative funding sources to providing personnel support through the ZLL.

To promote exchange within our community, a TeachING Appetizer will take place on March 19, 2026, where instructors will share their experiences with ECIU. Become part of this innovation movement and help shape the future of teaching at TUHH with us.

TU Hamburg
Am Schwarzenberg-Campus 3
21073 Hamburg
E-mail : eciu@tuhh.de
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