Educational concept

The University of Cologne’s educational concept is based on its Teaching and Learning Mission Statement.

As a cosmopolitan, research-oriented institution in the 21st century, the university pursues a strategic and evidence-based approach to delivering excellent specialized and interdisciplinary education along with the development of a broad range of skills. Driven by its innovative strength, the University of Cologne is committed to addressing the global challenges of today and tomorrow. Its efforts are rooted in both regional responsibility and international collaboration, and this is reflected in its membership of global networks such as the European University for Well-Being (EUniWell). A shared respect for the diversity of academic disciplines and cultures unites all members of the University of Cologne in their active commitment to implementing and continuously advancing the Mission Statement.

In practice, this means in particular 

Digital education is dynamic and future-oriented. At the University of Cologne, we aim to develop a reflective and confident approach to digital teaching and learning, especially in the context of artificial intelligence.

Learn more at Digital Education @ UoC

Learning at the University of Cologne is strongly based on the acquisition of skills. The goal is not only to impart knowledge, but also to foster the development of expertise – the combination of knowledge, skills and values. To support this, skills – including those beyond traditional lecture formats – are systematically categorized into competence fields and put into operation using competence models. Skill-based orientation in teaching also implies the use of contemporary, research-informed university didactics.

In addition to subject-specific expertise, the focus is on research and academic skills, as core elements of academic education. Further focus areas include interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary skills, personal and social skills, digital literacy and sustainability skills. These are defined as quality objectives in the area of teaching and studying.

Future skills

Skills that will bear particular relevance in the future play a central role in the university’s educational strategy. These include areas of skill which are expected to gain significance in scientific and social contexts over the next 5 to 10 years. They empower individuals to act effectively and responsibly, are often interdisciplinary in nature, yet can be addressed within subject-specific frameworks, and are characterized by their topical nature and their associated urgency when it comes to critical academic reflection.

The ‘Innovationsplattform für zukunftsrelevante Kompetenzen’ (InZuKo), funded by the Foundation for Innovation in Higher Education, is dedicated to researching and teaching these skills.

Education at the University of Cologne is defined by the close interconnection between research and teaching. Research-based teaching and learning serves as an umbrella term for all (didactic) approaches that introduce learners to research.

In our concept for research-based teaching and learning, we distinguish between: research-based teaching and learning, research-oriented teaching and learning, and research-led learning. At the core of all these approaches lies the ambition to integrate current research within teaching – not only by presenting results, but also by enabling students to understand how research is conducted and how knowledge is generated.

Complementing research-based learning, problem- and project-based learning also represent central pillars of our teaching and learning quality objectives. 

Problem-based and project-based learning are two related didactic approaches that place the student at the centre of the learning process. Students engage with (ideally real) problems or projects, which they explore (co-creatively). Unlike step-by-step instructional methods, these approaches aim to foster the simultaneous development and application of a wide range of skills to address the respective challenge in question.

We are committed, as far as possible, to promoting open education grounded in the principles of Open Educational Practices (OEP) and Open Educational Resources (OER). Our goal is to democratize access to university education, to strengthen the exchange of knowledge, and to support lifelong learning. In this way, open education contributes to the broader Open Science movement.

OERs play a particularly important role here. These are learning, teaching and research materials that are in the public domain or protected by copyright and published under an open licence, enabling extensive reuse and redistribution within and outside the university context.