Explorer Master

An innovative and interdisciplinary programme structure designed to meet the challenges of tomorrow

University education prepares students to meet the global challenges of today and tomorrow. The Technical University of Braunschweig meets this demand through interdisciplinary teaching and research approaches, making it an attractive choice for a new generation of students. Our graduates do not merely enter the workforce; they are shape change. They are the changemakers of tomorrow.

As the next generation of professionals, they question existing processes, think interdisciplinary, and seek innovative solutions to complex challenges. They bring up-to-date knowledge and a willingness to embrace change to the workplace, and are living in an era shaped by digitalization, sustainability, diversity, and global change.

They will therefore play a key role in the workplace of tomorrow:

•    They drive innovation and digital transformation.

•    They foster new forms of collaboration and corporate culture.

•    They provide impetus for sustainable and socially responsible business practices.

•    They combine technical expertise with creativity, a willingness to learn, and adaptability.


Establishment of an innovative degree program structure with interdisciplinary teaching and research approaches

Higher education faces the challenge of preparing graduates for the global challenges of the present and the future. TU Braunschweig addresses this challenge through interdisciplinary teaching and research approaches to appeal to a new generation of students who, as changemakers, drive innovative ideas and collaborations among students, researchers, and staff.

The project “Explorer Master: Learning Through Curiosity”, funded by the Foundation for Innovation in Higher Education under the call “Teaching Architecture: Shaping the University of the Future,” with a total budget of 6.3 million euros, focuses on piloting future-oriented, novel degree program structures and promotes research-oriented teaching with the goal of intensifying synergies between the university and research institutions and designing innovative learning spaces.

In addition to the Explorer Master, which is designed for student research, learning spaces are being transformed into Explorer Places—innovative learning and research hubs—and an Explorer Network is being established to foster cross-institutional (inter)national collaboration.

To begin with, five pilot degree programs are developing their master’s programs in line with this new overarching structure, establishing partnerships within the region as well as at the national and international levels, and creating learning-research spaces that facilitate the integration of teaching and research in mobile learning-research environments (beyond the lecture hall or laboratory).

To pursue program development in a holistic and focused manner based on the principle of research-based learning, in addition to the five pilot programs, other institutions such as

  • the Future Skills Lab,
  • the Learning Factory,
  • the Center of Excellence for Higher Education Pedagogy in Lower Saxony,
  • the University Library,
  • the Press and Communications Office, and
  • the Department of Continuing Education and Media

involved in the project.


Possible options from AI 

  • Rethinking degree programs: interdisciplinary learning and research approaches
  • New academic architecture: actively shaping interdisciplinary teaching
  • Innovation in teaching: Focus on interdisciplinary program structures

Project Details

Funding: Foundation for Innovation in Higher Education Teaching (StIL) under the “Teaching Architecture” funding line 2024

Project Duration: October 1, 2025 – December 31, 2029 (with an extension option until 2031)

Total funding: €4.5 million (for an initial period of 4 years) (+ €1.8 million)


Contact

Project Leadership:

Prof. Dr. Knut Baumann
Vice President for Academic Affairs and Teaching
Technische Universität Braunschweig
vpl(at)tu-braunschweig.de
TU Braunschweig


Projektkoordination:

Technische Universität Braunschweig:
Anja Veckenstedt
Deputy Director, Projekthaus
+49 531 391-14076
anja.veckenstedt(at)tu-braunschweig.de
Projekthaus – TU Braunschweig