In addition to high academic quality, the principles of study and teaching at TU Darmstadt also include good studyability. In the winter semester 2023/24, computer science professor Thomas Schneider and members of his digital technology team Andreas Brüggemann, Sebastian Engel, Daniel Günther and Nora Khayata demonstrated how this can be achieved with a great deal of personal commitment.

Lecture content is challenging and comprehensive

Since the winter semester 2019/20, Thomas Schneider has been teaching the first-year course “Digital Technology” to around 1,000 first-year students. The content is demanding and extensive and requires constant participation and self-organisation from the students right from the start of their studies. The exam results at the time reflected the fact that many participants struggled with the practical implementation of tasks related to the SystemVerilog hardware description language. It was also evident that motivation decreased over the course of the semester.

Anyone who knows Schneider knows that he is passionate about his research topics. It is easy for him to inspire this enthusiasm in his young team, and of course he wants to inspire it in his students.

Fundamental restructuring in consultation with students

In 2023, he and his team decided to fundamentally restructure the extensive teaching content in close consultation with tutors and students. They received valuable feedback from the students' perspective through the regular teaching evaluations carried out by the Computer Science Student Committee.

The new teaching concept was ready in time for the winter semester 2023/24. Schneider was able to immediately see changes in the lectures and tutors in the tutorials.

New: Combining digital technology concepts and practical application

The most striking change concerns the teaching of the SystemVerilog hardware description language. This has not been very popular with students in the past. To make learning easier for first-year students, new digital technology concepts are now taught in conjunction with their use in SystemVerilog. This creates direct practical relevance in smaller learning units spread over the entire semester. Previously, the language was taught in a compact block at the end of the semester. This extensive reorganisation paid off: the number of points scored in the SystemVerilog exams almost doubled. Students' understanding of the language improved significantly.

The accompanying measures, which are designed to make it possible for all students to complete the tasks, are also worth mentioning here. With beginner-friendly instructions and an accompanying tutorial, the team supports the installation of SystemVerilog. They have put a lot of effort into developing a tool to make the software easier to use, and they have created appropriate test environments for the assessed tasks. Should any questions remain unanswered, the tutors provide help in a Moodle forum.

Many improvements in content and didactics

In addition, there are many other didactic and content-related improvements, such as quizzes, compulsory homework and open consultation hours. These enable students to consolidate and apply what they have learnt. They also keep students motivated throughout the semester.

In the course evaluation for the winter term 2023/24, the only suggestion for improvement was the wish for lecture recordings. After a spontaneous and somewhat involuntary trial run during the rail strikes in 2024, regular recordings have been introduced during the current winter semester 2024/25.

We are delighted that the TU Darmstadt and the Carlo and Karin Giersch Foundation have honoured this time-consuming and exemplary commitment with the Athene Prize for Good Teaching. Many thanks and congratulations to the entire team!