leonardo@humtec.rwth-aachen.de

Projekt „Leonardo“

Interdisziplinäre Lehre: Meeting Global Challenges

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Our Team

Project Management

PROF. DR. PHIL. STEFAN BÖSCHEN

RECTOR’S DELEGATE
Website

ANN-KRISTIN WINKENS, M.Sc.

PROJECT MANAGMENT
ann-kristin.winkens[at]leonardo.rwth-aachen.de

PROF. DR. PHIL. MAX KERNER

SENIOR ADVISER
Website

Sibel Yildirim

LECTURE ADMINISTRATION
Sibel Yildirim is responsible for the lecture administration in Project “Leonardo”. If you have any questions regarding registration or problems in RWTHonline, she is the right contact person.
Website.

sibel.yildirim[at]ipw.rwth-aachen.de

Website

Research assistants

Lenart Göpfert, B.Sc.
COURSE ASSISTANCE


lennart.goepfert[at]leonardo.rwth-aachen.de

Sönke Hebing, M.Ed.
Course Assistance

soenke.hebing[at]leonardo.rwth-aachen.de

Student/Graduate assistants

Karl Bendler
Course Assistance


karl.bendler[at]leonardo.rwth-aachen.de

Sofia Eleftheriadi, B.A.
COURSE ASSISTANCE


sofia.eleftheriadi[at]leonardo.rwth-aachen.de

Felix Engelhardt, B.Sc.
COURSE ASSISTANCE


felix.engelhardt[at]leonardo.rwth-aachen.de

Defne Erel
COURSE ASSISTANCE

defne.erel[at]leonardo.rwth-aachen.de

EVA GREVEN
COURSE ASSISTANCE

eva.greven[at]leonardo.rwth-aachen.de

NICOLAS HEYN
COURSE ASSISTANCE

nicolas.heyn[at]leonardo.rwth-aachen.de

HENDRIK LEHMANN
COURSE ASSISTANCE


hendrik.lehmann[at]leonardo.rwth-aachen.de

ALINA MEYER
COURSE ASSISTANCE

alina.meyer[at]leonardo.rwth-aachen.de

SVEN POLLMANN, B.A.
COURSE ASSISTANCE


sven.pollmann[at]leonardo.rwth-aachen.de

RWTH Transparent 2020

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About Project "Leonardo"

Brief Project History

In autumn 2008, Project „Leonardo“was launched on the initiative of the senate and its long-standing chairman Prof. Dr. Max Kerner. After a trial phase of around two years, „Leonardo“ was initially assigned institutionally and organizationally to the Institute for Political Science (IPW). Since the winter semester 2010/11 it stood under the responsibility of Prof. Dr. Emmanuel Richter. In the summer semester 2020, the project has been assigned to the interdisciplinary Human Technology Center (HumTec) with Prof. Dr. Stefan Böschen as Rector’s Delegate.  Ann-Kristin Winkens (M.Sc.) has been the project manager since winter semester 2018/19.

A great milestone in the project’s history was being awarded with the RWTH Teaching Award in the „Project“ category for „outstanding and exemplary achievements in teaching“ in 2017. In cooperation with the Charlemagne Prize Society, the project also offers the so-called „Leonardo“ Lecture, in which the prize winners address major social challenges on a broad horizon. Among the guests were the French President, Emmanuel Macron, Prof. Dr. Timothy Garton Ash, Prof. Dr. Dr. Udo Di Fabio and Prof. Dr. Norbert Lammert.

Goals of Project "Leonardo"

Beyond the departmental boundaries, students in Project „Leonardo“should not only get to know different ways of thinking but also learn approaches of disciplines through joint, interdisciplinary work. In addition, they should also get into conversation with fellow students from other departments and fields of study at RWTH Aachen University and in this way experience the „universitas“ in its original meaning as a scientific community.

Project „Leonardo“ promotes the empowerment of students to use their subject-specific knowledge in a broader context to tackle global and societal challenges and thus to solve problems with responsibility. To this end, three fundamental principles apply:

– Interdisciplinarity is fundamental to solving future challenges.
– Integrating responsibility for science, research and teaching into the university discourse.
– Participation and co-creation of all students in order to solve global challenges. 

In conveying this empowerment, the project is committed to the principle of excellent teaching: The students and their knowledge gain are at the centre of action. 

In order to ensure interdisciplinarity, people from different departments at the university take joint responsibility for courses. It is particularly important that the different subject contents and cultures not only coexist but rather are constructively integrated into conversation.

Interdisciplinarity refers not only to the type of content students are confronted with, but also to the students’ experience in the exchange with other students and lecturers from other disciplines.

The responsibility of science is reflected in all courses. To this end, the work is always oriented towards a holistic as well as impartial consideration of relevant topics. Students are deliberately required to form well-founded opinions: fact-oriented and differentiated, based on the knowledge and competencies they learn during their studies.

The system of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is of particular importance here. Within this framework, global challenges are highlighted and all topics are aligned with the problems that are distinguished by the SDGs as relevant and in particular need of a solution.

The idea of participation concerning the content of the project means that there is a conscious decision not to presuppose specialist knowledge and prior knowledge. Courses should have as few barriers as possible. Where specialist knowledge or background is necessary to a certain extent in order to understand more complex contexts, this will be provided within the framework of the courses.

At the same time, participation also means the positive freedom to take part in „Leonardo“ courses: Even those who want to complete a degree program in the standard period of study and are socially involved should have the opportunity to engage with the content of the project as part of their studies.

What is a „Leonardo“ Course?

A central characteristic of „Leonardo“ courses is that — usually two — lecturers from different scientific disciplines offer a course that focuses on a social challenges aims to reach students of all faculties. The aim is to discuss a central topic in an interdisciplinary manner under academic supervision and to bring together both students and lecturers from different disciplines. Since winter semester 20/21, student initiatives also have the opportunity to offer a „Leonardo“ event in cooperation with a lecturer. So far, courses have been offered on topics such as energy, climate change, world population and health, flight and migration, culture, medical technology, Sustainable Development Goals, human-animal studies and fake news. You can find a complete list here.

Why the Name Project "Leonardo"?

The name of the project recalls the great artist, natural scientist and technician Leonardo da Vinci, the universal genius of the Renaissance, but at the same time refers to the philosopher Jürgen Mittelstraß, who coined the term „Leonardo-World“. This term characterizes our present as a combination of theoretical knowledge and technical skill. Thus, the Leonardo world is confronted with special challenges that can only be met by combining the different approaches and disciplines of the natural sciences, engineering, humanities and social sciences.

In its future concept „The Integrated Interdisciplinary University of Science and Technology. Knowledge. Impact. Networks.“ RWTH Aachen University has set itself precisely this task of interdisciplinary further development. The „Leonardo“ project sees itself as an essential building block in this development. That is why it was recently made a central pillar in the Human Technology Center, which sees itself as a platform for shaping an integrated interdisciplinary scientific culture at RWTH Aachen University.

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FAQ

International FAQ

Most of our courses are offered in German, as the majority of the University’s courses only have German as immatriculation requirement and we can therefore not expect the majority of the students to be confident in engaging in a debate in English.

We do try to offer some English-only courses, but if there is no explicit mention of a course being English on the pages of the respective course, the course will predominantly be in German. Note that lecture notes and further reading might still be in English.

In principle this is not necessary and we always try to find individual solutions for student who would rather hand in an assignment in English. Please write the contact person for your course of choice at the beginning of the term (and especially before handing in an assignment), if you wish to do so. If you neglect to do so, we might not grade your assignment and give you a default fail.

Please note that we require the same level of accurate and grammatically correct language in English, as we would in German. Your writing still has to be appropriate for an academic context.

Please write the contact person for your course of choice at the beginning of the term and inform them, if you need a certificate in English.

Enrolment

Participation is open to students of all courses of study at RWTH Aachen University, but registration via RWTHonline is a mandatory requirement.

Students of the RWTH International Academy gGmbH and persons associated with the RWTH (scientific and non-scientific staff, JARA members, cooperation partners, senior students, etc.) can participate as “other participants” without having to take exams. Students of other universities (especially the FH Aachen) can participate via small cross registration, a big cross registration allows regular participation.

In principle, “Leonardo” events are only accessible to registered students, but some events are public. These are announced via Facebook and Instagram.

On the respective course website, you can find contact persons to whom you can turn with all questions regarding the corresponding course.

You can register before the beginning of the semester via RWTHonline. You indicate your preferences, and the courses are allocated after the end of the registration phase. You will find the dates on the homepage, usually in September/March. You will continue to be informed about the offer by means of an info mail sent to all students.
In the first month of the semester, if places are still available, a move-up procedure will be offered. You will find information about this on the website, usually in October/April.
If you would like to participate as an “additional participant”, please contact the responsible course supervisor by e-mail. Please note that participation is only possible in cases where there are still capacities available after the regular registration (this also applies to online events, since here too only a maximum number of participants is possible!)
In seminars, participation as “Further participants” is generally not possible.

For each semester, you can only participate in one course to get a certificate. Participation in further courses as “other participant” is possible, provided that there are remaining places available. Seminars are generally excluded.

The enrollment is carried out via RWTHonline by drawing lots. Students of the RWTH Aachen University are generally preferred when places are allocated. If you have indicated preferences when registering, we will do our best to consider them.

For students in the RWTH-FH cooperative study program Civil Engineering with orientation semester (BIOS) we guarantee a place in the courses you have chosen as compulsory subjects, provided that you have done a small cross registration in due time.

Signing off/change of enrollment

Please send an e-mail to the responsible contact person, who will take care of everything else. If, contrary to expectation, you are unable to participate in a course, we would be pleased if you were to make use of this opportunity, especially in cases where the corresponding courses are fully booked. This gives other students on the waiting list a chance to participate.

This is only possible if there is still space available in the course of your choice. We try to consider your highest preference when registering. If this is not possible due to overbooking, we will book you into a course with a lower preference.

The problem is known to us. Please contact Ms. Yildirim (sibel.yildirim[at]ipw.rwth-aachen.de) at the IPW directly, stating your matriculation number and the course concerned.

Examination

Registration for exams in “Leonardo” courses is done exclusively with the responsible student assistant, since the course administration does not run through the system. The corresponding deadlines will be announced at the beginning of the semester.

Students of all the RWTH’s courses of study as well as students with big cross-registration can take exams. In principle, you can take one type of examination of your choice per module. Further information on registration and deadlines will be provided at the beginning of the semester in the respective courses.

You can find the offered types of examination (e.g. coursework, graded papers, …) on the website of the respective courses, information on registration is available to registered students at the beginning of the semester.

You can find information on the offered exams on the pages of the respective courses.

Decisions on the recognition of exams are made at the faculty and departmental group level. In your examination regulations you will find information regarding your degree program. We strongly recommend that you seek advice from your departmental advisor.

Experience shows that crediting in “free elective areas”, “non-specialized elective areas” etc. is possible without any problems.

Please note that some degree programs do not allow you to subsequently submit passed academic achievements. Instead, you must have your academic achievements in the “Leonardo” project approved by your examination board at the beginning of the semester.

The academic committees of your respective program of study decide upon the recognition of examination achievements. We are committed to creating space for interdisciplinary content in as many study programs as possible. If this is not possible for you, we would be pleased to hear your opinion and to have you voice it towards the people in charge. The more students point out deficits in this respect, the easier it will be for us to work towards improvements within the university.

You can e.g. contact your program coordinator, your faculty council members, your representatives in subject committees and examination boards, your dean of studies or your student body as examples.

The examination boards decide on the recognition of CP values. The CP figures provided by us represent a recommendation and an assessment of the workload, which is intended to ensure uniform crediting of services.

If you are studying Environmental Engineering Sciences in the master’s program and would like to have a course for the course “Leonardo” in the area of “Environmental Engineering Sciences in General” credited, please take an examination with 4 credit points. Pay attention to which courses offer examination credit for 4 credit points. Only in this case the examination will be recognized for 5 CP according to your examination regulations.

You can only take one examination per semester. If you have any questions, please contact the contact person of the corresponding course.

Certificates

All students who participate in a “Leonardo” course will get a certificate of participation or a certification for a passed exam.

You will receive the former if you “only” take part or do not successfully complete an examination. The latter you will receive if you successfully complete an examination during the semester. You will receive information on this at the beginning of the courses.

At the end of the lecture you will receive a certificate confirming your passed examination in the course. You submit the certificate to the Central Examination Office (ZPA). Your performance will be entered into the system there.

We will issue the certificates for the students of each course at the end of the semester . As this often involves several hundred certificates, this process can take some time. However, you will be notified as soon as the certificates are ready for collection.

Usually you can not.

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Das Projekt

Category: Allgemein

FAQ

International FAQ

Most of our Modules are offered in German, as the majority of the University’s courses only have German as immatriculation requirement and we can therefore not expect the majority of the students to be confident in engaging in a debate in English.

We do try to offer some English-only modules, but if there is no explicit mention of a module being English on the pages of the respective module, the module will predominantly be in German. Note that lecture notes and further reading might still be in English.

In principle this is not necessary and we always try to find individual solutions for student who would rather hand in an assignment in English. Please write the contact person for your module of choice at the beginning of the term (and especially before handing in an assignment), if you wish to do so. If you neglect to do so, we might not grade your assignment and give you a default fail.

Please note that we require the same level of accurate and grammatically correct language in English, as we would in German. Your writing still has to be appropriate for an academic context.

Please write the contact person for your module of choice at the beginning of the term and inform them, if you need a certificate in English.

Enrollment

Participation is open to students of all courses of study at RWTH Aachen University, but registration via RWTHonline is a mandatory requirement.

 

Students of the RWTH International Academy gGmbH and persons associated with the RWTH (scientific and non-scientific staff, JARA members, cooperation partners, senior students, etc.) can participate as “other participants” without having to take exams. Students of other universities (especially the FH Aachen) can participate via small cross registration, a big cross registration allows regular participation.

In principle, “Leonardo” events are only accessible to registered students, but some events are public. These are announced via Facebook and our website.

On the respective module website, you can find contact persons to whom you can turn with all questions regarding the corresponding module

For each semester, you can only participate in one module to get a certificate. Participation in further modules as “otherparticipant” is possible, provided that there are remaining places available. Seminars are generally excluded.

The enrollment is carried out via RWTHonline by drawing lots. Students of the RWTH Aachen University are generally preferred when places are allocated. If you have indicated preferences when registering, we will do our best to consider them.

 

For students in the RWTH-FH cooperative study program Civil Engineering with orientation semester (BIOS) we guarantee a place in the modules you have chosen as compulsory subjects, provided that you have done a small cross registration in due time.

Zweithörer*in vorliegt. 

Signing off/ Change of enrollment

Please send an e-mail to the responsible contact person, who will take care of everything else. If, contrary to expectation, you are unable to participate in a module, we would be pleased if you were to make use of this opportunity, especially in cases where the corresponding modules are fully booked. This gives other students on the waiting list a chance to participate.

 

This is only possible if there is still space available in the module of your choice. We try to consider your highest preference when registering. If this is not possible due to overbooking, we will book you into a module with a lower preference.

Überbuchung nicht möglich sein, buchen wir Sie in ein Modul mit niedrigerer Präferenz.

The problem is known to us. Please contact Ms. Yildirim (sibel.yildirim[at]ipw.rwth-aachen.de) at the IPW directly, stating your matriculation number and the module concerned.

Examination

Registration for exams in “Leonardo” modules is done exclusively with the responsible student assistant, since the module administration does not run through the system. The corresponding deadlines will be announced at the beginning of the semester.

Students of all the RWTH’s courses of study as well as students with big cross-registration can take exams. In principle, you can take one type of examination of your choice per module. Further information on registration and deadlines will be provided at the beginning of the semester in the respective modules.

You can find the offered types of examination (e.g. coursework, graded papers, …) on the website of the respective modules, information on registration is available to registered students at the beginning of the semester.

You can find information on the offered exams on the pages of the respective modules.

Decisions on the recognition of exams are made at the faculty and departmental group level. In your examination regulations you will find information regarding your degree program. We strongly recommend that you seek advice from your departmental advisor.

 

Experience shows that crediting in “free elective areas”, “non-specialized elective areas” etc. is possible without any problems.

 

Please note that some degree programs do not allow you to subsequently submit passed academic achievements. Instead, you must have your academic achievements in the “Leonardo” project approved by your examination board at the beginning of the semester.

The academic committees of your respective program of study decide upon the recognition of examination achievements. We are committed to creating space for interdisciplinary content in as many study programs as possible. If this is not possible for you, we would be pleased to hear your opinion and to have you voice it towards the people in charge. The more students point out deficits in this respect, the easier it will be for us to work towards improvements within the university.

You can e.g. contact your program coordinator, your faculty council members, your representatives in subject committees and examination boards, your dean of studies or your student body as examples.

The examination boards decide on the recognition of CP values. The CP figures provided by us represent a recommendation and an assessment of the workload, which is intended to ensure uniform crediting of services.

If you are studying Environmental Engineering Sciences in the master’s program (PO19) and would like to have a course for the module “Leonardo” in the area of “Environmental Engineering Sciences in General” credited, please take an examination with 4 credit points. Only in this case the examination will be recognized for 5 CP according to your examination regulations.

Certificates

All students who participate in a “Leonardo” module will get a certificate of participation or a certification for a passed exam.

 

You will receive the former if you “only” take part or do not successfully complete an examination. The latter you will receive if you successfully complete an examination during the semester. You will receive information on this at the beginning of the courses.

At the end of the semester you will receive a certificate confirming your passed examination in the module. You submit the certificate to the Central Examination Office (ZPA). Your performance will be entered into the system there.

We will issue the certificates for the students of each module at the end of the semester . As this often involves several hundred certificates, this process can take some time. However, you will be notified as soon as the certificates are ready for collection.

Usually, this is not possible. 

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