Feb 15, 2021
Building Blocks for the School of the Future – Launch of the #PixelSpenden Campaign
Thanks to the help of its supporters, the University School Dresden has already achieved many milestones. The next one is especially important: a building to house the school. The University School Dresden and the school community have launched the online campaign #PixelSpenden (English: donate a pixel) to raise funds for the urgently needed school building.
The current 1970s building that houses the school will soon be bursting at the seams. Ideally, a modern schoolhouse will be built in its place.
The University School Dresden was established in 2019 as an academically guided pilot project that will run for 15 years. The aim is to provide crucial insights into the conditions that enable successful learning. 360 children from Dresden are schooled here in accordance with innovative learning methods that focus equally on teamwork and helping individuals to advance. In this living lab, academics and learning facilitators probe digitally supported learning so that future generations of school children may benefit from their academic findings. They will also benefit current and future teachers at TU Dresden’s school for training and continuing education. Furthermore, the results from the project will be made available to decision-makers in the areas of school development and planning.
At the moment, 360 pupils from grades 1 to 6 attend the school. The student body continues to grow by at least one class each year up until grade 10. Soon, the 1970s school building in the city district of Plauen will be too small. This was known before the establishment of the school, and plans to construct a new building on the Cämmerswalder Strasse site were already in place. A preliminary design for a school building is on hand. This building will enable the school community and researchers to explore and experience the school of the future – with digitally supported learning based on practical life and work applications. However, the municipal budget lacks the full funds necessary for the new building.
Space for independent learning
The architecture and design of educational spaces is an essential framework for the realization of innovative methods of teaching and learning. The school community and the University School Dresden have launched a campaign to raise funds for a modern school building suited to contemporary learning within the academically guided school project. The goal is to close the funding gap thanks to donations from an online campaign titled #PixelSpenden.
The new building in Dresden Plauen would allow the school to flourish at this location – and save the students from having to move to another site. Professor Anke Langner, who oversees the accompanying research at TU Dresden, explained the importance of staying put for the research project. “Relocations are challenging for any school – not least for a growing school project – and this decision cannot be taken lightly. Our primary objective here is to observe which conditions support successful individual learning processes – not what effect a move has on learning. Besides, a stable student body is crucial. If relocation is not an option for the parents , valuable data will be lost in the long-term research project.”
Former Science Minister Dr. Eva-Maria Stange is patron and member of the Board of Trustees for the University School Dresden.
The Parent Association Advisory Board of the University School Dresden (FVUS) supports the fundraising campaign.
The school is under the aegis of former Minister Dr. Eva-Maria Stange, who is a member of the Board of Trustees and highlights the importance of the pilot project for the development of a school of the future, stating that “learning processes are largely dependent on the education specialists, the learning environment and the students themselves. The University School in Dresden – the only project of its kind in Germany – thus needs an innovative, inclusive and future-oriented learning environment. The children should grow up in a stimulating environment conducive to learning. This includes learning and teaching infrastructure in keeping with the times. The outer shell – the rooms, the building – is important. The building must be emotionally and aesthetically stimulating. It has to meet the diverse needs of education and serve the individuality of the pupils. It also helps teacher training students to absorb ideas for their future careers and incorporate research on effective inclusive education, including the learning environment. To make the construction of a contemporary school building for University School Dresden possible, I support the online campaign #PixelSpenden. (donate a pixel)”
Small and large donations will be gratefully received online at www.bausteine.universitaetsschule.org until February 16. Each donation will reveal a pixel of the image ‘A Glimpse into the School of the Future.’ The artwork was selected by a jury of students, parents, learning facilitators and public relations specialists out of the submissions to the ‘Glimpse into the School of the Future’ art contest.
The sponsors can leave a message and a link to their company or organization on top of the pixels they uncover. By doing so, they can publicly show their support for the project ‘University School Dresden – the school of the future’.
The million-pixel image will remain accessible on the University School Dresden website even after the end of the #PixelSpenden campaign.
About the University School Dresden
The University School Dresden is a joint project of the City of Dresden and Technische Universität. It is a free, public primary and secondary school funded by the city, where innovative teaching and learning formats are tested under academic supervision. Furthermore, it serves as a training school at TU Dresden for current and future teachers.
Read more about TU Dresden’s research project: https://tu-dresden.de/gsw/unischule
Read more about the University School Dresden: http://universitaetsschule.org
The University School Dresden Association has engaged members of TU Dresden since the start: from the idea to the establishment and now in everyday school life. The association aims to ensure that the learning facilitators and children have ideal conditions for the development of the project. It has found prominent partners in the form of the Vodafone Foundation and the TÜV SÜD Foundation.
The Association for the Promotion of the University School Dresden (FVUS) is made up of dedicated families, learning facilitators and supporters of the school who want to work together to shape, support and foster the school of the future. The association aims to provide children with an engaging and comfortable environment for fun-filled learning.
You can gain a glimpse into daily school life and the research project on social media at @unischuleTUD. Follow the links to see the University School accounts on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn.
Media inquiries
Maria Völzer
0351 463-39917