Center for Fundamentals and Digital Teaching

Contents of the preliminary course

With the hybrid preliminary course every semester immediately before the start of classes, Aalen University of Applied Sciences not only offers the opportunity to refresh basic knowledge, knowledge of the principles of education and to acquire the necessary knowledge for the start of studies, but also to get to know future fellow students before the start of classes and to receive useful tools and learning techniques for their studies.

Procedure and structure

The preliminary course consists of contents of mathematics as well as learning and working techniques.

Each morning, the schedule includes a unit on learning and working techniques and a double unit on mathematics. In the afternoon, you can practice the math content in accompanying tutorials.

What is required?

A computer/laptop and/or tablet is recommended for participation, regardless of the form. It is possible to dial into the university network / W-Lan on site using the university access data.

The next preliminary course will take place from Tuesday, 3.3.2026 to Thursday, 12.3.2026. You can choose every week or every day flexibly and without pre-registration whether you participate in presence or online via Zoom.

Finding the right learning and working techniques and good methods for self-regulation in Studies is not always easy. What works well and where is there room for improvement? In the LearnTalks, this is exactly the topic and a lot of information about "learning the right way" will be presented.

Planned appointments, dates in the summer semester 2026:

Wednesday, 25.03.2026: LearnTalk: Time and self-management in Studies (14:00-16:00 in presence)

Studying requires a high degree of self-motivation and self-management. A good structuring of the time you have available is also a key decision factor in order to better manage the tasks at hand. At LearnTalk, we work on identifying obstacles and time wasters in learning and strategically pursuing goals better with good planning.

Lecturer: Eveline Rettenmeier

Wednesday, 22.04.2026: LearnTalk: Finally follow through - strategies against procrastination (17:00-18:30, online)

Finally getting through learning more consistently? Who hasn't experienced this? Putting things off and procrastinating is a widespread challenge, and not just in Studies. However, this procrastination behavior can become problematic if it becomes too pronounced: Stress and negative emotions are a common consequence and make the course of studies more difficult. In this LearnTalk, you will find out what is behind the term procrastination and which self-management methods can help you to keep going instead of putting things off.

Lecturer: Eveline Rettenmeier

Online - dial-in link will be sent after registration

Wednesday, 20.05.2026: LearnTalk: Strategies for narrowing down the topic and developing the research question in times of AI (14:30-16:00 in presence)

A scientific project or final thesis stands or falls with a good research question. In this department, we will therefore look at how you can narrow down the topic of your thesis in a meaningful way and develop a precise scientific question from it. In particular, we will look at how you can integrate AI tools into this process in a targeted manner. The department combines short input units with practical exercises in which you work directly on your topics.

Lecturer: Nadine Müller

Wednesday, 03.06.2026: LearnTalk: Your Project & AI (14:00-16:00 in presence)

In this department, we will explore how AI can be used in academic research and writing without jeopardizing independence.

Lecturer: Silke Egelhof

Wednesday, 17.06.2026: LearnTalk: Successful stress management during the exam period (14:00-16:00 in presence)

Stress during exam periods is normal - but it doesn't have to be overwhelming. In this LearnTalk, we will learn to recognize individual stress factors and develop passport coping strategies.

Lecturer: Eveline Rettenmeier

Participation is also possible via the general studies part of the degree program. In this case, 3 hours of workload are allocated per LearnTalk. Registration takes place via the Career Center.

Registration at short notice is also possible via studienberatung[at]hs.aalen.de.

In the Canvas course "Learning to Learn" we provide the corresponding information, tips and materials in a toolbox.

LEARNING ADVICE

We are also happy to provide you with individual learning advice on how you can improve your learning outcomes. To do this, we will first take a look at your learning behavior and consider together what opportunities there are for you to improve your learning strategies. In this context, we will introduce you to different learning and working methods. We can also help and support you if you suffer from test anxiety and blockages.

To make an appointment, please send us an email (keyword: learning advice) via grundlagenzentrum[at]hs-aalen.de or call us on 07361/576 1937.

We have also provided you with materials and information on the topic of "learning to learn" in our Canvas course. Feel free to take a look there too.

The studien.cloud's mission is to responsibly support the digital transformation in Studying and teaching. The externally-funded project, funded by the Foundation for Innovation in University Teaching over three years, aims to establish a digital platform for basic mathematics and digital skills.

The studien.cloud project

• aims to liaise with (companies), liaise between (students and companies), coordinate, act as intermediary between and
• attempts to equalize heterogeneous initial knowledge

The intro video by the foundation Innovation in Professors provides a brief insight.

Support in mathematics is available

• in the preliminary course at Aalen University of Applied Sciences, always at the beginning of the semester
• through interactive materials:
  The project created digital exercise sheets with interactive graphics and digital tasks on the topics of arithmetic rules, fractions, powers, roots, logarithms, equations, trigonometry, functions and differential calculus. Further topics such as integral calculus, vector calculus, Stochastics and inequalities will follow. Explicitly, these are Jupyter Notebooks, whereby (prospective) students are liaised with and illustrated by examples of basic mathematics definitions independent of time and place and can practice through randomized, adaptive tasks adapted to their learning level.

mathe.studien.cloud

On our mathe.studien.cloud platform, you can learn about the topics

• Calculation rules,
• Term transformations,
• fractions,
• powers,
• roots,
• logarithms,
• equations,
• functions,
• Geometry,
• differential calculus,
• integral calculus,
• vectors

independently, independent of time and place with a personal dashboard to repeat and advance your math basics. You will find the presentation of contents, a wide range of digital tasks, demos and learning videos.

Learning materials

You can find access via the Canvas course mathe.studien.cloud. Enrol here right away!

Learning videos

mathe.studien.cloud on YouTube

The learning videos on the math topics mentioned above can all be found summarized on our YouTube channel under the link: videos.studien.cloud

PhysikGO!

With PhysikGO!, the Center for Fundamentals and Digital Teaching has developed its own online course for physics basics. It offers students at Aalen University of Applied Sciences the opportunity to solve assignments independent of time and place.

The online course PhysikGO! can be found on Canvas, the learning management system of the institution of higher education.

The tasks of the online course are based on the cosh group's minimum requirements catalog for physics.

E-learning physics

In addition to mathematics, the subject, field, discipline (an expert) of physics is also a major hurdle for many new students, beginners. In the eLearning and eAssessment working group of the Hochschulföderation SüdWest (HfSW ), seven institutions of higher education have joined forces with the aim of improving students' knowledge of physics through a digital practice class and test environment. The Grundlagenzentrum has represented Aalen University of Applied Sciences in this working group since 2013.

Physics exercises were developed systematically and didactically prepared for an Electronic Learning Environment for Physics. There are now over 1000 pages of 200 tasks with questions, answers with alternatives and sample solutions from the fields (of) mechanics, electricity, thermodynamics and optics. The first parts have been implemented in electronic learning environments at institutions of higher education and tested on a pilot basis at partner universities. The learning environments are being further developed in the network.

To improve regional transition management, Aalen University of Applied Sciences is cooperating with schools in the Ostalbkreis district.

The former Grundlagenzentrum has developed an extracurricular mathematics course for vocational colleges (BKFH), called WiMINT-AG, in cooperation, cooperative venture, partnership, collaboration with the Gewerbliche Schule Schwäbisch Gmünd. The AG is integrated into the timetable of the schools as block teaching in the school year before the audits. The course is based on the cosh group's minimum requirements catalog for mathematics. Pupils who are aiming to study an engineering, information technology or economics field of study, are given the opportunity to prepare for the requirements of their intended course of study. The working group is run by student teaching assistants from Aalen University of Applied Sciences.

The operational part of the working group is flanked by an advisor and orientation workshop of the central student advisory service, academic advising.

The overall concept pursues the following goals

• Communication of the requirements for university studies
• Advanced course / specialty of Fundamentals of Mathematics
• Improving the chances of getting started
• Improving the "perceived" transition from school to the institution of higher education

The WiMINT-AG has been running since the 2015/16 school year and is currently funded by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of Baden-Württemberg.

Cooperation partners are the Gewerbliche Schule Schwäbisch Gmünd, the Technische Schule Heidenheim and the Technische Schule Aalen.