Virtual University of Bavaria (vhb)
The Virtual University of Bavaria (vhb) is a network of Bavarian universities. It offers online courses as well as shorter learning units that are designed to supplement your on-campus studies. All vhb content is developed by lecturers at the host universities, including TUM.
As a student of our university, you can use the online courses of the vhb free of charge with tutor supervision. At www.vhb.org, you will find detailed information. The course program kurse.vhb.org provides detailed descriptions and demos of all courses. Please contact your academic advisor to find out whether vhb courses can be recognized in your TUM study program.
Through OPEN vhb, you will find shorter, open courses at the university level which may be of interest to you and the general public. Here you will also find courses that you can take in preparation for, or during, your studies. These courses are not designed to be taken for credit. The OPEN vhb course overview can be found at open.vhb.org.
As a lecturer, you will find support from vhb not only in developing and implementing online courses across universities, but also in integrating existing digital courses into your teaching. In a repository, you will find online learning units of 45 minutes each for blended learning, which can be flexibly integrated into classroom teaching. You can also contribute to the repository yourself and set up blended learning units. Further information can be found at www.vhb.org/lehrende.
Online offers of the vhb in the summer semester 2024
1. CLASSIC vhb
Supervised online courses
https://kurse.vhb.org
2. OPEN vhb
Open self-study courses
https://open.vhb.org/?lang=en
3. SMART vhb
Repository for blended learning units
https://smart.vhb.org
The vhb promotes the development of online courses anchored in the curricula of the supporting universities (CLASSIC vhb) and the creation of open online courses with academic content accessible to all interested parties free of charge (OPEN vhb).
Course development
Are you a lecturer interested in developing a vhb online course? Information on how to develop courses is available at https://www.vhb.org/lehrende/kurse/
Dates for funding round 2024-I:
- 30.04.2024: Deadline for submission of funding applications
- 15.07.2024: Announcement of the accepted funding applications
- 01.09.2024: Fearliest possible project start
Important:
If you are interested, please read through all the information and forms provided by the vhb regarding the application process. Please send your application for review to your contact person at TUM, Elvira Cyranka (see Contact). She will arrange for the required signature to be obtained from the President's Office after successful review.
A scan of the signed documents can be submitted in advance to meet the application deadline. Scans from all consortium universities must be available by the deadline. The signatures of the participating universities can be made in separate documents. The documents with the original signatures must be sent to the vhb by letter mail.
Note: Please note that the use of vhb courses in fee-based continuing education programs is subject to revenue sharing by the Virtual University of Bavaria. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions.
For detailed information and required forms, see https://www.vhb.org/lehrende/kurse/foerderung/foerderrunde-2024-i/
Course implementation
Do you have questions about your vhb course? A list of frequently asked questions is available at https://www.vhb.org/vhb/faq/
The SMART vhb funding line supports the development of blended learning units that are made available to all instructors at the sponsoring universities via a repository.
Information on blended learning with SMART vhb
Use SMART vhb learning units and enhance your own teaching
As members of the vhb member universities, TUM lecturers can access the SMART vhb repository and view content using their individual university ID via Shibboleth authentication.
The vhb also provides an overview on its website with information on all learning units that have been developed or are currently being developed within the framework of the previous funding rounds. You can access the overview here: https://www.vhb.org/lehrende/smart-vhb-blended-learning/lerneinheiten/
Development of SMART vhb learning units
Funding rounds SMART vhb
Funding for SMART vhb learning units is provided centrally by the vhb to the sponsoring universities, both for the development of new learning units and for the adaptation of existing materials. For this purpose, vhb conducts annual funding rounds. Detailed information on the funding criteria and deadlines can be found below.
The deadline for submitting funding applications is May 15 of each year. For questions regarding the application process by your university, please contact your vhb representative, as a joint application is submitted for each university.
The development of the learning units begins with the project start on 01.09. The end of the project and the latest date for posting the course units in the repository is 15.10. of the following year. After formal review by the vhb office, the course units are made available in the SMART vhb repository. Here you will find an overview of all course units that have been made available so far or are currently under development.
Detailed information can be found at https://www.vhb.org/lehrende/smart-vhb-blended-learning/foerderrunden/.
Note: If you are interested in developing one or more blended learning units, please contact your contact person Elvira Cyranka (see contact) in time.
Online workshop "Update: Copyright & data protection in online teaching" (13 June 2024)
On 13 June 2024 from 10.00-11.30 a.m., there will be another online workshop on "Update: Copyright & Data Protection in Online Teaching.“
Copyright and data protection issues are omnipresent in (online) teaching. To keep you updated, the vhb offers an update workshop once a semester, focussing on current (legal) developments, individual aspects of legal regulations, and case studies from everyday university life. Based on a keynote speech, the questions and practical examples submitted in advance by the participants determine the thematic course of the event. There will also be an opportunity to ask questions during the workshop.
Speaker: Prof. Dr Achim Förster, Professor of Copyright Law, Media Law and Media Policy and Vice President for Teaching, Studies and Continuing Education at Würzburg-Schweinfurt University of Applied Sciences
The event is aimed at interested lecturers and multipliers for e-learning at all vhb member universities and takes place via Zoom. Participation is free of charge.
Please note:
This workshop is not a general introduction to copyright and data protection in online teaching. For preparation, we therefore recommend the recordings of the online workshop series "Legal Issues in Online Teaching" from 2021.
Course language: German
Further information on the event: https://www.vhb.org/veranstaltungen/
Registration: Online registration is required for participation until 11 June 2024.
Introductory workshop "Development of CLASSIC vhb courses" (24.09.2024, online)
On September 24th, 2024, the next online introductory workshop "Development of CLASSIC vhb courses" will take place. Focused entirely on the requirements of the CLASSIC vhb line of offerings, participants will receive an overview of didactic planning, project management, course implementation and support in the one-day online event. Best-practice examples of various authoring tools and video software will be used to provide practical suggestions on how to start developing and designing your own course projects.
Please note:
Course language: German
Registration until 09.09.2024
Further information and online registration: https://www.vhb.org/veranstaltungen/
Here you will find answers from the vhb to general questions about CLASSIC vhb: https://www.vhb.org/lehrende/faq/
Announcement of the vhb
Fourth Statute Amending the Regulations for the Use of the Virtual University of Bavaria (vhb) of 16.01.2023
Click here for the text of the statutes ( (text in German)
Contact
The vhb representative at TUM is Dr. Anderas Fleischmann (ProLehre | Media and Didactics). He represents the TUM and is responsible for all vhb matters.
Lecturers and employees of TUM are welcome to contact Elvira Cyranka (ProLehre) regarding CLASSIC vhb, OPEN vhb and SMART vhb. Ms. Cyranka is also tasked with reviewing and forwarding grant applications.
General questions and suggestions concerning vhb should be addressed directly to vhb: info(at)vhb.org.