Since 2020, the Dresden University School pilot project has been supported by a structure and evaluation commission in the process of school development and research. The committee of renowned educational scientists and experienced practitioners is now presenting its fourth report.
Once again, the commission is impressed by the innovative and nationally recognized establishment and development achievements at the University School Dresden (USD). It focuses on the newly acquired resources for school and teaching development work and praises the transfer of innovation to schools in Dresden and Saxony. In its current report, the commission also formulates urgent needs for action. These include the move to an appropriate learning building for the growing school community by the start of the 2027/28 school year at the latest and basic funding for the University School Research Center (ForUS) at TU Dresden.
Special potential for the TUD Dresden University of Technology and the education region
Further development work will also be made possible by additional resources in the context of school and teaching development work. For example, with the consent of the state education authority LaSuB, teacher workloads can be budgeted more flexibly and school-related credit hours can be provided since the 2023/24 school year.
Now in its fifth year, the school trial supports the regional and supra-regional transfer of innovation, for example in eastern Saxony, in addition to the further development and expansion process in the growing school. In the 2023/24 school year, 630 pupils in grades 1 to 9 are learning here, since 2019 in the old GDR building and since 2022 also in additional mobile room units. By the 2027/28 school year, the student body will grow to around 1,000 children and young people preparing for the Hauptschulabschluss, the Mittlere Reife and the Abitur.
Innovative concepts: new school building, school management
At the 4th meeting since the committee was founded, an innovative architectural concept for the new school building for the growing student body was presented. The committee discussed the fit between school life, pedagogy and didactics as well as architecture.
The concept of an extended school management team, which has been implemented since the 2024/25 school year, was also presented and discussed. The management structures are designed as a flat hierarchy with those responsible for central areas of activity that result directly from the school's educational concept. The next step is the implementation of further central topics for the school organization in close cooperation between the extended school management and the academic management.
Comparability of research data
Another point of discussion was the frequently asked question about the comparability of the learning achievements of students at Dresden University School with those of other schools in Dresden and Saxony. The central question here was under what conditions and for which research questions comparability is possible.
Renewed appeal to the "Dresden University School community of responsibility"
As in previous years, the report highlights three areas in which there is an ongoing and urgent need for action: The first is the new learning building for the growing school community from 2027/28 with planning that meets actual needs. This should continue to enable the established learning culture at USD in terms of room planning and furnishings.
The committee also considers it equally urgent to clarify the necessary basic funding of the research center by TU Dresden, while at the same time profiling research and continuing conceptual work on a third-party funding strategy. Since its foundation in 2022, the research center has been able to obtain funding for its employees from the Free State of Saxony, albeit for a limited period of two years. These resources have already been used intensively for publications and other successful third-party funding applications. To ensure the successful continuation of this work, the Structure and Evaluation Commission believes that the basic funding for accompanying research and coordinative tasks should be made permanent, as is the case for comparable institutions in Bielefeld and Cologne.
A final appeal concerns the implementation of digitalization at the school in coordination with the city of Dresden. The digitization concept developed and implemented by the school is now widely known through the publications on the university school. Currently, a large part of the maintenance work on 800 school laptops in a digitally supported school is carried out by the PITKos (Pedagogical IT Coordination). This ties up resources that the teachers should actually be using for the pupils.
About the Structure and Evaluation Commission
Since 2020, the Dresden University School pilot project has been supported by a structure and evaluation commission in the process of school development and research. The committee of is now presenting its fourth report.
Find more information on the work of the Structure and Evaluation Commission and download all reports on the project website, as well as a list of the commission members of renowned educational scientists and experienced practitioners.
About the University School Dresden
The University School Dresden is a joint project of the state capital Dresden and the Technical University. It is a public and free community school run by the city, where innovative forms of teaching and learning are tested under academic supervision. In addition, it is a training school for future teachers and, in the future, a further education school for teachers. The school trial is being scientifically supported by the ForUS research center at TU Dresden.
Information on the research project at TU Dresden: https://tu-dresden.de/gsw/unischule
Information on the Dresden University School: https://universitaetsschule.org
You can find insights into the research project and everyday school life on various social media channels under @unischuleTUD. Follow the links to the University School Dresden on Facebook, X-Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn. You can also regularly read news from the Dresden University School project in the Newsletter from the Humanities and Social Sciences Division.
