Digital Skills Coaching - Peer to Peer

This project aims to develop and implement learning opportunities to strengthen interdisciplinary digital skills. As a follow-up project to the Digital Skills Tutoring, the offer is being further developed and evaluated across the BFH.

Situation

Today, digital skills are essential competencies. At BFH, the basic teaching curriculum has yet to systematically incorporate them. In the Digital Skills Coaching program, student coaches, starting from their 3rd semester, actively help other students, usually newcomers, to build general and study-related digital competencies. This approach not only eases the transition into university life but also encourages a systematic development of digital skills relevant to specific disciplines or professional fields. Thanks to initial funding from the Human Digital Transformation initiative, BFH can now pilot the Digital Skills Coaching program across the entire institution.

Course of action

In this project, students gain the ability to actively serve as coaches for their peers. As peer-coaches, they assist other students in developing and deepening their digital skills. The project comprises three main parts: (1) Recruitment & Training of Coaches: The coaches, under the guidance of the project leaders from W & TI, familiarize themselves with tools to promote digital skills among fellow students. (2) Development & Implementation of Learning Opportunities: Coaches create and implement learning opportunities (e.g., workshops, micro-learnings) to acquire digital skills, engaging interested participants from all departments at BFH. The content focuses on the digital skills students need daily, such as communication and collaboration or creating digital content. (3) Evaluation & Institutionalization: The offerings and the peer-coaching format undergo evaluation, and steps towards institutionalization are explored. Building on the experiences from "Digital Skills Tutoring," this project aims to extend these opportunities across the entire BFH (virtuelleakademie.ch/dst).

Result

During the project's duration, the Digital Skills Coaching achieved remarkable results. The team's constructive teamwork overcame the challenges posed by BFH's complex structure. Eight student coaches from various BFH departments were recruited. After a phase of development and preparation in the spring, they designed and conducted four workshops in the fall semester of 2023, with 12-42 participants from a wide range of departments. Additionally, individual consultation hours were held to address students' questions. The workshops primarily focused on the use of generative AI, digital efficiency, and digital literacy. The Digital Skills Coaches also provided support during the introduction days of the W and S departments. A key to the program's success was strategic communication, planned and implemented by a Student Communication Lead. As a result of improved communication, the Moodle page dedicated to DSC attracted more than 200 students from around 40 study programs. The opportunity to hire student coaches in a paid position ensures continuous knowledge retention and preparation time during non-teaching periods. For the students, besides the financial incentive, enriching their resumes and the chance to gain practical professional experience play a significant role.

Looking ahead

An evaluation was conducted to assess the sustainability of the DSC at BFH. The Teaching Commission recommended continuing the DSC with a re-evaluation after one year of operation. The university management has approved the continuation.

Contact

Joëlle Simonet

• Wissenschaftliche Mitarbeiterin
• +41 31 848 41 54
• Show e-mail

• See profile

This project contributes to the following SDGs

• 

Links

• Virtuelle Akademie - DST