Newly designed learning spaces: Vechta relies on innovative campus concepts!

Newly designed learning spaces: Vechta relies on innovative campus concepts!

The University of Vechta is facing exciting changes! On July 7, 2025, the university announced that it would like to adapt its learning spaces and campus to support different learning processes and didactic approaches. The highlight? The university library is being expanded into the central learning location on campus. This was announced by library director Dr. Karolin Bubke, who emphasized the advantages of the planned zoning of the library building, which was built in the 1980s. Space should be created here for group workstations, individual workstations and comfortable seating so that everyone can find their place to learn and relax.

The detailed plans also include the introduction of new furniture, including comfortable sofas and sound-absorbing wing chairs, designed to promote learning and social interaction. Inviting and versatile – this is how the library imagines itself in the future. A current topic in the discussions is the opening times and the question of whether backpacks and drinks can be taken into the library. Learning spaces should minimize distractions and increase student concentration, with factors such as lighting conditions, acoustics and ergonomic furniture playing a crucial role.

Participation in focus

The university follows a participatory approach and has already carried out an initial survey among students to assess their needs. Lars Gerber, who underlines the importance of such processes, speaks of a “sticky campus”, which is intended to encourage students to stay at the university longer and to actively participate in campus life. A call from the Student Parliament (StuPa) to participate in a working group to redesign the former bistro area in the cafeteria building shows that the opinions of students really count.

Interdisciplinary working groups, such as those on learning space development, deal intensively with the question of how learning spaces can be designed to be future-proof. The challenges presented by digital transformation should not be underestimated. Decision-makers from university management, didactics officers and IT and infrastructure managers are called upon to develop new, competency-oriented teaching-learning scenarios together with teachers and students, according to the University Forum for Digitalization.

Promote health and well-being

Another point that should not be neglected is the focus on the well-being of the learners. Health management and learning advice emphasize how important breaks are for recovery. The campus is intended to function as a “third place” alongside home and the seminar room – a space that not only invites you to learn, but also to relax.

The process in the university library also takes digital changes into account: it might be possible to dismantle bookshelves in the future, as many materials are now available online. Nevertheless, the goal remains to maintain the atmosphere of the library as a repository of knowledge and to promote concentrated work. Study programs that offer both content and a spatial concept harmonize in this context and promote the academic community as well as the citizens of the city of Vechta.

With all of these measures, the university not only wants to create learning spaces, but also offer real added value for students and teachers. The goals are to implement high levels of participation, user orientation and flexibility. Educational institutions have a social responsibility and thus become places of exchange and creative participation - this is the future of learning!

For more details on the plans, the official press release is available at University of Vechta. Further information about learning space development can be found on the website of the University Forum for Digitalization and the Guidelines for future-oriented learning spaces.