New publication on the "Mindful University" model project

"The 'Mindful University' project has set a lot of things in motion in Thuringia," says Dr Birgit Jäpelt, who played a key role in the initiative at the University of Erfurt. "At the same time, we have succeeded in creating a nationwide network. Our aim was to encourage lecturers to try out mindful teaching, learning and communication styles in their everyday appointments, to combine them with their role as university lecturers in a creative way and thus to achieve a mindful attitude in their dealings with each other at the participating universities. To this end, we developed specific mindfulness training programmes for the various groups of people at universities and then evaluated them."

The book that has now been published is the world's first programme package for implementing mindfulness training in the various functional areas of universities. It brings together the trending topics of mindfulness, digitalisation and transformation. The model described therein, which has been tested by more than 10,000 students, teachers, employees and managers at universities in the DACH region, adapts and combines exercises from the internationally recognised mindfulness training courses Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction, Dyadic Training and Social Presencing Theatre. The editors and project developers describe the success story of their work, categorise it in terms of cultural policy and allow experts from the fields of humanities, engineering, medicine and economics to have their say. In field reports and practical detailed studies, they address not only the academic specialist audience, but anyone who wants to know how education in the digital society can be organised in a mindful way.