Research and development projects

In the bwCampusnetz project, the universities of Karlsruhe (KIT), Constance, Mannheim, Stuttgart and Ulm are working together to examine the universities' campus networks with regard to their future viability. The aim is to find future-proof concepts and investigate and demonstrate their practical feasibility through prototype implementations. 

The focus is on the further development of network architecture and network design, with a particular focus on segmentation, wireless LAN, VPN and firewall. A network of the future is to be measured by the quality characteristics of security, scalability, reliability, manageability and automation of the network. The existing networks are to be adapted to the growing requirements and the requirements of the BSI IT baseline protection.

The project builds on the successful collaboration in the bwIPv6@Academia project. The aim is to further strengthen the pioneering role already achieved with IPv6 throughout Germany in the area of campus networks.

TIK is responsible for the network access harmonization work package, in particular for the convergence of wired and wireless access networks with regard to IT security and administration.

Partnership for innovative e-exams

With “PePP”, all Baden-Württemberg universities are jointly pursuing the goal of systematically tapping into the previously untapped potential of electronic examinations for students and teachers and making existing experience more widely available. Electronic examinations have become increasingly relevant during the coronavirus pandemic.  The task now is to transform successful approaches into sustainable solutions.
With “PePP”, technical and didactic innovations are being (further) developed in real-world laboratories and rolled out at several universities, tested under various technical, infrastructural and organizational conditions and further developed and scaled in a quality-oriented manner. The aim is to strengthen competence orientation, increase mobility and flexibility and make examinations more learner-centered. Cross-sectional clusters provide impulses for university didactics, support the qualification of teachers and generate feedback on the quality of e-exams.

Make Education digital

The project aims to develop the digitalization-related skills of (future) teachers to use, develop and reflect on digital media and tools in teaching and learning contexts. We want to increase these skills by establishing pedagogical-didactic makerspaces at the partner universities. In the makerspaces, students and teachers on teacher training courses receive support in the creation, use and reflection of digital materials in the classroom. Helpful expertise is provided by employees with backgrounds in media technology, pedagogy and didactics, educational science and subject didactics.

Virtual Programming Lab

The ViPLab development project includes a browser-based programming environment, computing backends on TIK servers, and a communication middleware. Originally initiated by students and funded by tuition fees, ViPLab has been actively used in teaching since 2010. The integration of practical tasks into engineering education, e.g., through the use of complex simulation software, as well as a unified programming environment for practice and exam situations are the goals and advantages of ViPLab.

In addition to operating ViPLab as a service, its components are actively being further developed. For example, a student project is currently working on converting the computing backends to a modern container architecture. Furthermore, the SusI project is developing a new use case: the executability of software for a scientific publication with the help of ViPLab.