Student writes formulas on a virtual blackboard

DIES LEGENDI – Teaching Day

"Shaping and celebrating change: Future skills, innovation, and transfer in tomorrow's teaching"
Student writes formulas on a virtual blackboard
Image: SergeyNivens - iStock

DIES LEGENDI – Teaching Day 2025, November 18, 2025, starting at 12

DIES LEGENDI – Teaching Day is a highlight of the academic year that focuses on the importance of teaching as one of the core tasks of the University of Jena. As a festive setting for the presentation of teaching awards and a platform for inspiration, exchange, and further development, the day provides decisive impetus for high-quality teaching.

The theme of DIES LEGENDI – Teaching Day is “Create and Celebrate Change: Future Skills, Innovation, and Transfer in Tomorrow's Teaching.” We are celebrating the launch of the university project “Universitas@Jena: Shaping the Future Together” and addressing questions such as: What skills do our students need for the future? How can innovative teaching be promoted even more effectively? How can good teaching be transferred to society? With a keynote speech on the topic of “Future Skills” and a World Café on the topics of “Future Skills,” “Innovation and Participation,” and “Transfer,” teachers, students, and all other interested parties can engage in dialogue and set the course for the “teaching of tomorrow.”

Regular classes will be canceled during the event from 12 noon to 5 p.m. (dies academicus) so that all teachers and students can participate in the event.

Registration for event participation

For organizational reasons, we kindly ask you to register for the event by November 16, 2025, at the latest.

Please note when registering that some parts of the program are only available for in-person participation.
The registration option will be activated here shortly.

Event schedule

As of 08/2025

Event format: In-person with livestream (except poster session and World Café)
Venue: Rosensäle, (Fürstengraben 27, 07743 Jena)

Time Program point
from 11:30 a.m.

Get together

12:00 a.m.

Opening and welcoming remarks
apl. Prof. Dr. Karina Weichold (Vice President for Academic Affairs / Director of ALe)
Prof. Dr. Andreas Marx (President) 
 

 

Keynote |  Impulse and discussion on the topic "Future Skills"
   
 

1:00 p.m. Universitas@Jena: Shaping the future together
Presentation of the university-wide project in the area of teaching and studying

1:15 p.m.

Poster session on the project – sub-areas and work packages
with lunch snack

2:15 - 4:15 p.m.

World Café about „Universitas - Shaping the future of education together“

  • Session 1: Future Skills
  • Session 2: Participation and innovation
  • Session 3: Transfer in teaching and for teaching
  • Final session
4:30 p.m.

Ceremonial presentation of the 2025 Teaching Awards to
Dr. Antje Rauers and Dr. Manuel Robert Quaschner with short films about the Teaching Awards
                                                                   

5:00 p.m.

Conclusion of the event with a champagne reception to mark the start of the project

 

DIES LEGENDI – Teaching Day 2024

Greetings of the president Prof Dr Marx

Image: Laurenz Grieger

On 19 November 2024, the DIES LEGENDI - Teaching Day took place in the auditorium of the main university building from 12 noon to 5 pm. The topic ‘Let's communicate! Discourse culture in courses', Friedrich Schiller University Jena focused on the current questions of how communication culture influences the learning atmosphere and learning success, how teachers can promote lively and critical discourse and how mechanisms of public political discourse affect teaching spaces. More than 100 participants (in attendance and via livestream) were first able to follow the opening speech by the Vice President, Prof Dr Karina Weichold. In his subsequent welcoming address, the President, Prof. Dr Andreas Marx, emphasised the University of Jena's aspiration to not only focus on research excellence, but also to pursue a future-oriented approach to teaching. In the keynote speech ‘From the Bundestag to the seminar room - pride and prejudice in political discourse’, Prof Dr Tobias Rothmund offered an insight into the culture of communication in society in general, right through to university society. In an open discussion round and a parallel university didactics workshop, lecturers and students were able to delve deeper into the debate and discussion on the specific aspects of discourse culture in teaching.

Opening DIES LEGENDI - Teaching Day 2024

Image: Laurenz Grieger

Presentation of the Teaching Awards

This year, Ilka Hameister, Peter Starke and Dr Mario Ziegler (Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences / Faculty of Philosophy) were awarded the University of Jena's general Teaching award for their outstanding didactic teaching concept. They gave an insight into their interdisciplinary block seminar ‘The controversy in the Classroom’ after the award ceremony.

(in German) Short presentation of the teaching project for the general Teaching award

Prof Dr Martin Ammon was awarded the teaching prize for ‘Special commitment in teaching’. In this competition, only students were authorised to nominate a lecturer. In the case of Prof Ammon's nomination, all selection criteria were deemed to have been fulfilled by the Academy for Teaching Development's panel of experts.

Presentation of the teaching award to Prof. Dr. Martin Ammon from President Prof. Dr. Marx

Image: Laurenz Grieger

Poster session of the teaching projects at the University of Jena

Nine teaching projects currently funded by the ALe and four externally funded projects presented themselves in a poster session. This was followed by an intensive exchange of experiences between the project managers and the participants.

Keynote

Prof Dr Tobias Rothmund succeeded in drawing a line from the culture of discourse in society to social media and university society with his keynote speech ‘From the Bundestag to the seminar room - pride and prejudice in political discourse’. Using the terms critical and fair rationality, he concluded by drawing implications for studying and teaching.

(in German) Keynote: From the Bundestag to the seminar room - pride and prejudice in political discourse

Workshop and Discussion

panel for the discussion

Image: Laurenz Grieger

The team from the 'LehreLernen' Service Centre discussed convincing arguments for promoting discourse in large courses in the workshop ‘Let's communicate! - Discourse in large courses’. Based on this, suitable methods were collected to effectively initiate such discourse. The results of the workshop were summarised in a presentation.

Parallel to the workshop, an open discussion round was held on the topic ‘Let's communicate! - Discourse culture in studying and teaching’, which was moderated by Katja B. Bär (CCO of the University of Jena). The panellists included Prof. Dr Christian Alexander (media law expert and Dean of Studies at the Faculty of Law) from the group of university lecturers, Ilka Hameister (teaching award winner; Institute of Political Science) from the mid-level faculty and Adrian Minnich (student member of the ALe expert committee; Faculty of Physics and Astronomy) from the student body. The discussion highlighted both the status quo and visions of modern discourse culture. The participants took an active part in the discussion.

Previous events

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The Teaching Award is presented with the support of the Sparkassenstiftung Jena-Saale-Holzland.