Teaching Award

Friedrich Schiller University Jena annually rewards excellent teaching concepts with Teaching Awards.

Teaching Award symbol: a golden paper plane flies ahead of three white paper planes

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The Teaching Award of the University of Jena

The teaching award is to recognize special commitment to teaching and make exemplary teaching concepts visible. All professors and academic employees at the University who are involved in teaching can be nominated. In addition to individuals, teams can be nominated as well. Direct applications are also accepted.

An award is presented for the best course concept. Since 2015, an additional award has been presented in a thematic priority area that changes every year.

The call for nominations for the Teaching Award is supported by the Sparkassenstiftung Jena-Saale-HolzlandExternal link.

General Teaching Award

Every year, the best course concept (€2,500*) is honoured with the Teaching Award by the Academy for Teaching Development's panel of experts.

The submission deadline for this year's teaching award nominations is 4 May 2025 (exclusion period).

_{*The prize money is earmarked for a specific purpose and must be used to further improve teaching at the Friedrich Schiller University Jena.}

Thematic Teaching Award 2025

In addition to the teaching prize for the best course concept (€2,500), the ALe's panel of experts has established the themed Teaching Prize 2025 with the following main topic: ‘Teaching and learning culture in times of AI’.

In the thematic focus ‘Teaching and learning culture in times of AI’, courses are to be honoured that explicitly address the use and handling of AI tools or constructively incorporate them into the teaching methodology and/or the design of learning environments at a time when artificial intelligence is having a diverse influence on studying and teaching. We are looking for teaching concepts that represent forward-looking and sustainable teaching and learning cultures in the context of AI.

Other aspects may include

Courses in which a critical examination of AI and its effects on learning and teaching is made possible
Creating learning settings in which students actively work with AI technologies to develop a deeper understanding of the learning content and critical thinking skills
Using AI to promote individualised learning paths
Use of AI to promote a specific teaching-learning culture, e.g. an inclusive or sustainable teaching-learning culture
Innovative approaches to teaching ethics and the responsible use of AI in educational contexts

Courses that already successfully integrate these elements or have trialled new, experimental approaches to AI in education can be nominated.

The submission deadline for this year's teaching award nominations is 4 May 2025 (exclusion period).

Both teaching awards will be presented during this year's DIES LEGENDI - Teaching Day on 18 November 2025. In addition to the presentation of the teaching awards and the presentation of the teaching projects funded by the ALe, the DIES LEGENDI - Teaching Day is the annual format for exchanging ideas and thoughts on studying and teaching across disciplines and across the university.

Who selects the award winners?

The panel of experts of the Academy for Teaching Development selects the award winners on the basis of the nomination documents received.
What are the selection criteria?
Teaching concepts rated as outstanding in at least one of the following criteria can receive a teaching award:

innovative teaching methods and learning materials are used in a target group-specific manner

the didactic design of the course supports the learning process and success of the students in a special way

exemplary forms of interaction between teachers and students are used.
Who can be nominated?

All professors and academic employees working in teaching at Friedrich Schiller University Jena can be nominated. In addition to individual teachers, teams can also be nominated.
Who may nominate?
students (a minimum of five)

subject-specific student representative committees

academic staff

professors
How can nominations be submitted?

In addition to nominations by students and/or other teachers, direct applications are also possible.
A nomination form is available which must be completed in order to submit a nomination. The completed form, together with the other necessary nomination documents, must then be sent by email to the Academy for Teaching Development (ale@uni-jena.de) by the application deadline.

All annually updated call documents, including the nomination form, are usually released in February/March of the respective year.