Previous Calls for Nominations
The award honors special achievements in teaching at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and was awarded for the first time in 2009. From 2014, the award is announced with an annually changing thematic focus, with the aim of integrating the award more specifically into the discussion about good teaching at Humboldt-Universität.
Exclusively teachers with an institutional connection to HU can be awarded. Regardless of the course format, individuals, teams of lecturers or even an entire institution (e.B a department or an institute) can be nominated. We ask you to refrain from self-nominations. The prize money should then in turn benefit the teaching of the awardee.
2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014
2023 "International Teaching and Learning"
This year, teachers and teaching/learning projects are being sought who have succeeded in an outstanding way in introducing international and intercultural dimensions into teaching.
Nominations are open to courses that contribute to the internationalisation of teaching and learning at Humboldt-Universität.
2022 "Collaborative Learning and Teaching"
After the past digital semesters in which collaborative projects have taken a back seat, this year's award is intended to focus on joint work. This year's prize is looking for teachers and teaching-learning projects that have succeeded in an outstanding way in actively involving students in collaborative concepts. In particular, teachers, teaching-learning concepts and institutions are being sought here who have supported students to work and discuss together and who have succeeded in involving students in the development of a joint project.
2021 "Digitally Supported Teaching Concepts"
For this year's Award, we are looking for teachers and teaching concepts that have succeeded in an outstanding way in digitally supporting and securing the return to face-to-face teaching. In particular, we are looking for teachers, teaching concepts and institutions that have supported students in combining digital and face-to-face offerings and have succeeded in motivating students to participate in both face-to-face and digital teaching and learning units.
2020 "Digital Teaching"
This year, the Humboldt-Award for Excellence in Teaching is looking for teachers who have succeeded in an outstanding way in using the potential of digital formats in the pandemic-related conversion to online teaching. In particular, teachers and courses are being sought that have created opportunities for students to actively exchange ideas and have succeeded in motivating students to actively participate.
All courses with a strong digital component can be nominated, regardless of whether they were originally planned as digital courses or had to be redesigned as digital formats in the course of the conversion to emergency attendance.
2019 "Future-Oriented Topics in Teaching"
This year, the award is looking for teachers who have succeeded in dealing with future-oriented topics in an innovative way in their courses. The prize thus honours those courses that have addressed current social and climate policy challenges in a special way. Sustainable use of resources, climate change, participation of all people in civil society processes, data security and handling of information, challenges of social inequality, instruments of conflict resolution, dialogue between religions, risks and opportunities of a cashless society, opportunities and limits of genetic engineering, artificial intelligence or big data are just a few examples of course topics that address future challenges.
Nominations can be made for events that have made the topic of the future accessible to students in a special didactic way, for example by examining it from an innovative research perspective, by making new perspectives accessible to students through cooperation with non-university institutions (e.g. political institutions, civil society actors, scientific institutions, companies) and/or by enabling a transfer of knowledge beyond the context of the course.
2018 "Berlin as a Learning Location"
As a location for education and science, as a capital city and metropolis, Berlin offers diverse and unique opportunities and resources for linking teaching and the city. This year, the Humboldt-Universität Award for Excellence in Teaching is looking for teachers who succeed in integrating the city of Berlin as a teaching and learning location into their teaching in an exemplary way.
Nominations can be made for events that work closely with local institutions and involve them in teaching. Various forms are conceivable here: From the inclusion of local expertise in the form of guest lectures, to the (partial) relocation of teaching to the location of the partner institution(s), to the use of external resources (equipment, data, artefacts, etc.).
2017 "Heterogeneity as a Challenge"
Nominate teachers who succeed in supporting students according to their individual focal points of interest and needs! Individual student support would be desirable, but is difficult to realise, especially in large courses. Teachers are faced with the challenge of providing target group-specific and needs-oriented teaching materials and learning opportunities and enabling students with different levels of prior knowledge to work together.
Nominate teachers who inspire students of different backgrounds for a topic! It is a particular challenge to design teaching in such a way that participants with different subject backgrounds (major subject; core subject, second subject, interdisciplinary elective area), knowledge levels (Bachelor's/Master's), educational backgrounds (A-levels/professional qualifications) as well as different social and cultural backgrounds feel equally addressed and are enthused.
However, the heterogeneity of participants is not only a challenge, but also offers potential: It can be used as an enrichment by motivating students to bring their perspective into the event. Nominate teachers who use the potential of the heterogeneous student group!
2016 "Research-Based Learning"
Enthusiasm for research is the basis for students to make their studies research-oriented. Teachers can inspire enthusiasm for research in lectures as well as in discussion seminars, for example by letting students share their own detours, difficulties and moments of insight. Nominate teachers who do this excellently!
Theoretical foundations and methodological procedures of research become particularly comprehensible when they are themselves the subject of reflection and criticism. Nominate teachers who encourage reflection on research in their teaching in an exemplary manner!
One of the HU's strengths is its numerous research projects - by individual academics, teams or large alliances such as the clusters of excellence. These projects also have great potential for teaching. Nominate teachers who offer students active participation in research processes - beyond mere auxiliary activities!
Research-based learning is practised by students who work on their own research projects alone or in a group. Teachers can accompany this demanding form of learning didactically, include it in larger courses or link it to future professional practice. Nominate teachers who integrate research-based learning into their teaching in an outstanding way!
2015 "Subject-Specific Introductory Courses".
Introductory courses are a central component of the Bachelor's programme: they are designed to give students an introduction to a (sub-)subject area, to get them excited about the epistemological interests and scientific practices of the discipline, and to provide them with the subject-specific foundations for an independent, in-depth scientific discussion.
Introductory courses present teachers with a number of special challenges: How can the subject-specific basics and their relevance be conveyed in a comprehensible way to students (still) unfamiliar with the subject? How can differences in students' prior knowledge be dealt with constructively and respectfully? How can we succeed in getting as many participants as possible interested in the (sub-)subject area? How can a critical scientific attitude be promoted in introductory courses?
With the focus topic "Subject-specific introductory events", Humboldt-Universität would like to stimulate a discussion about these challenges. All university members are therefore invited to nominate teachers (or tutors) online whose introductory events meet these challenges in an outstanding way. All subject-specific introductory events in Bachelor's degree programmes (from the major lecture to the introductory seminar to the subject tutorial) will be considered.
2014 "Preparation for and Supervision of Theses".
This year, we are looking for university lecturers who accompany and support the thesis process in an outstanding way, for example, in the choice of topic and planning of the work phases, by providing preparatory materials, by assisting with scientific work, by involving the students in field research, laboratory or archive projects or by offering support during the writing phase of the thesis.
all calls in german: 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023