Students had nominated a total of 208 members of teaching staff for the teaching prizes in an online vote. A jury consisting of students from all faculties, members of the university governance, and representatives from the Students’ Union (AStA), and the Advisory Board for University Didactics and Digital Education issued its recommendations.
Awards for teaching excellence
Dr. Klara Greffin from the Institute of Psychology and Jens Rasmussen from the Department of Finnish and Scandinavian Studies each received a teaching award for student-oriented teaching. The students praised Greffin for her clearly structured classes, her ability to communicate complex concepts clearly, and her constructive feedback. Rasmussen, who teaches Danish language classes, impressed students with his practice-oriented teaching, wide range of teaching methods, and his dedication, which also includes organising voluntary excursions.
The Prize for Teaching Excellence in the category “Excellent Supervision of Students” was presented to Dr. Tobias Gnüchtel from the Department of German Philology. Students singled out, in particular, his availability, his respectful manner in which he treats everyone as an equal, and his support—even with personal and organisational issues.
Acknowledgement of service to the university community
The DAAD Prize 2026 was awarded to business administration student, Aliya Mironova. The award acknowledges international students who demonstrate exceptional social commitment alongside their studies. To name just some of her activities, Mironova played an active role in the Erasmus Student Network, the Mensaclub, the Students’ Union (AStA), and academic self-government. After the start of the war in Ukraine, she organised a solidarity event and continues to support refugees to this day, both as a translator and in their daily lives.
Research for greater sustainability
The Sustainability Award recognises theses that place a special emphasis on the topic of sustainability. As a special exception, this year’s award was shared between two academics. It was presented to biochemist Yannick Branson for his research on the enzymatic recycling of plastics, and to legal scholar Lucas Hennicke for his work on greenhouse gas pricing. According to the Sustainability Commission, both theses made outstanding contributions to sustainable development.
Each prize for teaching excellence is worth 2,000 euros. The DAAD Prize comes with prizemoney of 1,000 euros, and 500 euros are awarded for the Sustainability Prize. During the awards ceremony, Rector Prof. Dr. Katharina Riedel said: “Teaching awards are particularly close to my heart because they highlight what is sometimes overlooked in everyday university life: outstanding teaching, good supervision, creative teaching methods, and the ability to truly inspire students’ enthusiasm for a subject, an issue, or a problem. With the DAAD Prize and the Sustainability Prize, we honour individuals and projects that assume responsibility—for science, for society, and specifically for our University.”
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