Julia Poschmann, Dr. Dr. Johannes Halbe, Dr. Laura Mae Jacqueline Herzog and Dr. Björn Brandes received an award.

This year, 27 lecturers were nominated for the annual award. "The large number of nominees from various academic disciplines shows that practice-oriented, innovative and creative teaching is practiced at Osnabrück University," said Prof. Dr. Jochen Oltmer, Vice President for Studies and Teaching. "I congratulate all nominees and the award winners on their outstanding commitment to teaching. They have succeeded in establishing a motivating learning environment for students in all areas."

The first prize went to Julia Poschmann from the School of Educational and Cultural Studies. Her research and teaching focus on the political education of primary school children, children's rights and the question of how children can participate in democratic processes. "The quality of her teaching has been consistently at a very high level for years and is ensured by regular revision, adaptation to new scientific findings and consideration of current developments," was the reason given by the students for the nomination. The reference to real primary school lessons and the exchange with external experts were praised. Ms. Poschmann has been nominated for the Hans Mühlenhoff Prize for the fourth year in a row.

This year's second prize was shared by Dr. Laura Mae Jacqueline Herzog and Dr. Dr. Johannes Halbe from the School of Cultural Studies and Social Sciences. "Due to the very cooperative nature of the seminar, it is not possible for us to evaluate the performance and commitment separately," was the reason given by the students for the double nomination. Dr Herzog and Dr Halbe jointly led the "Future Laboratory" seminar in the "Society - Environment - Future" Master's degree course and stood out not only for their outstanding teaching of specialist skills, but also for their excellent communication and organization. "They always met us at eye level and endeavored to offer an engaging, interactive, team-oriented and practical seminar," the students continued. The involvement of the students in the course of the seminar was of particular importance to the lecturers.

The third prize went to Dr. Björn Brandes from the School of Educational and Cultural Studies. For the nominators, the focus was primarily on his practice-oriented teaching and his commitment to the students. "Dr. Brandes stands out for his willingness to go above and beyond the call of duty to ensure the quality of teaching," reads the letter of motivation. "Through his modern teaching, his ability to continuously develop and his comprehensive support for students, he has not only established himself as an excellent lecturer, but also as an important pillar for the subject and the university community as a whole." Dr. Brandes' research focuses in particular on sports pedagogy and early childhood education in sport.

The prizes, donated by the Osnabrück businessman and patron Dr. h.c. Hans Mühlenhoff, who died in 2021, are intended to underline the importance of good academic teaching for rapid study progress and high-quality degrees. The nominations are submitted by students and must be supported by at least five students each. A jury of students with tutorial experience and lecturers from the Standing Working Group on Teaching then select the award winners. The nominations focus, among other things, on the topicality of the teaching content, sensible use of modern media and materials, creative forms of examination and the connection to professional practice. Fritz Graf, Chairman of the Hans Mühlenhoff Foundation, emphasized in his presentation of the foundation's objectives how pleased he was to be able to award prizes to such committed young academics.

In addition to the award winners, the nominees were Kim-Kristin Droste, School of Language and Literary Studies; Prof. Dr. Sophie Ellsäßer, School of Language and Literary Studies; Catherine Gotschy, School of Cultural Studies and Social Sciences; Prof. Dr. Thomas Gruber, School of Human Sciences; Lydia Heilen, School of Cultural Studies and Social Sciences; Lara Höttecke, School of Language and Literary Studies; Noah Kahmen, School of Biology/Chemistry; Dr. Janina Krause, School of Human Sciences; Prof. Dr. Lars Leuschner, School of Law; Dr. Mailyn Lübke, School of Language and Literary Studies; Prof. Dr. Ulrike Mittmann, School of Educational and Cultural Studies; Marvin Mücke, School of Educational and Cultural Studies; Prof. Dr. Sebastian Musslick, School of Human Sciences; Prof. Dr. Pascal Nieters, School of Human Sciences; Dr. Florian Oepping, School of Educational and Cultural Studies; Prof. Dr. Helena Olfert, School of Language and Literary Studies; Elena Radlingmayr, School of Human Sciences; Liane Schäfer, School of Cultural Studies and Social Sciences; Prof. Dr. Steffie Schmidt, School of Educational and Cultural Studies; Dr. Svenja Schumacher, School of Human Sciences; Anne-Sophie Wegmann, School of Educational and Cultural Studies; Dr. Ina Westermeyer, School of Language and Literary Studies; Svenja Wolken, School of Educational and Cultural Studies; Elif Yakac, School of Cultural Studies and Social Sciences.

Further information for the media:
Oliver Schmidt, Osnabrück University
Communications and Marketing Office
oliver.schmidt@uni-osnabrueck.de