They ensure a good learning environment, integrate current topics into their teaching and contribute in an exemplary way to improving teaching: six members of the Leibniz University Hannover (LUH) teaching staff have been awarded the 2024 Teaching Prize. “With over 400 nominations for 140 teaching staff, the committee had the pleasure and simultaneous challenge of selecting the very best from this year’s candidates, all of whom were very good,” said Prof. Dr. Julia Gillen, vice president for education at LUH, who awarded the prize during the Teaching Day on Wednesday, 7 May 2025.
Because there are many facets to good teaching, there are three categories in which professors and academic staff members can receive an award: motivation and inspiration, strategy and transfer, and professionalisation and teaching culture. The prize amount is 2,000 euros, and the money is intended to finance additional activities in the area of teaching. The decision is made by a selection committee consisting of four students, two members of the teaching staff, two employees from the university administration, the LUH president (chairperson) and the vice president for education (as an advisory member). All LUH employees and students can submit nominations.
The prize winners
Category 1: Motivation and inspiration
Hanifa Abdul Hassan is currently working on her doctorate in education on the topic “Home or elsewhere? A qualitative investigation of the migration decisions of adolescents in Tétouan (Morocco).” Born in Bremen and raised in Tétouan, Hannover and Bonn, she became familiar with people’s different perspectives and life plans early on. One focus of her courses is therefore also “unconscious bias” – everyday and unconscious racism. This is a topic that is well received by the students. “Frau Abdul Hassan raises our awareness – without pointing fingers – of the discrimination that can take place in and around school. You learn an incredible amount in her seminar and you learn to question your privileged view of our everyday life,” says one of the nomination letters.
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Stephan Kabelac has headed the Institute of Thermodynamics at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering since October 2011. Until March of this year, he also held the office of ombudsperson for good teaching and study conditions at LUH. The conditions in his courses appear to be good as well. “In his courses, he motivated me to learn in a lasting way and not just for exams. Prof. Kabelac also always supports the learning process and is always open to questions,” writes one student. He received praise for the relaxed teaching and working atmosphere and the respectful interactions, as well as the integration of current topics such as the energy and heating transformation in his teaching.
PD Dr. Stefan Kalies has been a member of academic staff at the Institute of Quantum Optics in the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics since 2016 and the head of a working group at the Lower Saxony Centre for Biomedical Engineering, Implant Research and Development (NIFE) since 2018. The students really like his courses: “Stefan Kalies gives comprehensive, interdisciplinary courses at the interface of biology, medicine and physics and conveys the course content using a range of different teaching methods. He takes an interactive approach to teaching his courses, which increases learning success and awakens interest in this subject area.” Stefan Kalies also participated successfully in the 2024 iGEM competition with students from various subject areas.
Prof. Dr. Eike Schling of the Institute of Design and Building Construction has been a professor of load-bearing structures at the Faculty of Architecture and Landscape Sciences since 2024. In her nomination letter, a colleague wrote this about him: “He teaches in a completely new way and takes an innovative, interactive approach.” This means, she continues, that especially those students in large courses can take part actively in lectures through online exercises, physical experiments and live feedback; can give and receive direct feedback; and can thus support one another throughout the learning process. His students also appreciate how he teaches: “The topics build ... very well on one another. In particular, difficult abstract topics are presented well visually. The online tests, which can be repeated several times, encourage you to improve and expand your own knowledge.”
Category 2: Strategy and transfer
Rebekka Wandt, M.Sc., of the Institute of Urban Design and Planning in the Faculty of Architecture and Landscape Sciences links academic teaching with practical application. To do so, she works not only with other universities in Lower Saxony but also with the Association of Architects and potential property developers. The students value the preparation for their professional lives and especially the practical focus. “Frau Wandt supports the transfer of knowledge into practice and prepares us students specifically for the challenges of the building industry. Her seminars on the conversion of office real estate and urban transformations inspire sustainable concepts and strengthen the connection between academic teaching and professional practice,” says one nomination letter.
Category 3: Professionalisation and teaching culture
Dr. Lena Heidemann has been a member of academic staff at the Institute of Vocational Education and Adult Education in the Faculty of Humanities since July 2011. In recent years she has shaped and further developed the Educational Sciences degree programme in a lasting way. The students view her as a committed expert in her subject area and an approachable person who is always available for discussion. One student wrote the following about her: Lena Heidemann “encouraged me to undertake various research projects and supported me throughout the process. I see her engagement on behalf of students and ... the department as above average and highly motivated.”
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