Teaching Award 2026: Molecular Biology

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We are excited to announce the new round of Teaching Award, which recognizes and awards outstanding teaching in molecular biology.

The topic of this year's award is Research-intensive teaching and learning: successfully incorporating current research questions into practical exercises. This category recognizes teachers of the courses administered by the SPL31 (at Bachelor- and/or Master levels) who integrate current research questions into their practical courses through research-oriented teaching and inquiry-based learning. Such courses involve students into authentic learning environments in which they actively participate in the scientific process of discovery through experimental methods, problem-oriented tasks, methodological competence, critical thinking and evidence-based argumentation – from hypothesis formation to data collection and critical analysis. The Award is worth 3000 Euro, and will be presented to the winner at the Max Perutz day in the end of June 2026.

Nominations

Nominations by students as well as self-nominations are possible. When nominated by students, the nominees will be asked by the organizers to confirm their participation. To nominate a person or apply for self-nomination, please send an email to molekularebiologie.spl@univie.ac.at with the subject "Teaching Award 2026" with the following information:

• First and last name of the nominated person
• Name(s) and the matriculation numbers of the nominating student(s) 
• A short description of why you believe the practical course fits the description of the category, highlighting the way the instructor involves the students into research-oriented teaching
• (in case of self-nominations) Attach relevant course materials (scripts, experimental designs, results of student surveys, etc) and a teaching concept

Deadline for all nominations is April 16th 2026.

Criteria for the Award

• Integration of current research questions
  The course incorporates relevant, current scientific questions from the discipline (molecular biology, microbiology, neuroscience, etc.) into the exercises and makes the research relevance transparent for students.
• Research-oriented learning environment
  Authentic, practical tasks are used that actively involve students in the learning process through inquiry-based learning and problem-oriented work.
• Promotion of scientific skills
  The teaching concept supports the acquisition of key skills such as hypothesis formation, experimental design, data analysis, critical reflection and evidence-based argumentation.
• Degree of active student participation
  Students take an active role in the research process (e.g. through independent experiments, interpretation of primary data, discussion of current literature).
• Innovative didactic implementation
  The course uses creative methods or digital tools to convey complex research questions in an understandable and interactive way.

These criteria will be evaluated on several levels in order to measure both the quality of the teaching concept and its actual implementation using specific indicators, such as references to current research in teaching materials (e.g. current publications, primary data, open research problems), presence of inquiry-based learning or problem-oriented tasks, evidence of relevant skill objectives (hypothesis formation, data analysis, critical reflection), analysis of learning objectives, evidence through teaching materials and examples, etc.

The jury comprised of 3-4 student representatives (nominated by StV Biologie), vice dean for teaching Prof Christa Bücker, study program director Dr Ivan Yudushkin and former study program director Prof Barbara Hamilton will evaluate the entries and decide on the winner in mid-May 2026. Members of the jury are excluded from the nominations.