Special Teaching Award for Sustainability

Since 2001, RWTH has been awarding the Teaching Award to acknowledge outstanding performances in teaching at the University. In order to acknowledge the wide range of different activities, the award is given in the categories of “Instructor” and “Project”.
In line with RWTH’s Excellent Teaching Institutional Strategy, the award is intended to support individuals and projects that are particularly committed to superior and innovative teaching. There is a particular focus on outstanding teaching concepts, support for students’ learning processes, or an extraordinary dedication to teaching.

In 2021, the Special Teaching Award for Sustainability put the topic in the spotlight. This award honors instructors or projects that follow a holistic approach toward sustainability and integrate it into teaching and learning activities.
The selection criteria were developed on the basis of the criteria for the regular Teaching Award and by integrating the Sustainable Development Goals as well as the Education for Sustainable Development concept as part of a collaborative partnership between AStA Students’ Committee, the student representatives in the Senate, Division 6.2 – Teaching and Learning, and the Sustainability and University Governance Staff Unit, and were passed in consultation with the Commission for Quality Management in Teaching and Learning. Assessed aspects include, for example, support for the student learning process by promoting independent, creative, and critical thinking in order to give students the ability to act responsibly and in line with sustainable development.