Awards
The Stifterverband works closely with various German research organisations to award prize money for successful research work that is considered to be especially deserving of support.
In collaboration with the German Research Foundation (DFG), the Stifterverband presents the Communicator Award. This personal award includes prize money of €50,000 and is given to scientists in any discipline who have done an outstanding job of communicating the findings of their scientific work and field in the media and to the non-scientific public.
In collaboration with the Helmholtz Association, the organisation has been presenting the Erwin Schrödinger Award for interdisciplinary research annually since 1999.
Since 2022, the Stifterverband has been collaborating with the Max Planck Society to present the Stifterverband's Max Planck Start-up Award. Every two years, this award singles out successful start-ups launched by the Max Planck Society that have had a particularly positive impact on society. The Fraunhofer Society for the Advancement of Applied Research and the Leibniz Association (“Science Award: Society Needs Science”) each have their own science award. The internal bodies of the respective scientific societies are responsible for independently determining the winners of these awards.
The Ars legendi Award for outstanding instruction in higher education) has been presented since 2006 in collaboration with the German Rectors’ Conference (HRK).
Together with Leopoldina, the Stifterverband has been presenting the Carl Friedrich von Weizsäcker Award every two years since 2009. This award honours scientists or teams of researchers who have contributed to the scientific study of important problems that pose a challenge to society.
Since 2017, the Stifterverband has been working with the Volkswagen Foundation to present the Genius Loci Award for Excellence in Teaching to universities. The award is given to one advanced technical college and one university that have each demonstrated excellence in the instruction they provide. Each award-winner receives €20,000 for the purpose of inviting a visiting scholar of teaching and learning in higher education to their institution.
The Stifterverband has administered the German Future Prize since 1997. In doing so, it works to obtain the necessary funds for awards as well as overseeing the bodies involved and organising the selection process and presentation of the awards.
From 1970 to 1979, the Stifterverband presented a special award at the annual presentation of the Adolf Grimme Award.
