Hochschule Hannover awards teaching prizes
On 4 June, Hochschule Hannover University of Applied Sciences and Arts presented teaching awards to lecturers and students in four categories for the first time.
Winners of the HsH Teaching Award 2025
For the first time, Hanover University of Applied Sciences and Arts (HsH) is awarding teaching prizes for outstanding teachers, teaching concepts, student tutorials and final theses in four categories. Nearly 120 nominations from students from all five faculties of HsH formed the basis for the selection by an interdisciplinary jury. ‘Good teaching makes a difference. Not only does it make learning fun for students, it also conveys enthusiasm for subject matter and motivates students to achieve excellence in science and practice,’ says Annika Schach, Vice President for Teaching and Studies.
In future, the HsH Teaching Award will be presented annually to teachers, teaching concepts and tutorials. Selection criteria include the use of particularly innovative teaching methods, relevance to practical applications and the teacher's subject-specific teaching skills, structured preparation for examinations and student assessment.
The awards were presented on 4 June at the University of Applied Sciences and Arts in Hanover's Teaching Day. The event is the annual exchange platform for teachers from all faculties.
The 2025 award winners
Best interdisciplinary HsH course 24/25: Interprofessional collaboration in palliative care (in cooperation with the Medical University and practice partners)
Verena Begemann, Anja Goral, Kirsten Kopke, Kambiz Afshar (MHH) and Sven Schwabe (MHH)
The face-to-face seminar, which tested a newly designed teaching concept for improving the quality of end-of-life care, brought together the four professions of social work, religious education, nursing and medicine in an atmosphere of mutual respect. The course provided a space for sensitive topics such as death and grief to be addressed and for participants to express their emotions.
Best Course 24/25: Corporate Finance and Capital Markets
Dirk Heithecker (Business Administration)
With his course on corporate finance and capital markets, Dirk Heithecker impressed the jury with his teaching's practical relevance, interactive teaching methods and modern media. Through personal support and the combination of theory and practice through excursions and workshops, his course is a model of modern teaching.
Best Tutorial 24/25: C Programming
The dedicated tutor Christophe Stive Tchokouaha Djiaha combines learning theoretical concepts with practical application. With a motivating learning environment, students overcome their fears of programming.
HsH Gender Prize for the best thesis
Bachelor's thesis by Alenka Jepsen: Reporting on femicide in German true crime podcasts. A qualitative content analysis of the true crime podcasts Mordlust, Mord auf Ex and Verbrechen (Bachelor's degree in Journalism)
On the initiative of the Gender Network and the HannoTalents project at HsH, a jury selected the best thesis dealing with gender aspects in its field. The thesis impressed the jury with its high scientific quality, degree of innovation, interdisciplinary approach and particular relevance to gender research.
The HsH Teaching Award – a product design concept from the university
Under the direction of Simon Kux, the award trophy was designed by students from the Product Design programme at Hanover University of Applied Sciences and Arts. The students developed a wide range of designs during the short-term design course. The winning design by student Daniela Braun takes particular account of the core values enshrined in the HsH mission statement: ‘We are ONE university with common goals and values that unite us. Our university culture is characterised by openness.’ The prize was produced in the faculty's own workshops at Faculty III – Media, Information and Design at Hanover University of Applied Sciences and Arts.
(Published: 4 June 2025)