Revolution in teacher training: 100,000 euros price for innovation!

Revolution in teacher training: 100,000 euros price for innovation!

Deutschland - Today, on July 17, 2025, the foundation for a new award in education is laid. The first tender for the price of excellence in the formation of teachers was launched to promote the quality of the teaching training in Germany. The Stifterverband and the TÜV Süd Foundation are the initiators of this innovative initiative, which attracted 25 applications from 12 federal states. It is particularly noteworthy that the federal states of Bremen, Hamburg, Saarland and Saxony-Anhalt are not represented. There are a total of 30 universities, including 27 universities and 3 art or music colleges. The participation rate is about 40 % of the 71 universities with teacher training in Germany.

The winning university will be announced on November 20, 2025 in a public jury session. Five institutions or allegations that present their concepts are expected to be nominated. The award winner can look forward to a funding of 100,000 euros, which is to be used to further develop the teaching impression. This prize is part of the alliance for teaching impressions, which was launched as part of the future mission through education in order to halve the impending gap of up to 68,000 teachers by 2030.

why is teaching impression that is decisive

well -qualified teachers are essential for a functioning education system. The Stifterverband emphasizes that ensuring the quality of teachers is a central task. The master plan "redesigning the formation of teaching" demands that the importance of this training to be emphasized at the universities and to secure its strategic anchorage. Teacher students already make up a quarter or more of the entire student body at many universities, so that the focus is immensely important on their training.

The requirements are high: In the current discussion, there are questions such as mentioning the formation of the teaching fold in the guiding principle of universities and the strategic goals that must be set for the training in the future. The quality offensive teacher training, which was recently equipped with 500 million euros, raises the topic on the strategic agenda of the universities. The aim is to secure the success of this initiative after its expiry at the end of 2023.

The acute lack of teachers

But while the initiatives are running to improve the formation of teaching, there are still profound problems in the German education system, especially the ongoing lack of teachers. According to a report of the German school portals , over 36.2 % of teachers are older than 50 years, which underlines the urgency of the current reforms. In Bremen, the proportion of older teachers is 30.4 %, while over 10.5 % of teachers at general education schools have not passed a recognized teaching examination.

The pressure on education is growing: More and more schools are reporting on vacant teaching agents and the need to combat the lack of teachers. A survey by the Association of Education and Education showed that positions remained vacant at every second school. Primary schools and special schools are particularly affected, where many people without teaching qualification teach. The educational council is therefore planning a reform of teacher training and a temporary reduction in the hourly table to defuse the situation.

are therefore all the more important awards such as the price for excellence in the formation of teaching, which not only underline the importance of the formation of teaching, but also create necessary incentives to increase the attractiveness of the teaching profession and to raise quality to a new level.