The GTC promotes the appreciation and further development of teaching at JGU. It advises the Executive University Board regarding studies and university teaching, promotes innovative approaches and projects for the further development of learning and teaching, and encourages networking between members of the teaching staff at JGU. The GTC recognizes special achievements in teaching and thus contributes to the visibility of good teaching at JGU.
The Gutenberg Teaching Council (GTC) was established as a central institution by the JGU Senate in 2010. This reflects JGU’s mission statement and teaching strategy: to regard research and teaching as tasks of equal importance and to achieve excellence in these areas.
In fulfilling its tasks, the GTC works closely with the Executive University Board.
The further development of teaching at JGU is one of the central concerns of the GTC. To this end, current topics are regularly introduced and priorities set, including:
An informed, fact-based judgment is central to democratic opinion formation and decision-making. With the “Facts and Fakes” priority funding program (2026), the GLK prepares students to act responsibly in a liberal, democratic society, in accordance with § 16 HochSchG.
The call for proposals on the core project feedback culture / academic mentoring (2023), a workshop with Gutenberg Teaching Award winner Prof. Mills Kelly (2024) and the Gutenberg Teaching Award ceremony for Prof. John Hattie (2024) were dedicated to questions about feedback and student mentoring.
Calls for proposals on topics such as Service Learning (2018) or Innovation Boost Across the Board (2019) show the focus on trying out new teaching and learning formats. The GTC advised the Executive University Board on university didactics issues – for example, with a proposal for further training for newly appointed professors (2013) or the reorientation of university didactics at JGU (2025).
With its calls for proposals, GTC promotes diversity, equal opportunities and heterogeneity (2010, 2012, 2015), interdisciplinarity (2015), and internationalization in learning and teaching (2016).
With the calls for proposals on Research Orientation in Teaching (2014) and the symposium Research in Teaching (2015), the GTC focused on the connection between teaching and research.
Through the international conference “Teaching is touching the future – Emphasis on Skills” in cooperation with the German Rector’s Conference (2012) and a position paper (2012/2013), the GTC promoted the topic of skills-oriented training at JGU. In addition, guidelines for the supervision of academic papers and criteria for the evaluation of student work were established.
The Gutenberg Teaching Council (GTC) is committed to the visibility and recognition of good teaching and excellent teaching staff.
The GTC honors outstanding teaching staff at JGU through the annual awarding of teaching awards during the DIES Legendi.
By presenting the highly endowed Gutenberg Teaching Award to individuals outside of JGU, JGU emphasizes the high value it places on teaching.
The GTC developed recommendations on standards for the consideration of teaching in appointment procedures for professorships, which were presented to the Senate in 2020.
In 2022, the GTC presented a position paper on teaching performance and teaching load. The GTC also focused on the evaluation of teaching performance as part of course evaluations (2019).
Together with the Gutenberg Council for Academic Careers (formerly Gutenberg Council for Young Researchers), in 2016, the GTC published a position paper on integrating academics in early career phases into teaching. The GTC also addressed the connection between research and teaching in two position papers on the integration of tasks in research and teaching (2020, 2024).
The teaching strategy was adopted by the JGU Senate in 2010. As one of its central measures, it established the GTC.
With a statement on the strategic guiding principles for digital change in learning and teaching (2021) and discussions on the integration of digital aspects into the teaching strategy (2017), the GTC addressed the transformation of teaching through digital technologies.
The GTC has repeatedly addressed the topic of internationalization, including in an internal paper on the internationalization of learning and teaching (2011) and in contributions to discussions on JGU’s internationalization strategy (2013, 2018).
The GTC explored the question of how relevant recommendations from the German Council of Science and Humanities could be implemented at JGU, e.g., regarding strategies for university teaching (2017) and the future-oriented design of learning and teaching (2022).
The GTC participated in central planning and strategy processes within the university, such as the application for the Excellence Initiative (2012) and the future workshop of the Vice President for Learning and Teaching (2014).
The GTC advises the Executive University Board on the design and further development of course structures at JGU.
In 2013, the GTC developed internal criteria for the accreditation and re-accreditation of degree programs. These were adopted in an extended form by the Senate in 2014.
The GTC developed considerations and recommendations for the academic integration of millennials in the entry phase (2021). In addition, from 2016 to 2020, the GTC funded projects in faculties 05, 07, and 08 that dealt specifically with this phase.
In 2023, the GTC advised the Executive University Board on introducing project days and weeks at JGU.
In 2021, with the participation of the faculties, the GTC developed a recommendation on the regulation of compulsory attendance in accordance with the Higher Education Act Rhineland Palatine. The GTC is currently contributing to a survey on the topic of attendance in courses, which is being conducted by the Center for Quality Assurance and Development on behalf of the Executive University Board. With the core project Lessons from Corona – Learning and Teaching after the Covid-19 Virus (2022), lessons learned during the pandemic were incorporated into learning and teaching.
Since its inception, the GTC has dealt with numerous relevant aspects of teaching in the digital age, both in an advisory capacity and through targeted project funding.
The GTC’s advising included participating in the advisory board for the conception, institution and monitoring of integrated projects on e-lectures and MOOC offers of the JGU Media Center (2014), providing a statement on the Strategic Guidelines on Digital Change in Learning and Studying (2021), collaborating in peer-to-peer advising in the context of the Hochschulforum Digitalisierung (2019–2021), providing a statement on the German Council of Science and Humanities’ paper on digitalization in learning and teaching (2022), and advising on the Mainz Models for Digitally Enhanced Teaching and Learning (ModeLL-M) project, which was funded by the Stiftung Innovation in der Hochschullehre (also 2022).
Since 2022, the GTC has also been advising the Executive University Board on how to handle AI in learning and teaching, particularly regarding how teaching staff can be supported in this fast developing field in order to be able to offer students future-oriented learning and teaching.
The GTC has used its funding to support innovative developments in teaching in the digital age. In addition to many relevant innovative teaching projects, core projects on the topic of “Blended Learning” (2017), the “Data Literacy Education” project (2028/2019) in the context of the studium generale, and a project on digitally enhanced teaching and learning at the Mainz School of Music (2022-2024) encouraged pertinent long-lasting developments. The GTC has also supported structural measures, particularly the establishment of a coordination office for digital change in learning and teaching (2019–2020) and the “Hallo ,KI ” (“Hello, AI”) event series in JGU’s faculties (2025).
The GTC has supported the large-scale involvement with the Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) movement, adopted by JGU particularly on the initiative of students, through intensive advising, connecting teaching staff, hosting events related to the topic, and extensively funding projects. The funded projects include the student-organized Public Climate School (2021), the establishment of a module of sustainability (2022–2024), and start-up funding for the Education for Sustainable Development certificate, which was later postponed in favor of the “Certificate on Sustainability– Climate Crisis and Sustainability”.
The GTC has also been involved in the following projects:
2017-2020: Financial and non-material support for the project
2012-2020: Participation in the steering committee
2018/ 2022: Support for the project of the Vice President for Learning and Teaching
With our calls for proposals, we promote
- innovative approaches and projects for the further development of learning and teaching,
- networking between members of the teaching staff at JGU,
- the exchange on learning and teaching between teaching staff and students at JGU, and
- special achievements in teaching and the appreciation of teaching at JGU.
Depending on the funding line, the calls for proposals are meant for teaching staff and institutes/faculties, as well as students.
We look forward to your participation!
An innovative teaching project is usually limited to one or two semesters and is dedicated to the development or continuing development of teaching, learning, or examination methods in the context of specific courses. The funding aims to support innovation, the creation of something that can serve as a model, and/or be sustainable. Other objectives can also be pursued; a number of aspects eligible for funding are listed in the detailed call for proposals.
All JGU employees engaged in teaching are eligible to apply.
The maximum funding amount is €15,000
The application deadline is November 15 (funding usually begins in the summer semester) or May 15 (funding usually begins in the winter semester).
Every two years since 2021, the GTC has initiated a competition for innovative and exemplary teaching ideas on specific key topics as well as a broad exchange between all those involved in teaching. The funding focuses on teaching projects that, if successful, can serve as a model for a subject, faculty, or the entire university or can contribute to a sustainable improvement in regular teaching.
All JGU employees engaged in teaching, as well as heads of degree programs, institutes, faculties, or comparable teaching-related organizational units, are eligible to apply.
The maximum funding amount is €30,000
The next application deadline is expected to end on November 15, 2027.
- 2026: Facts and fakes in teaching
- 2024: Feedbackkultur / Akademisches Mentorat
- 2022: Lessons from Corona – Learning and Teaching after the Covid-19 Virus
- 2019: Innovation Boost Across the Board
- 2018: Service Learning
- 2017: Blended Learning
- 2016: Internationalization in Learning and Teaching at JGU
- 2015 (II): Interdisciplinarity in Learning and Teaching
- 2015 (I): Diversity
- 2014: Research Orientation in Teaching
- 2013: Skills-Oriented Training and Learning
- 2012: Diversity – Equal Opportunities and Heterogeneity
- 2010: Teaching at Major Universities: Courses with Unusually Large Numbers of Students
The GTC sabbatical semester makes it possible to be partially or fully released from regular teaching duties, usually for one semester. Eligible projects include, for example, creating or fundamentally revising degree programs or the preparation of a comprehensive teaching project for developing new methodological and didactic concepts, new forms of teaching and learning, or teaching content.
All JGU employees engaged in teaching are eligible to apply.
The maximum funding amount is €10,000, in particularly justified cases €25,000.
The application deadline is November 15 (funding usually begins in the summer semester) or May 15 (funding usually begins in the winter semester).
The Teaching Day serves to communicate and exchange experiences about good teaching. It should address a wide circle of teaching staff; the inclusion of the student perspective is very welcome. As part of the event, activities and measures of the faculty/institute/higher education institution/other type of Institution related to learning and teaching are to be presented. The Teaching Day should additionally have an overarching theme which initiates an institute-, faculty-, or university-wide discussion about teaching. A joint event with another faculty is also possible.
Eligible applicants include JGU employees engaged in teaching, faculties and schools of JGU,
as well as Internationales Studien- und Sprachenkolleg (ISSK) and Zentrum für Wissenstransfer
und Weiterbildung (ZWW).
The maximum funding amount is €1,500.
The application deadline is November 15 (funding usually begins in the summer semester) or May 15 (funding usually begins in the winter semester).
Applications are informal.
JGU students can apply for funding for student conferences twice a year.
Student conferences are a format that students plan and carry out on their own initiative and responsibility, both in terms of content and organization. The GLK offers students the opportunity to both pass on and deepen their own knowledge, gain initial conference and publication experience and demonstrate their self-organization skills. Student conferences are independent events and do not take place within the framework of a course
(“Lehrveranstaltung”).
All students enrolled at JGU are eligible to apply, with the exception of doctoral students. Arrangements for the implementation of a conference must have been approved by the relevant faculty and student council prior to submission of the request for funding.
The maximum funding amount is €2,500.
The application deadline is November 15 (funding usually begins in the summer semester) or May 15 (funding usually begins in the winter semester).
The following funding lines are no longer part of the GTC funding portfolio:
- External teaching stays
- GTC guest lectureships
- Awards for student papers/theses
In addition to the funding lines, the GTC has also funded individual projects that have now been completed:
- Education for sustainable development
- Coordination office for digital change in learning and teaching
- Data Literacy Education
- Entry phase
Through the Gutenberg Teaching Award, the GTC aims to emphasize the importance of academic teaching in the arts and sciences by honoring JGU-external national or international academics, artists, and other persons who have made significant contributions to the ongoing development of teaching and the improvement of teaching quality in academic education .
The award not only serves to recognize outstanding achievements, but also offers the participating faculties and schools the opportunity to make their appreciation for teaching visible – and to gain international networking and teaching-related impulses for their own teaching development through the guest stay of the award winner.
Faculties and schools of JGU, as well as ISSK and ZWW, are eligible to submit nominations
The prize money amounts to €10,000. €. In addition, a guest stay at JGU for the awardee will be funded (travel and accommodation costs).
The application deadline for the Gutenberg Teaching Award 2027 is November 15, 2026.
The JGU Teaching Award was introduced by the JGU Senate in 2010. It has been awarded by the GTC since winter semester 2016/17. The JGU Teaching Award recognizes teaching staff at JGU for their outstanding teaching achievements. The award is endowed with €1,000, which is to be used for official purposes. The recipients of the JGU Teaching Award are honored by the university management board during the annual DIES LEGENDI organized by the GTC.
The faculties and higher education institutions at JGU are responsible for nominating the candidates for the JGU Teaching Award.
The DIES Legendi is the Gutenberg Teaching Council’s annual celebration. This event is dedicated to the appreciation of good teaching and teaching staff. Through the teaching awards, excellent teaching staff at JGU are singled out and honored for their commitment. The DIES Legendi offers all (former) GTC grantees and all JGU members who are interested in and support teaching a welcome opportunity for exchange and networking.
The documentation of the DIES Legendi 2025 on November 26, 2025 can be found here.
The DIES Legendi 2026 will take place on November 12, 2026.
Collegial Discussion events usually take place once a year. At a collegial discussion, teaching staff who are carrying out or have completed a GTC-funded Innovative Teaching Project report on their (transferable) experiences in a short pitch. Afterwards, participants will have the opportunity to discuss their experiences with innovative teaching in one-on-one conversations. Information on funding opportunities rounds out the program. This concise and informal format offers committed teaching staff a good opportunity to be inspired and network with like-minded people.
The next workshop meeting is planned for February 1, 2027, 4:00 p.m. to approx. 6:00 p.m.
The GTC is managed by an executive committee, which is supported by the GTC office.
The executive committee consists of 11 vice directors and 11 deputy members from all status groups and academic cultures at JGU. The executive committee members have experience in the organization and development of teaching and – in the case of the teaching staff – have distinguished themselves through excellent teaching. The executive committee is appointed by JGU’s Executive University Board in agreement with the Senate for a term of office of 3 years.
The executive committee elects a director from among its members. The director heads the executive committee and acts as its representative. In addition, a co-director is elected to represent the director in cases where they are unavailable.
“What is good university teaching? What will be good university teaching tomorrow and the day after tomorrow and what does it need to remain so? For a university like ours with such a diverse range of subjects, there can only be many nuanced answers to these questions. This is why I think the GTC, as an association of experienced university teaching staff from all academic and artistic fields, is the ideal place to generate and circulate questions, ideas, and answers.”
“The GTC emphasizes the importance of university teaching at Johannes Gutenberg University. It thus creates a platform for interdisciplinary exchange on the topic of teaching. In addition to funding concrete projects, a special focus is placed on the GTC’s strategic orientation.”
“For me, the GTC embodies the aspirational aspect of university teaching: to not be content with what is traditional and good enough, but to strive for what is new and extraordinary. I hope that the GTC will be able to create the space to do so.”
“Universities are places of shared learning, research, and reflection. To fulfill this mission, they need a culture of teaching that promotes openness, exchange, and continuous professional development. The Gutenberg Teaching Council makes an important contribution to this by bringing together teaching staff from different disciplines, strengthening dialogue about effective teaching, and linking individual experiences in teaching with the university’s strategic development. It creates opportunities to discuss innovative ideas, highlight successful approaches, and tackle current challenges together. I am delighted to have the opportunity to contribute here—not least so that my children’s generation, too, may continue to experience the joy of actively and collaboratively pursuing knowledge.”
A statement will follow shortly.
“I am looking forward to being part of the GTC. Interdisciplinary exchange and the joint further development of teaching methods are particularly important to me. I am eager to collaborate with the other members of the GTC and would like to actively contribute to shaping teaching at JGU in this way.”
A statement will follow shortly.
“As several of my projects have already been made possible by the GTC, I can say from my own experience: yes, the GTC promotes and funds innovative ideas through its consistent presence. Being able to participate in the executive committee is therefore a matter of course for me.”
“Next to research, teaching is a central part of our work. The GTC highlights the importance of good teaching and creates opportunities to try out new ideas and reflect on teaching together. I’m delighted to be able to contribute to this.”
“For me, teaching is essentially about arousing curiosity and openness to the fact that things may be quite different from what we previously thought. This concerns both an interest in theories and concepts and how they help us to see the world with new eyes, as well as the importance of empirical research and trying to see and understand the world from different perspectives.”
“The GTC is the sounding board for innovative thinking and design of teaching at JGU. Its lean structure makes it agile. The institution of thematic advisory boards for university didactics and the program of study generale is a logical step in view of the now highly differentiated facets of learning and teaching at JGU. Both agility and differentiation are indispensable for a successful teaching strategy, especially in times of AI.”
A statement will follow shortly.
