On Tuesday, 25 November, the European University Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder) received the German Employer Award for Education 2025 for its outstanding commitment to promoting democracy. The award went to a seminar on the topic of "Democracy in crisis?" by Lilo Meier, Elisa Lehrer and Dr. Anna Rößner.
The interdisciplinary and interactive course offered by the economists invites students to take a critical look at the challenges facing democracies at the interface between business, politics and society. The seminar is part of the Faculty Learning Community (FLC) "Shaping Democratic Spaces: University between Neutrality and Social Responsibility", in which the lecturers exchange ideas about the university as a democratic space with other university members at Viadrina's Center for Teaching and Learning.
"The seminar idea arose from a very personal perspective," says Elisa Lehrer. Together with her colleagues, she asked herself in view of the increasing pressure on democratic society: "What can we do apart from worrying? We wanted to become self-effective in our professional role and also empower students to be self-effective." Anna Rößner adds: "For us, good teaching is more than just imparting knowledge. It enables students to think independently and critically."
More info
To the detailed report on the seminar "Democracy in crisis"
In addition to Viadrina, the employers' association has awarded three other institutions the Employer Prize for Education 2025. The prizes were also awarded on Tuesday in Berlin as part of the German Employers' Day. The award for Viadrina is endowed with 2,500 euros. More about the Employer Award for Education