Fundamental Academic Values Award 2026

Fundamental Academic Values Award 2026

Award for Early Career Scientists conducting research on the fundamental values of the European Higher Education Area

The German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) announces a call for submissions for the “Fundamental Academic Values Award”. The award is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR). By awarding three prizes for research publications, the DAAD aims to contribute to the advocacy of fundamental academic values, to promote important research in this area and to further stimulate the discussion about these values.

Background

Fundamental academic values have accompanied the Bologna Process since its very beginning and are playing an increasingly important role in higher education policy debates. Hence, the Rome Ministerial Communiqué, published in November 2020, puts particular emphasis on the protection of “fundamental values of higher education and democracy and the rule of law”. In the Communiqué of the 2024 Bologna Ministerial Conference in Tirana, the ministers reaffirmed the relevance of the shared fundamental values as a necessary prerequisite for the development of science and research. The reference to fundamental values is also in line with the European Commission’s strong commitment to this topic and supported by the Erasmus+ programme 2021-2027.

The fundamental values of the EHEA are:

• Academic freedom
• Academic integrity
• Institutional autonomy
• Participation of students and staff in higher education governance
• Public responsibility for higher education
• Public responsibility of higher education

Against this background, the DAAD decided to launch the “Fundamental Academic Values Award” for the third time, honouring the contribution of young scientists to the research of fundamental values in science and academia. A first call of applications was published in 2022 and a second one in 2024. In both application processes, three candidates have been awarded.

Within the framework of the DAAD project “Bologna Hub”, we cordially invite you to submit your application for this year’s “Fundamental Academic Values Award”.

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