Winners of the award for innovative teaching and learning projects

The award-winning projects combine research, practical application and teamwork, and bring excellent teaching to the fore and make it effective.

The 2026 award winners (in alphabetical order):

• The elective course offered by the Institute of General Medicine and Evidence-based Care Research (IAMEV), entitled ‘Acute and Emergency Medicine in Primary Care’ by Bernhard Kowalski and Andreas Prenner, is a practice-oriented format focusing on learning through frequent, brief interventions. A specially developed rapid-sequence simulation concept guides participants through scenarios of increasing difficulty. The course trains students in common emergencies in general medicine – such as acute coronary syndrome, ranging from typical symptoms to atypical signs of a heart attack. In this way, clinical decision-making skills, patient safety, a structured approach, prioritisation, team communication and reflection are specifically strengthened.
• Lukas Peter Mileder (Division of Neonatology) is developing “The Interprofessional Delivery Room”, an elective module for medical students and students on the “Health and Nursing” and “Midwifery” programmes at FH JOANNEUM. Together, they learn “about each other, from each other and with each other” in order to provide safe care for critically ill newborns immediately after birth. The aim is to establish a clear understanding of roles and shared core competencies. This is achieved through interprofessional workshops, case-based group work, e-learning, individual presentations and realistic joint simulations. The WHO regards interprofessional learning as a key component of strong health systems and better treatment outcomes.

The Special Prize for Research-Led Teaching 2026 is awarded to Tamara Esterl.

• Tamara Esterl (Division of Oncology) is expanding Special Study Module 42, ‘Cancer – from Practice to Genomics’, to include the ARNICA Lab Immersion: a two-day hands-on research module at the newly established Christian Doppler Laboratory ARNICA. Students go through the entire process – from cell culture to clinical case discussions. The aim is the early training of physician-scientists. The module takes place regularly, is continuously evaluated and is modularly transferable. In this way, an already highly rated teaching format becomes a research-led key module, combining early laboratory practice with clinical training.