KIT Internal Call: Erna Scheffler Award 2025

Dr. Erna Scheffler (1893 – 1983) was the founding president of the ▶ Soroptimist International Club and, as the first female judge at the German Federal Constitutional Court, made a decisive contribution to improving the position of women in society and family between 1951 and 1963. The Erna Scheffler Award of the Soroptimist Club Karlsruhe honors female graduates of KIT who have made outstanding achievements with their scientific work.

Selection Criteria

Female graduates of KIT in STEM subjects whose dissertation or master's thesis was evaluated in the period from October 1, 2024 to March 31, 2025 can apply for the Erna Scheffler Award 2025. The selection process considers both academic achievements (such as publications, conference presentations, previous awards, etc.) and personal factors (including social commitment, extracurricular activities, care work, parental leave, and other noteworthy aspects of the applicant’s CV).

Required Documents

The following documents have to be submitted in digital form to Karlsruhe House of Young Scientists (KHYS) in either German or English: 

  1. One PDF document in the following order, named Family name_Master_Erna-Scheffler-Förderpreis 2025 or Family name_Dissertation_Erna-Scheffler-Förderpreis 2025:
     
    • Letter of recommendation of the supervisor
    • Motivation letter of the female candidate
    • Curriculum vitae with list of publications
    • Examination certificates (including A-level)
    • All reviews of the dissertation or master’s thesis
       
  2. One PDF document with all statements of agreement for forwarding the reviews to the selection committee:
     
  3. Completed Excel sheet: ▶ Application Master or ▶ Application Dissertation. Please insert your family name in the appropriate place in the file name after downloading. This makes it easier for us to assign the file.
     
  4. Doctoral or master’s thesis as a download link

Please submit the documents by Monday, May 19, 2025, by e-mail to ▶ auszeichnungen∂khys.kit.edu. This e-mail address is also valid for queries. Your contact person at KHYS is ▶ Nadja Mazko

Final Information on Applying
  • Only complete applications submitted on time and in proper condition will be considered for selection.
  • The documents can be provided in German or English. Since German is the preferred language, the Excel sheet should be completed in German.
  • The Excel sheet serves as an overview and will also be made available to the selection committee. This means that this overview should summarize the key information about your career and your personality. Please carefully check that the information in the Excel sheet matches that in your CV and in your list of publications and is consistent.
  • The documents can be submitted by the candidate themselves or by the supervisor.
  • The reviews can also be submitted separately.
Selection Process

KHYS receives the applications and coordinates the selection process. The selection of the award winners takes place in a two-stage process with the participation of representatives of the ▶ Soroptimist International Club Karlsruhe and KIT in summer 2025. The award winners will be informed of the decision as soon as possible afterward. 

Award Ceremony

The official award ceremony will take place on October 17, 2025 at the German Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe. The female award winners will present their work at this event. The supervisors will also be invited and asked to give a laudatory speech.

Amount of Funding

The prizes are endowed with a total of EUR 7,000. EUR 5,000 for a dissertation and EUR 2,000 for a master's thesis.

Please note that the prize money may be subject to income tax and social security contributions. The Personnel Service (PSE) provides ▶ information on prize money (only available within the KIT network).