DFG Communicator-Prize 2026 for FBKI member Ute Schmid
FBKI member Ute Schmid receives an award for her long-standing and comprehensive commitment to communicating AI.
Computer scientist and FBKI member Prof. Dr. Ute Schmid from the University of Bamberg has been awarded this year's Communicator Award by the German Research Foundation (DFG) and the Stifterverband. The award, endowed with 50,000 euros, recognizes Schmid's long-standing commitment to making complex AI topics understandable and introducing them into public discourse.
Schmid, who holds the Chair of Cognitive Systems at the University of Bamberg, has been sharing knowledge about artificial intelligence since the 1990s. The jury particularly praised her target-group-oriented approach: through her formats, she reaches elementary school children using playful approaches as well as teenagers, subject teachers, small and medium-sized enterprises, and political decision-makers.
Whether through specialized learning materials, workshops in an AI experience center for companies that she initiated, or as an expert member of political committees—Schmid successfully bridges the gap between technological research and societal participation. The prize is considered the most prestigious award for science communication in Germany and will be presented on June 29 during the DFG's annual meeting in Bonn.
Ute Schmid is an active and dedicated FBKI member and leads, among other things, the "AI in Schools" (KIS) working group.
Link to the DFG press release (in German): https://www.dfg.de/de/aktuelles/neuigkeiten-themen/pressemitteilungen/2026/pressemitteilung-nr-11
