This year’s Communicator Award presented by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) and Stifterverband goes to Professor Dr. Ute Schmid, head of the chair for Cognitive Systems at the University of Bamberg. The Communicator Award jury, made up of communication experts and chaired by DFG Vice President Professor Dr. Johannes Grave, has paid tribute to the researcher as a long-standing and consistent bridge-builder between science, education, business and policymaking in the field of artificial intelligence (AI). The jury emphasised that Ute Schmid had not only laid the foundations for an informed debate and for confident, reflective use of AI applications since the broad boom in their use in recent years, but had been doing so since the 1990s through her communication work. Endowed with €50,000, the Communicator Award will be presented on 29 June in Bonn in connection with the DFG annual meeting.

According to the jury, Ute Schmid’s communication activities have always extended beyond a purely technological perspective on how AI works and its development potential to include its socio-cultural dimension, raising the question of what impact the development and use of artificial intelligence has on individuals and societies. Schmid’s communication activities were said to consistently pursue the overarching goal of enabling participation and understanding AI as a societal task that people can actively engage with.

The jury particularly highlighted the broad range of formats tailored to specific target groups through which the award winner communicated insights from research, saying that her work addressed primary school teachers and pupils and also decision-makers in politics, academia, committees and SMEs.

Through numerous teacher training courses, such as the online course on data literacy, Schmid was said to encourage engagement with AI-related topics in education from an early age. One striking example of this is an analogue educational game on machine learning for primary school children developed by Ute Schmid and professionally produced by the toy company Haba. Schmid addresses a teenage audience with the textbook Künstliche Intelligenz selber programmieren [Programming Artificial Intelligence Yourself]. Alongside age-appropriate explanations of AI concepts and methods, it provides a step-by-step guide to implementing AI algorithms in the programming language Python.

In order to bring the potential and functioning of AI to life for small and medium-sized enterprises, the award winner initiated the SME AI Experience Centre, funded by the Bavarian Ministry of Economic Affairs, and developed awareness-raising workshops. At the heart of the experience centre is a production facility created in collaboration with a specialist plant engineering company and equipped with various robots and sensor technology. This facility enables a wide range of possibilities for machine learning and human-robot collaboration to be demonstrated in a vivid and accessible way.

“Alongside appearances in traditional media, numerous talks and popular science publications, Ute Schmid addresses non-academic audiences in dialogue-based workshops designed specifically for them,” the jury stated in its award citation. Schmid was also said to carry out essential educational work in areas such as AI-generated disinformation campaigns and the humanisation of AI.

“Moreover, Ute Schmid demonstrates impressive commitment in helping to actively shape socio-political discourse through her policy advisory work,” the jury continued. As an expert, thought leader and co-author of numerous statements, stated the jury, she contributed her expertise to bodies such as the German Ethics Council and the Bundestag’s Study Commission on Artificial Intelligence.

The Communicator Award – Science Award of Stifterverband has been awarded every year since 2000 and is regarded as Germany’s most important prize of its kind. The award goes to researchers who are particularly creative in their science communication, taking innovative, courageous paths and addressing their target groups in suitable and effective ways. They must also recognise the societal dimension of their research and contribute their knowledge to public debate, opinion-forming and decision-making processes. The prize money supports the recipient’s public engagement activities and enables them to implement new projects. The jury selected this year’s award recipient by means of a multi-stage selection process out of 70 applications and nominations. The award will be presented at the end of June by DFG President Professor Dr. Katja Becker and Dr. Volker Meyer-Guckel, Secretary General of Stifterverband.


Further Information

Information about the Communicator Award