The JCF Best Supervisor Award 2026
The JCF of the GDCh has set itself the goal of contributing to a lasting improvement in the situation of doctoral students. This also applies to the quality of supervision, which plays a central role during the doctoral program and contributes to a successful completion.
Negative examples often receive more attention, while successful supervision goes unnoticed. With the JCF Best Supervisor Award, we want to honor those who make an often invisible but essential contribution to the scientific system through their supervision. In order to initiate positive change in the long term, we therefore honor individuals who provide particularly successful doctoral supervision.
At the same time, we want to send a clear message to both supervisors and doctoral candidates: good supervision must be the rule, not the exception!
Who can nominate?
Are you about to complete your doctoral studies or have you already successfully completed your doctorate? Perfect – then you can nominate someone who has provided you with exceptional supervision throughout your doctoral studies.
Who can be nominated?
All supervisors employed at a university or research institution in the DACH region. The nominated person must be informed of the nomination. Multiple nominations of the same person are welcome, but the award will only be given once per person.
How can I nominate someone?
At the bottom of this page, you will find a PDF document. Download it and fill it out. You can then upload it at: https://gdch.app/awards/form/jcf-best-supervisor-award.
What happens next?
The nomination deadline is October 8, 2025. Only complete applications submitted by the deadline will be considered.
The award will be presented at a ceremony during the JCF's Spring Symposium (FJS) 2026, which will take place in Cologne in March 2026.
With around 400 participants from academia and industry expected to attend, the conference is the largest of its kind in Europe and therefore attracts young scientists from beyond Germany's borders. More information about the FJS can be found at: https://jcf.io/projekte/fruehjahrssymposium
The award winner will have the opportunity to present their own research work and their own working group in a lecture to a large audience.
The winner's travel expenses, including one night's accommodation, and the conference fee will be covered.
Extra:
All nominators will be entered into a raffle to win a conference ticket including the conference dinner for the FJS 2026!
If you have any questions about the application process, please do not hesitate to contact us.