On 29 June 2026, bidt Director Ute Schmid was awarded the 2026 Communicator Prize by the German Research Foundation (DFG) and the Stifterverband. In awarding the prize, the jury recognised Schmid’s decades-long commitment to communicating artificial intelligence in a way that is accessible, nuanced and engaged in dialogue with society. The prize, worth 50,000 euros, is regarded as the most prestigious award for science communication in Germany and was awarded by a jury of communication experts chaired by DFG Vice-President Professor Dr Johannes Grave. The award ceremony took place at the LVR-Landesmuseum in Bonn in front of 250 guests.
A bridge-builder between science, education, business and politics
In his laudatory speech, the jury chair, Prof. Dr Johannes Grave, emphasised: “Given some of the strident positions in the debate on AI, which has recently intensified significantly, it is a great stroke of luck that Ute Schmid, a computer scientist, is contributing to the public discourse; through close collaboration with psychology, she focuses on the interfaces between human and artificial intelligence. […] Through a wide range of lecture and engagement formats, she seeks dialogue with a diverse range of audiences: from businesses, the medical sector and the education sector to children and young people. In doing so, she goes far beyond the confines of the university, visiting adult education centres, theatres and even a Bamberg beer cellar to reach her audiences where they are.”
The jury for the Communicator Prize […] sees Ute Schmid as a bridge-builder between science, education, business and politics, who has spent decades building up a vast network and establishing sustainable structures for her science communication. On this basis, she has succeeded in breaking down oversimplified debates on AI and opening up spaces for nuanced reflection.
Chair of the Jury Prof. Dr. Johannes Grave
Commitment to a broad democratic discourse
I am very proud to have received this important award for science communication. Science communication provides a vital foundation that enables us to make complex decisions on a rational basis, rather than being guided by bar-talk clichés. Particularly when it comes to a key technology such as artificial intelligence, a fundamental understanding of AI methods and their potential – as well as their limitations – is essential for fostering a broad democratic debate on how we want to live, learn and work with AI in the future.<br>Translated with DeepL.com (free version)
Prof. Dr. Ute Schmid To the profile
AI expertise for science and society
At the University of Bamberg, Ute Schmid holds the Chair of Cognitive Systems and has been teaching and conducting research in the field of artificial intelligence for many years, with a focus on interpretable and neuro-symbolic machine learning and explainable AI. At the Bavarian Research Institute for Digital Transformation (bidt), she contributes her long-standing expertise in artificial intelligence through a variety of communication formats. She is a member of the bidt’s Executive Board and Management Committee. As the initiator and head of the Elementary Computer Science Research Group (FELI), she has been committed to teaching fundamental computer science concepts in primary schools for over ten years. In 2020, she was awarded the Rainer Markgraf Prize for her commitment to knowledge transfer in the field of computer science, particularly on the topic of AI, for children, teachers and the general public. Ute Schmid is also a member of the Bavarian AI Council, a member of acatech, and a Fellow of both EurAI and GI.
About the Communicator Prize
The Communicator Prize has been awarded since 2000 by the German Research Foundation (DFG) and the Stifterverband. The prize honours scientists who communicate their research to a broad public in a particularly innovative, diverse and effective manner and who demonstrate outstanding commitment to fostering dialogue between science and society.
Ute Schmid in a video profile (In German)
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