Schoetensack Prize

The Schoetensack Prize of the Urmensch von Mauer Foundation honors outstanding high school graduates in Biology at general education grammar schools in the Rhein-Neckar district and sets impulses for the research of human evolution. Each year, schools in Baden-Württemberg are invited at the beginning of the year to nominate their best candidates, who have achieved at least a grade of "good" in Biology and stand out through special scientific achievements (for example, "Jugend forscht"), by the subject teacher and the subject conference. Applications are submitted using a registration form and a justified recommendation, supplemented by any existing scientific work. Grammar schools send the documents at least four weeks before the Abitur certificate handover to the foundation; the selection is based on overall performance, the Abitur thesis, and other special commitments.

The funding package includes a two-year free membership in the Homo heidelbergensis von Mauer e. V. association, an annual issue of the association’s magazine "Palaeos," a one-month Upper Rhine Museum Pass, as well as a certificate and a book gift with works on paleoanthropology. With this, the foundation aims to continue inspiring young talents for scientific questions in biology and paleontology after school and to sustainably support the next generation of scientists. By promoting research and innovation in the field of human evolution, the Schoetensack Prize makes a valuable contribution to strengthening science education and brings the origin story of Homo sapiens into the focus of a new generation.