We are excited to launch the first-ever IMPRS-IS Outstanding Advisor Award, recognizing exceptional mentorship within the International Max Planck Research School for Intelligent Systems.
We highly encourage any of our scholars, associated students, or alumni to nominate a faculty member or associated faculty member whose mentorship has had a meaningful and lasting impact on their academic, professional, and personal development.
Submit your nomination per email to imprs@is.mpg.de by September 7, 2026.
The recipient of the inaugural IMPRS-IS Outstanding Advisor Award will be officially announced during the 2026 IMPRS-IS Boot Camp in Sonthofen, Germany, on Friday, September 25, 2026.
Our doctoral program is committed to educating and supporting the next generation of research leaders in artificial intelligence and robotics. Outstanding mentorship is essential for helping doctoral researchers develop into independent scientists and future leaders. The IMPRS-IS Outstanding Advisor Award recognizes a faculty member or associated faculty member whose mentorship has had an exceptionally positive and lasting impact on current and/or previous IMPRS-IS scholars. The award is nomination-based. Self-nominations are not permitted. Current and former IMPRS-IS faculty can be nominated by scholars, associated students, and alumni whose academic, professional, and personal development has been positively shaped by the nominee. Importantly, this award centers on mentorship quality and impact, not traditional metrics of scientific excellence. The nominee’s research achievements, publication record, research funding, and scientific reputation are explicitly excluded from the evaluation.
• Promote a culture that values high-quality advising within IMPRS-IS. • Recognize outstanding doctoral advisors whose efforts often remain invisible. • Encourage best practices in supervision of doctoral researchers. • Highlight the importance of inclusive and supportive research environments. • Celebrate individuals who help scholars develop into independent scientists and future leaders.
Nominees: Eligible nominees are almost all current and former IMPRS-IS faculty members and associated faculty members as listed at https://imprs.is.mpg.de/faculty and https://imprs.is.mpg.de/former-faculty. Previous award recipients, members of the selection committee, and the current IMPRS-IS spokesperson (Katherine J. Kuchenbecker in 2026) are not eligible for this award.
Nominators: Nominations may be submitted by current IMPRS-IS scholars, associated students, and alumni of the program. For a faculty member to win the award, they must be nominated by at least one person whom they directly (co-)supervise(d).
Nominations will be evaluated based on the following four dimensions of mentorship: 1. Research Development and Learning: The advisor supports scientific growth, encourages independent thinking, provides constructive and timely feedback, and helps scholars develop research skills and confidence. 2. Independence and Career Development: The advisor fosters independence by helping scholars develop their own scientific identity, take ownership of their work, and build confidence in their decision-making. The advisor actively supports career development, creates opportunities for visibility and networking, and remains a trusted mentor beyond formal supervision. 3. Inclusive and Supportive Environment: The advisor creates a welcoming and respectful environment, supports scholars from diverse backgrounds, encourages collaboration, and contributes positively to scholar well-being. 4. Serving as a Role Model: The advisor demonstrates integrity, fairness, transparency, and professionalism while inspiring scholars to become supportive mentors themselves.
Each nomination shall consist of a single nomination statement (maximum 2 pages) written by one or more individuals. The statement should describe the advising relationship; provide concrete examples of outstanding mentorship; explain the advisor's impact on the nominee's academic, professional, and personal development; and address the evaluation criteria. Nominations must be submitted by September 7, 2026.
The IMPRS-IS Outstanding Advisor Award is led by IMPRS-IS faculty member Renate Sachse, Group Leader of the Mechanics for Intelligent Structures department at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, with support from Sara Sorce, IMPRS-IS Communications Manager.
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