Annual Celebration at Ruperto Carola: Opening of New Academic Year
Ruperto Carola is opening the 2026/2027 Academic Year with its annual celebration, taking place traditionally at the beginning of the lecture period. Members of the university, along with friends, supporters and alumni are, at the same time, celebrating the 640th anniversary of the founding of Heidelberg University. After the address by the Rector, the event will center around an academic conversation on the topic of transfer. Furthermore, the winners of the Hengstberger Prizes will present their work to the university public. The celebration, taking place in the Great Hall of the Old University on 17 October, will also include an expression of appreciation for the academic support units.
Press Release
Heidelberg, 9 October 2026
Annual Celebration at Ruperto Carola: Opening of New Academic Year
Heidelberg University marks 640th anniversary of its existence – address by Rector Frauke Melchior
Ruperto Carola is opening the 2026/2027 Academic Year with its annual celebration, taking place traditionally at the beginning of the lecture period. Members of the university, along with friends, supporters and alumni are, at the same time, celebrating the 640th anniversary of the founding of Heidelberg University. After the address by the Rector, this year’s event will center around an academic conversation on the topic of transfer. Furthermore, the winners of the Hengstberger Prizes will present their work to the university public. The annual celebration, taking place in the Great Hall of the Old University on 17 October 2026, will also include an expression of appreciation for the academic support units.
Prof. Dr. Frauke Melchior, Rector of Heidelberg University, will open the festive event with welcoming remarks and an address. She will combine her review of significant events of the past Academic Year with a look to future developments and upcoming challenges. In the academic conversation, representatives from different areas of the university will discuss the topic “Science for Real Life – Transfer as a Core University Task”. Panelists are Prof. Dr. Sebastian Harnisch from the Institute for Political Science, Mona Hämmerle, a doctoral candidate at the Institute for Molecular Systems Engineering and Advanced Materials, and Dr. Lisa Ringena, science communicator at the ISOQUANT Collaborative Research Centre 1225. As part of this conversation, insights into knowledge transfer will also come from Dr. Jennifer Moldenhauer, project leader at heiCOLLECTIONS, the umbrella brand of Ruperto Carola’s museums and collections, and Prof. Dr. Johannes Backs, director of the Institute of Experimental Cardiology at the Medical Faculty Heidelberg and Heidelberg University Hospital.
The 2026 Klaus-Georg und Sigrid Hengstberger Prize for early-career researchers will also be presented during the celebration. The three awards are each worth 15,000 euros. The honors go this year to three prize-winning teams: Dr. David Maibach and Dr. Francesco Gozzini from the Institute for Theoretical Physics, Dr. Nina Benz and Junior Professor Dr. Anton Zimmermann from the Institute for Comparative Law, Conflicts of Law and International Business Law, as well as Dr. Joey Rauschenberger (Department of History) and Dr. Charlotte Kirsch-Klingelhöffer (Theological Seminary). The prize money will enable them to conduct a symposium at the International Academic Forum Heidelberg. During the event, the university also focuses on staff in the academic support units – this year on Christine Brenneis from the digitization center of the University Library.
Providing the musical setting for the annual celebration are members of the Collegium Musicum – the university orchestra and choir – under the baton of University Music Director Michael Sekulla. Markus Brock will be the presenter at the event.
Note for Newsrooms:
The annual celebration, open to the university public, is taking place on 17 October 2026 in the Great Hall of the Old University, beginning at 11 a.m.
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