“Best Research Environment” – TU research group among the top 10 in Germany Young Academy honours Work, Organisational and Social Psychology (AOS) at TU Braunschweig

On 7 June 2025, the Work, Organisational and Social Psychology team at TU Braunschweig received the “Best Research Environment” prize in Berlin, along with 100,000 euros. This makes it one of ten teams to receive the award. This prize is being awarded for the first time by the Volkswagen Foundation and the Young Academy, which is particularly committed to promoting scientists in the early and middle stages of their careers. This recognises the importance of a good research environment for scientific performance, as well as efforts to actively create inspiring, supportive and fair conditions. Led by Professor Simone Kauffeld, the TU team conducts research on teamwork and leadership, healthy work design, transformation, competencies, and early careers.

“A key factor in our success was the close interdisciplinary cooperation with the Lower Saxony Research Centre for Vehicle Technology (NFF) and the Open Hybrid Lab Factory (OHLF), which is also evident in our Competence Centre for Labour Research for the Circular Economy. These collaborations enrich our research, broaden our perspectives and promote creative solutions at the interfaces between psychology, technology and society,” says Professor Simone Kauffeld from the Institute of Psychology at TU Braunschweig, delighted with the award. “In addition, we have established effective internal structures for onboarding, sparring, internal and external networks, building methodological expertise, team development and exchange formats, as well as career models.”

In March, the jury selected 24 teams for the shortlist from nearly 300 applications. On 7 June, ten of these teams were selected to receive prize money of 10,000 euros each. This random selection process emphasises that this is not a ranking. According to the Young Academy, all of the teams on the shortlist deserve recognition.

The winners include the AOS at TU Braunschweig, as well as research groups from the Leibniz Institute for Economic Research in Halle (IWH), the Helmholtz Institute for One Health (HIOH), Friedrich Schiller University in Jena, and the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science. The award aims to incentivise the establishment of the quality of the research environment as a central feature of scientific organisations.

The AOS research group at TU Braunschweig, headed by Prof. Dr. Simone Kauffeld, currently comprises 24 scientific staff members. The group is involved in interdisciplinary projects at the Open Hybrid Lab Factory (OHLF) research campus in Wolfsburg and the Lower Saxony Research Centre for Vehicle Technology (NFF) at Braunschweig Research Airport. It also heads the “Competence Centre for Work Design for the Circular Economy” (KREIS), which has over 42 members.

The centre primarily develops research and practical solutions to help organisations and their members cope with necessary transformations.