(Vienna, 9 September 2026) A project by the Medical University of Vienna has been awarded the Ars Docendi 2026, the State Prize for Excellence in Teaching. The prize in the category ‘Society- and Sustainability-Oriented Teaching’ was awarded to Christoph Minichsdorfer, Philipp Pavelka, Thomas Scheidl, Robert Wanderer, Thomas Binder, Anahit Anvari-Pirsch and Stefan Winkler. The awards were presented by the Minister for Science, Eva-Maria Holzleitner, during a ceremony at the Austrian Academy of Sciences.
The project focuses on science communication in medicine: AI-supported simulation of challenging patient consultations regarding neoadjuvant breast cancer therapy and measles vaccination.
This course for 4th-year medical students teaches science communication through two clinically relevant scenarios: counseling a breast cancer patient on neoadjuvant therapy versus alternative medicine, and advising a vaccine-hesitant father on measles vaccination. Grounded in evidence-based communication frameworks (Empathetic Refutational Interviewing, Misinformation Response Model), students practice through AI-powered live patient simulations in plenary and self-paced Moodle branching scenarios featuring AI generated patient reaction videos. Each conversation path provides individualized feedback based on ERI/MRM principles. A pre-post evaluation confirms high acceptance and positive attitudinal trends toward science communication.
The members of the project team were honoured:
Christoph Minichsdorfer
Philipp Pavelka
Thomas Scheidl
Robert Wanderer
Thomas Binder
Anahit Anvari-Pirsch
Stefan Winkler
Record number of submissions
The Ars Docendi is awarded for outstanding achievements in higher education teaching. In 2026, a total of 202 projects were submitted by 462 nominated lecturers from 57 Austrian higher education institutions – more than ever before.
“High-quality university teaching creates opportunities, opens up new horizons and provides guidance. It is therefore all the more gratifying that this year’s Ars Docendi saw more submissions and projects than ever before . This underlines the importance attached to good teaching at our universities,” said Minister for Science Eva-Maria Holzleitner at the awards ceremony.
The award-winning projects in all categories are documented in the online compendium ‘Atlas of Good Teaching’ (www.gutelehre.at).