A fitting conclusion to the teacher training programme

They are the top graduates in their respective teacher training programmes for 2026: Franziska Becker (primary school), Hannes Röder (grammar school), Joëlle Hartmann (middle school), Sophie Gah (secondary school) and Sophie Hartleif (special educational needs). At the graduation ceremony in the Neubaukirche, which was packed to capacity with nearly 600 people, they were honoured with a voucher from Schöningh bookshop and a certificate signed by the President of the University of Würzburg.

A critical look at the school system

As if in a time machine, the evening’s keynote speaker, Professor Heinz Reinders, looked back at the past and forward to the future of schooling. Reinders, who holds the Chair of Empirical Educational Research at the University of Würzburg, emphasised in his speech that, structurally speaking, little has changed in the school system over the years and that pupils’ social background continues to have a decisive influence on their educational success.

However, the student body has changed: it has become more diverse and is increasingly shaped by the influence of social media. Added to this – a completely new development – are the effects of artificial intelligence, which are also making their mark on schools. “This will be a major focus for future teachers,” Reinders predicted.

A brief insight into teacher training

Reinder’s reference to outdated technology such as overhead projectors in schools was countered by Florian Fess, a representative of the "Referendariat" (trainee teacher programme), in his presentation. Together with his colleague Lea Ziegler, he provided a brief insight into the trainee teacher programme. The positive aspects predominated: the pair reported that they had been warmly welcomed and well supported by their teaching staff; above all, they were delighted to finally be able to put what they had learnt during their degree studies into practice with the children. That said, they did not gloss over the fact that the newcomers also face the odd administrative task or two.

At the start of the event, Professor Thomas Trefzger, Director of the Professional School of Education (PSE), had welcomed the graduates. Doris Fischer, Vice-President of the University of Würzburg, congratulated the trainee teachers and wished them well on passing their first state examination. She thanked the teachers’ associations BLLV, bpv, brlv, GEW and Europafels e.V., the sponsors of the evening, and emphasised the importance of the teaching profession.

Congratulations from the Ministerial Representative

Dr Robert Christoph, "Ministerialbeauftragter" (Ministerial Representative) for grammar schools in Lower Franconia, also addressed those present, emphasised the excellent standard of training at the University of Würzburg and congratulated the graduates on successfully completing their studies: “Welcome to the team, welcome to your pre-service training!”

The ceremony in the Neubaukirche was accompanied by music from the school band of the Jakob-Stoll-Realschule, featuring Olexandra Kostjukowitch (vocals), Martin Balazoski (guitar), Agan Azizi (bass), Tobias Stöckinger (keyboard), and Alex Gkrigkorian (drums), conducted by Ralf Borho.

The “Kolping Boys and Girls”, a student-run company from the Adolph-Kolping-Schule in Würzburg, provided the guests with delicious canapés and drinks.

The next PSE event

The next PSE event will take place on 1 October 2026. The PSE Autumn Conference and the School Development Day will be held under the theme ‘Understanding challenging behaviour – the health of pupils’. Registration is now open.

Contact

Dr Matthias Erhardt, Managing Director of the PSE, T +49 931 31 89188, matthias.erhardt@uni-wuerzburg.de