On 22 January 2026, Dr. Lena Henning was awarded the North Rhine-Westphalia Nachwuchspreis for Sport and Exerciese Science 2026 in the category 'Social, Educational and Cultural Sciences' at the State Parliament Forum. The prize, awarded by State Parliament President André Kuper and State Secretary for Sport and Volunteering Andrea Milz and endowed with 5,000 euros, recognises her research into physical activity and health in childhood from a sports and developmental psychology perspective. Professor Johannes Wessels and Professor Maike Tietjens from the Rectorate of the University of Münster, as well as Professors Heiko Wagner, Helga Leineweber and Nils Neuber from the Institute of Sport and Exercise Science, attended the award ceremony; the laudatory speech was given by Professor Dr. Bettina Rulofs from the German Sport University Cologne.
As part of the lecture series ‘On your marks... Sports history as social history’ (german org: 'Auf die Plätze...' Sportgeschichte(n) als Gesellschaftsgeschichte') at the Research Centre 'Forschungsstelle Zeitgeschichte', Dr. Kai Reinhart gave a lecture on the development of skateboarding in the USA and Germany. In particular, the question of the (Olympic) future of skateboarding led to a lively discussion at the renowned FZ Hamburg.
On 14 and 15 January, a delegation from Norway, Finland, Ireland and Germany met at the IfS. Prof. Maike Tietjens, Dr Sebastian Brückner and Dr Barbara Halberschmidt welcomed the guests and guided them through the planned accompanying programme over the two days. The OpenLab and GRAIL were shown. Mayor Klaus Rosenau welcomed the delegation in the historic Peace Hall of the town hall.
The project is developing measures to enable top athletes to pursue successful careers after their sporting careers.
Teaching Award of the University of Münster for Marie Ghanbari
Marie Ghanbari receives the teaching award from the Rectorate of the University of Münster for the interdisciplinary "Sportpatenprojekt". The prize is endowed with €30,000. With her concept, which combines theory and practice in an exemplary manner, she promotes not only technical skills but also, in particular, the students' empathy and social skills, thereby providing new impetus for university teaching. The project represents a forward-looking combination of academic education and social engagement.
Become a student assistant in the Ankle ReLoad research project at the Institute of Sports and Movement Sciences! Are you studying sports science or biomedical engineering, for example, and would you like to participate in exciting motion capture experiments and data analysis? As a student assistant (6 hours/week), you will gain practical insights into international, clinically relevant research. The position starts on 1 February 2026 and is initially limited to one year. Please submit your application in PDF format by 15 January 2026 to Rosemary Dubbeldam and Anne Dalhaus.
Become a student research assistant in the international research project Ankle ReLoad and actively contribute your knowledge to biomechanical research! Do you already have a bachelor's degree and are interested in musculoskeletal modelling, inverse dynamics analysis and data processing? As a student research assistant (6 hours/week), you will work on highly relevant issues in clinical rehabilitation and in an international research team. The position starts on 1 April 2026 and is initially for a period of one year. Please send your application as a PDF file by 16 January 2026 to Rosemary Dubbeldam and Anne Dalhaus.
As part of the BMBFSFJ ComeSport project, the departments of education and culture in sport and physical education and teaching research in sport have developed training courses, teaching ideas, and materials for p.e. teachers on the topic of “Body image and social media in school sports.” From December 3-5, 2025, a meeting was held in Münster with colleagues from the ComeNet 5 subproject in Paderborn and Leipzig to implement the digital reuse of the training concepts developed in a uniform manner on platforms such as WirLernenOnline (We’re learning online). The project is thus successfully approaching its conclusion at the end of February 2026.
The Sports Institute was represented by JProf. Dr. Helga Leineweber and Prof. Dr. Nils Neuber at the conference of the DGfE Commission for Sports Education in Osnabrück. The conference programme focused on the question of the extent to which current social challenges influence sports education and put it under pressure to transform. Helga Leineweber and Prof. Dr. Sabine Reuker from the German Sport University Cologne gave a presentation on diversity-sensitive teaching perception – a professional requirement that is particularly relevant for sports teachers. In addition, results from the ComeSport project were presented in the form of a poster. In this project, the departments of Education and Culture in Sport and Physical Education and Teaching Research in Sport are jointly working on the topic of “body image and social media” and preparing it for the further training of sports teachers and sports lessons.
