The German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) has awarded the Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm Prize to the Polish Germanist Professor Dr Jadwiga Kita-Huber. The prize comprises 10,000 euros and a research stay in Germany. The Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm Sponsorship Prize, which recognises outstanding early-career researchers in German Studies, goes this year to the Swedish scholar Dr Hanna Henryson. She receives 3,000 euros as well as a research stay in Germany.

“German studies today is far more than just the study of language and literature – it is a key to cultural dialogue in an increasingly fragmented world. In Jadwiga Kita-Huber and Hanna Henryson, we are honouring two scholars whose research builds bridges from Poland and Sweden to Germany,” said DAAD President Prof. Dr Joybrato Mukherjee. 

“Through her work in intercultural literary studies and a wealth of translations into Polish, Professor Kita-Huber has rendered outstanding service as a key supporter of German-Polish cultural relations. Hanna Henryson enriches international German studies with interdisciplinary approaches and contributes to important discourses in diversity and urban studies. We are delighted to present both of them with the 2026 Grimm Prizes and wish them continued success in their academic careers.” 

The laureates

Professor Dr Jadwiga Kita-Huber is a literary scholar at Jagiellonian University in Kraków, Poland. As Vice-Dean and Coordinator of international research programmes, she shapes literary studies, comparative literature and translation studies far beyond her university. Through her numerous translations of German-language literature into Polish, she makes key works accessible to a wide audience, thereby strengthening German-Polish cultural relations in the long term. Her commitment to international collaboration and successful third-party funded projects at renowned institutions underscore her role as a key driving force in global German studies.

Dr Hanna Henryson, a German studies scholar at Stockholm University, works at the intersection of literary studies, sociology and urban studies. In her research, she examines how themes such as gentrification and homelessness are addressed in German-language literature, thereby combining literary analysis with current social issues. Her outstanding doctoral thesis and her international network enhance her academic visibility and impact.

Honouring outstanding scholars of German studies 

Since 1995, the Grimm Prizes have honoured foreign academics who have rendered outstanding services to international cooperation in German studies and in the field of German as a foreign language. International German studies play a key role in intensifying academic exchange and cultural cooperation with Germany worldwide, and in inspiring international students to choose Germany as a place of study.
The prizes are funded by the Federal Foreign Office.

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Award ceremony and press service

The Grimm Prizes will be presented on Tuesday, 3 November 2026, in Berlin by DAAD President Professor Dr Joybrato Mukherjee. Following the ceremony, the DAAD will host a reception.

Journalists are warmly invited to attend the award ceremony. The prize winners will be available for interviews in the run-up to the event. If you are interested, please contact us by email at presse at daad.de.