Roland R. Wauer Award

The Roland R. Wauer Award is dedicated to Professor Dr med Roland R. Wauer - Neonatologist, university lecturer, scientist, neonatal advocate, and above all, a passionate Paediatrician. In memory of Prof Dr med Roland R. Wauer, the ESPR and the Deutsche Stiftung Kranke Neugeborene (DSKN) endow the 'Roland R. Wauer Award'.

The 2025 award round is now closed.

• Roland R. Wauer Award 2025

  With the Roland R. Wauer Award, the ESPR seeks to ensure cutting-edge medical care for premature and sick newborns in the future by fostering the clinical and scientific exchange of medical students and junior trainees in the field of Neonatology.

  Roland R. Wauer Award: In the spirit of his teacher Ingeborg Rapoport, the first professor of Neonatology in Germany, Professor Wauer passed on his knowledge and experiences to his students over the years. He conveyed that respect, curiosity and responsibility for the utilisation of new clinical findings are a high value. A special concern of Prof Dr med Roland Wauer has always been the promotion of young scientists.

  For this reason, the ESPR together with the Deutsche Stiftung Kranke Neugeborene (DSKN) have established the 'Roland R. Wauer Award'.

   

   

  Idea: Through the 'Roland R. Wauer Award', the ESPR and DSKN annually enable medical students to spend 1-2 months in a neonatal clinic in Europe that excels in clinical care and strong research.

  When: The stay at the clinical institution should take place in summer/autumn 2025. The exact dates can be agreed individually.

  How: It is expected that the awardees identify, contact and organise their stays with the institutions themselves.

  Financial support: The ESPR and the DSKN support the grant recipient's stays abroad with EUR 1500 each, which will be used for travel and accommodation costs.

  Project monitoring: The grant recipients document their stays by keeping a virtual diary or blog. They are responsible for the logistical part of the stay and must organise travel, accommodation and, if necessary, visas independently.

  Stay at the institution: The fellows have the opportunity to observe the clinical routines of a Neonatology ward in a perinatal centre. The learning objectives and activities can be defined together with the local supervisor according to the level of training and previous knowledge. The ESPR and DSKN deliberately do not set a framework, but encourage the grant recipients to implement their individual ideas during the stay.
• Application criteria

  Applicants should be enrolled as medical students at a European university.

  You can apply by sending an email with the following documents as PDF to office@espr.eu:

  - Letter of motivation (1 page)
  - A brief outline of how you would like to share your experience
  - A letter of recommendation from your lecturer/supervisor (if available)
  - Curriculum Vitae

  Evaluation criteria: Be creative. We want to get to know you and learn why you want to spend 1-2 months in a neonatal clinic abroad. Convince us that you are the right person to receive the Roland R. Wauer Award!

  Please contact us at office@espr.eu if you have any questions.

  The 2025 Roland Wauer award round is now closed.
• Commission of the Roland R. Wauer Award
   

  Prof Dr Mario Rüdiger Dresden University Hospital, GER	Prof Willem-Pieter de Boode Amalia Children's Hospital Nijmegen, NL
  Prof Dr Claudia Roll Vestische Child and Youth Clinic Datteln	Dr Brigitte Wauer Paediatrician, Berlin
• Meet the awardees of the Roland R. Wauer Award 2025

  

   
• About Roland R. Wauer

  Roland Reinhard Wauer was born on 1 January 1942 in Treuenbrietzen, Germany.

  Inspired by Latin lessons at school, Roland Wauer decided to study medicine. He completed his pre-clinical studies in Sofia, Bulgaria, and his clinical studies at the Humboldt University in Berlin. He began his specialist training in Paediatrics in Zittau, Germany, where he had spent his childhood. His chief physician there, with whom he shared a keen interest in innovation and the development of new equipment, recommended him to Ingeborg Rapoport at the Charité in Berlin, a turning point in Roland Wauer's life.

  In Berlin, he met his wife Brigitte, with whom he had two daughters. His special scientific interest already at this time was the 'perinatal lung', which determined his research focus for many years to come. The Respiratory Function Laboratory for Newborns, which he initiated, was to receive his special attention until the end of his active professional activity as clinic director. The knowledge gained there not only ensured better care for premature and sick newborns, but also flowed into many publications and always stimulated professional exchange. Always open to new ideas and consistent in their implementation, he recognised that joint perinatal care for pregnant women and newborns, with intensive involvement of the parents, was the best way for children to grow up healthy.

  At the end of the 1990s, on his initiative, the first social pedagogue was employed exclusively for parent counselling in neonatal inpatient care in Germany; in 2006, a camera system (Baby-Watch) was successfully installed for the first time at a German neonatal clinic at the Charité - the family should be able to visit the new family member via the internet.

  A key feature of Roland Wauer's personality was his ability to show doctors and scientists the many opportunities for fulfilment in their careers and in research by challenging and encouraging them. As Vice Dean for Young Scientists, he was instrumental in the introduction of junior professorships at the Charité. When his students today look back on their time together with Roland Wauer, the many facets of his professional life have left a deep impression.

  As a teacher, he passed on his knowledge to generations of paediatricians. As a scientist, he taught that curiosity and responsibility for the utilisation of new clinical findings are a valuable asset. As a human being, he always conveyed esteem and respect in dealing with the patients entrusted to him and their parents.