On 8 July 2020, TU Dresden awarded the Honorary Medal to the psychologist Prof. em. Dr. Winfried Hacker for his life's work.

Hacker laid important foundations for the current success of psychology in Dresden and - even almost two decades after his retirement - he has continued to research with impressive creativity in the field of activity regulation.

"Prof. Hacker has contributed outstanding services to the transfer of psychological findings into practical fields of application and the implementation of health-promoting working conditions", the Senate of TU Dresden explained the granting of the award. Prof. Hacker's life's work is characterised by the consistent overcoming of the separation between fundamental research and practical application.

The 86-year-old was a professor of work psychology until 1991, then professor of general psychology at TU Dresden until his retirement in 2000. Since 2001, he has headed the "Knowledge - Thinking - Action" working group as a senior research professor.

Rector Prof. Müller-Steinhagen stated: "The high level of recognition that Prof. Hacker enjoys in the scientific community is documented by numerous honours". For his work on activity regulation and work psychology, he was awarded the German Psychology Prize (1996), the Honorary Prize of the European Association for Work and Organizational Psychology (2003), an honorary doctorate from the Faculty of Human Sciences at the University of Berne (2005), and admission to the Saxon Academy of Sciences and Humanities and the European Academy in London.

In addition to Prof. Hacker, TU Dresden also awarded an Honorary Medal to to Eva-Maria Stange, former Minister for Higher Education, Research, and the Arts in Saxony. With this award, the university show appreciation for Dr. Stange's commitment and dedication to TU Dresden's application for the University of Excellence title.  Since 1999, TU Dresden has been awarding the Honorary Medals in recognition of special achievements furthering the interests of the university. Until now, 28 people, including Eva-Maria Stange and Winfried Hacker, have received this award.