Heraeus Bildungsstiftung

What Heraeus Bildungsstiftung does

Heraeus Bildungsstiftung (legal name: Bertha Heraeus und Kathinka Platzhoff Stiftung) is a private, family-controlled non-profit foundation headquartered in Hanau, Germany, founded in 1965 by Bertha Heraeus. The foundation delivers professional development for school leaders, teachers, and education administration across Germany, operating four primary product lines: in-person seminars (Präsenzseminare), live online seminars (Online-Seminare), self-paced online courses on the Blink.it learning platform, and exclusive school-internal seminars (minimum 10, maximum 15 participants). It also runs longer-cycle programs including the two-year transformation consulting offering 'next:schule', the Hessen statewide 'Verbindungsstark' qualification (18,000+ participants), the 'Grundschule voraus' elementary leadership program in Hamburg, and the ministry-commissioned 'BildungsCampus Leadership' in Sachsen-Anhalt. The annual Deutscher Lehrkräftepreis, co-organized with the Deutscher Philologenverband since 2009, anchors its public profile.

The foundation employs approximately 15 staff across program development, seminar coordination, finance, marketing, communications, and administration, governed by Chair Alexandra Heraeus, Deputy Chair Christine Heraeus, and Managing Executive Board member Martin Fugmann following a 2023 generational leadership transition. Technology infrastructure consists of Blink.it for course delivery, Microsoft Dynamics 365 for marketing automation, Zoom and Microsoft Teams for live online seminars, SurveyMonkey for participant surveys, and Miro for collaborative seminar work, with no disclosed AI/ML or API products. Partnerships with state education ministries, state quality institutes (LISUM Sachsen-Anhalt, LI Hamburg), and peer foundations (Alfred Töpfer Stiftung F.V.S., ZEIT STIFTUNG BUCERIUS) form a parallel distribution channel to its direct website booking.

Revenue is generated through a mix of fee-based seminars and self-paced courses (pay-as-you-go, quote-based pricing disclosed per seminar), exclusive school-internal seminar contracts, and grant- or contract-funded statewide programs commissioned by education ministries. The foundation is supervised by the Regierungspräsidium Darmstadt as Stiftungsaufsicht and operates exclusively within Germany, with no disclosed international footprint.

Name

Heraeus Bildungsstiftung

Legal name

Bertha Heraeus und Kathinka Platzhoff Stiftung

Website

https://heraeus-bildungsstiftung.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1965

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Heraeus Bildungsstiftung is a German non-profit foundation that delivers professional development seminars, online courses, and multi-year transformation programs for school leaders, teachers, and education administrators across Germany.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Education Foundation Professional Development

NAICS

Other Schools and Instruction (6116), All Other Schools and Instruction (61169)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Teacher Training, Professional Development & Education Leadership (BPADAKAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

Teacher Professional Development & In-Service Training Institutes (EDAHAFAM)

Keywords

• Professional development seminars
• Teacher training programs
• School leadership development
• Education foundation services
• School transformation consulting

Headquarters

HQ city

Hanau

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Präsenz-Seminare (In-person Seminars): Fee-based in-person seminars for teachers and school leaders. Participation fee includes seminar delivery, training materials, lunch, and beverages. Participants register via website and pay upon invoice.
2. Online-Seminare (Online Seminars): Fee-based live online seminars with scheduled sessions, access to learning platform Blink.it, and webinar links provided to participants.
3. Online-Selbstlern-Kurse (Self-paced Online Courses): Fee-based self-paced online courses with video chapters and learning materials, accessible for a limited period after registration on Blink.it platform.
4. Schulinterne Seminare (School-internal Seminars): Exclusive seminars booked by educational institutions for their staff. Minimum 10, maximum 15 participants. Fee includes seminar, materials, lunch, venue costs, and trainer fees.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

The Heraeus Bildungsstiftung delivers fee-based professional development for German school leaders, teachers, and education administrators, including in-person seminars, live online seminars, and self-paced online courses on its Blink.it learning platform. Its flagship next:schule program provides two-year school-transformation consulting, complemented by statewide programs such as Verbindungsstark (Hessen), Grundschule voraus (Hamburg), and BildungsCampus Leadership (Sachsen-Anhalt), plus the annual Deutscher Lehrkräftepreis award.

Product overview

Heraeus Bildungsstiftung is an educational foundation that offers a portfolio of professional development programs for school leadership, teachers, and educational administration. The core offerings include in-person seminars (Präsenzseminare), live online seminars (Online-Seminare), and self-paced online courses (Online-Selbstlern-Kurse) delivered via the Blink.it learning platform. The foundation provides school-specific exclusive seminars and the flagship two-year transformation consulting program 'next:schule'. Key programs include 'Verbindungsstark' (18,000+ participants in Hessen), the 'Grundschule voraus' elementary school leadership qualification (now continued by Hamburg as a state program), and 'BildungsCampus Leadership' in Saxony-Anhalt. The foundation organizes the annual 'Deutscher Lehrkräftepreis' award with the Deutscher Philologenverband. Competence areas span personality development (Persönlichkeitsentwicklung), leadership in schools (Leadership in Schule), and relationship culture (Beziehungskultur).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• next:schule: A two-year transformation consulting program for school communities that supports school-specific development projects sustainably.
• Deutscher Lehrkräftepreis
• Grundschule voraus

Products and services

• Präsenzseminare (In-person Seminars) Fee-based in-person seminars held at physical venues for school leaders, teachers, and education administrators, covering topics including leadership, relationship culture, well-being, and personality development. Participation fee includes seminar delivery, training materials, lunch, and beverages; participants register via the foundation's website and pay upon invoice.
• Online-Seminare (Online Seminars) Fee-based live online seminars conducted via video conferencing (Zoom, Microsoft Teams) with real-time instructor participation and interactive learning phases, providing remote access to the foundation's professional development content.
• Online-Selbstlern-Kurse (Self-paced Online Courses) Self-paced online courses with video chapters and learning materials, accessible for a defined usage period on the Blink.it platform, designed for teachers and school leaders seeking flexible professional development.
• Schulinterne Seminare (School-internal Seminars) Exclusive in-school seminars booked by educational institutions for their teaching staff, with content identical to public seminars but delivered as private events for a minimum of 10 up to a maximum of 15 participants; fee includes seminar, materials, lunch, venue, and trainer costs.
• next:schule A two-year transformation consulting program that supports school communities with school-specific development projects, structured support, and sustainable anchoring of change. Aimed at school leadership teams seeking long-term, hands-on change partnership rather than one-off training.
• Verbindungsstark Comprehensive qualification program strengthening school leadership and teachers in Hessen, having reached more than 18,000 school leaders and teachers as a long-running statewide initiative in partnership with regional education authorities.
• Grundschule voraus Qualification program for elementary school teachers preparing them for leadership roles, co-developed by Heraeus Bildungsstiftung, Alfred Töpfer Stiftung F.V.S., and ZEIT STIFTUNG BUCERIUS in cooperation with the LI Hamburg. The program trained 52 primary school teachers across three cohorts and has since been continued by the City of Hamburg as a permanent state program.
• BildungsCampus Leadership Statewide qualification program for school leadership in Sachsen-Anhalt, commissioned by the Bildungsministerium Sachsen-Anhalt and implemented in partnership with the Landesinstitut für Schulqualität und Lehrerbildung (LISUM).
• Deutscher Lehrkräftepreis Annual award program co-organized with the Deutscher Philologenverband recognizing outstanding teachers, school leaders, and teaching teams for their dedication and innovation in education. The 2025 award round was announced on 23 February 2026.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 18,000 school leaders and teachers reached through 'Verbindungsstark' program in Hessen
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.

• Alfred Töpfer Stiftung F.V.S.coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Co-initiator of the 'Grundschule voraus' qualification program for primary school teachers in Hamburg, together with ZEIT STIFTUNG BUCERIUS and in cooperation with the Hamburg Institute for Quality and Educational Development (LI)
• ZEIT STIFTUNG BUCERIUScoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Co-initiator of 'Grundschule voraus' program together with Alfred Töpfer Stiftung F.V.S. and Heraeus Bildungsstiftung, working with LI Hamburg
• Landesinstitut für Qualifizierung und Qualitätsentwicklung in Schulen (LI) HamburgcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEducational institute in Hamburg coordinating the 'Grundschule voraus' qualification program, which is now being continued by the city as a permanent program
• Bildungsministerium Sachsen-AnhaltflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerMinistry commissioned the BildungsCampus Leadership program, a nationwide qualification program for school leadership developed and implemented by Heraeus Bildungsstiftung together with LISUM Sachsen-Anhalt
• Landesinstitut für Schulqualität und Lehrerbildung (LISUM) Sachsen-AnhaltflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerState institute co-developing and implementing BildungsCampus Leadership qualification program for school leadership in Sachsen-Anhalt
• Deutscher PhilologenverbandflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-standing partnership for organizing the Deutscher Lehrkräftepreis, Germany's prestigious award for outstanding teachers and school leaders, awarded annually since 2009

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Stifterverband für die Deutsche Wissenschaft: German association/foundation driving innovation in education, science, and academia. Comparable as a long-standing German education-focused organization running programs and partnering with public institutions.
• Deutsche Telekom Stiftung: Major German education foundation focused on digital education and teacher development. Directly comparable in mission (strengthening German schools and educators) and operating model (programs + partnerships with ministries).
• Alfred Töpfer Stiftung F.V.S. Hamburg-based foundation co-initiating the 'Grundschule voraus' program with Heraeus Bildungsstiftung. Operates in education, science, and culture with a comparable program-driven foundation model.
• Vodafone Stiftung Deutschland: German corporate foundation funding education and integration programs with strong school-facing initiatives. Similar foundation-driven model targeting the German K-12 education ecosystem.
• ZEIT STIFTUNG BUCERIUS: German family foundation actively co-developing programs with Heraeus Bildungsstiftung (e.g., 'Grundschule voraus' in Hamburg). Both share a focus on education and societal transformation with similar grant-making and program-operating models in Germany.

Broad incumbents

• Bertelsmann Stiftung: Germany's largest privately operated foundation, with a deep education portfolio including school transformation initiatives. Comparable in foundation-driven school reform focus but operates at significantly greater scale and scope.
• Robert Bosch Stiftung: One of Germany's largest foundations with a substantial education portfolio covering school, higher education, and vocational training. Operates at much greater scale and breadth than Heraeus Bildungsstiftung, overlapping on teacher/school leadership themes.
• Studienseminare (German state teacher trainee seminars): State-run teacher induction and in-service training institutions across all German states. The public-sector default for teacher professional development against which Heraeus Bildungsstiftung competes as a non-state alternative.

Emerging players

• BetterLesson: US-based edtech company focused on teacher professional development and instructional coaching. Comparable in mission (teacher growth and leadership development) but uses a technology-enabled, virtual-coaching model rather than seminars.
• New Teacher Center: US-based non-profit providing teacher induction, coaching, and school leadership development. Direct mission overlap with Heraeus Bildungsstiftung on teacher/school leader growth, though operating at different geographic scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@heraeusbildungsstiftung9783
• Facebookfacebook.com/HeraeusBildungsstiftung
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/heraeus-bildungsstiftung
• Instagraminstagram.com/bildungsstiftung

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Heraeus Bildungsstiftung