A celebration of commitment, trust and solidarity: over 40 students at TU Ilmenau received a Deutschlandstipendium scholarship on October 28 in a ceremony in the Audimax. The scholarships were presented to them personally by their sponsors, representatives of their department and the university management.
The joy was palpable when sponsors, students and university members came together in the Humboldtbau to set a special example of commitment and cohesion with the festive awarding of the Germany Scholarships.
43 students, whose careers promise outstanding achievements, will be supported with 300 euros per month in the coming year as part of the federal program. Half of the support comes from voluntary sponsors - alumni of TU Ilmenau and other private individuals, commercial enterprises or foundations and associations - and the other half from the federal government. However, they not only invest money, but also personal commitment in the next generation of specialists and managers.
"An expression of deep trust in young people"
In his speech, Kai Ziesenis, Head of Division at the Thuringian Ministry of Education, Science and Culture (TMBWK), praised this successful collaboration between the state, business, university and alumni of TU Ilmenau, who are responsible for three scholarships this year:
The Deutschlandstipendium is an expression of deep trust in young people.
Ziesenis encouraged the scholarship holders to use this unique opportunity to make contacts and network - with those who support them, but also with their fellow students.
Commitment that builds bridges and opens doors - professionally and personally
One of the first sponsors, Arne Schwarz, Head of the Database Research Campus at SAP, recalled his own student years at the scholarship award ceremony in the Audimax:
I would have been delighted to have such a bridge to industry myself back then.
His company has been supporting students since 2016, not just financially, "so that they can study without having to work all the time to make ends meet", regardless of their origin or gender, as Schwarz emphasized. He also arranges internships for them - even in faraway South Korea. According to Arne Schwarz, the aim is to give young people the opportunity to broaden their horizons beyond their subject and to form a community with other students.
This community of scholarship holders stands for outstanding achievements in their studies, but also for special commitment. In addition to excellent grades, voluntary work and the assumption of social responsibility also count for the awarding of scholarships.
This is the case, for example, for Rose von Stackelberg, a Bachelor's student of Technical Physics from Franconia: After graduating from high school with the top grade of 1.0, she is involved at the TU Ilmenau as a tutor for first semester students and participants in the Ilmenau Physics Summer, among other things, in order to pass on her own enthusiasm for the interplay between engineering and the natural sciences. Last year, she was sponsored by BLINK AG and will be supported by TEAG Thüringer Energie AG in the coming year. On behalf of all those sponsored, she thanked all sponsors at the scholarship award ceremony and also shared her own experiences:
My company visit made it clear to me that physics doesn't become any less exciting when you venture out of the university setting. On the contrary, I saw that the theoretical content we deal with here at TU Ilmenau can be even more exciting in its practical application.
Contact
Franziska Döhler
Academic Service Center (ASC)/Scholarships
Impressions
