Two of the many award-winning students were Sven Liehner (2nd from left) and Marcel Reichle (left), who received the prize from the Gisela and Erwin Sick Foundation from Prof. Jürgen Werner (center right) for a joint Bachelor's thesis. HFU President Dr. Alexandra Bormann and Vice President Prof. Dr.-Ing. Hans-Georg Enkler warmly congratulated them. More pictures of all the award-winning students and sponsors can be found below in the picture gallery.
Awards ceremony at Furtwangen University
Outstanding theses, special commitment and highly talented students were the focus of the recent awards and scholarships ceremony at Furtwangen University (HFU). “Science and innovation are at the heart of our society and I am delighted that our university brings companies and science together with young people,” said HFU President Dr. Alexandra Bormann in her speech. “It is especially satisfying that we are able to honour these outstanding achievements with such prestigious awards as the Aesculap Prize, the Gisela and Erwin Sick Foundation Prize and the Von Schoen Innovation Prize.” Prof. Dr.-Ing. Hans-Georg Enkler, Vice-President for Academics and Diversity, added, “It's great to get an insight into what young people are achieving today.”
The first students to be honoured were Sven Liehner, Marcel Reichle and Fabian Gehring, who were presented with the Gisela and Erwin Sick Foundation Prize by Professor Jürgen Werner for their bachelor's theses. Sabine Schleise also received an award for her master's thesis in Computer Science and Media and gave a short presentation on her topic −“Virtual Reality in an industrial context”. The aim was to depict reality in its three-dimensionality and thus create 3D images from classic images with the help of neural networks and make this application usable for industry.
Two patents are also currently in progress. Dr. Matthias Henke from Aesculap presented prizes for outstanding theses to Stefan Prinz and Lucas Moosmann. Stefan Prinz presented the topic of “lattice structures” to the audience, which he researched for his thesis. This involves using computer models and simulations to determine weak points in lattice structures in order to optimise implants. Alexander Stockburg from EGT presented Tobias Hauser with the Schoen Innovation Award for his thesis on “Purge strategies for PEM fuel cells”, which compared two processes for removing excess gases from fuel cells in order to make them more efficient, as Hauser explained.
“Tobias Hauser is a former Germany Scholarship (Deutschlandstipendium) holder and I am delighted to see that he has now successfully completed his degree. The Germany Scholarships have been a matter close to my heart for three years,” said Prof. Dr.-Ing Katja Gutsche, Representative for Germany Scholarships on the university Board of Executives. “We reward excellence − both academically and personally.” With Germany Scholarships, companies, associations and private individuals support particularly dedicated and academically outstanding students with a monthly amount to allow them a special focus on their studies.
Professor Gutsche was able to award the coveted scholarship to Pascal Guttmann, Alexander Zoller and Julia Kruk on behalf of Sick AG.
“I hope that there will be an exchange between the students and the companies,” said Prof. Gutsche. Dr. Thomas Koepfer from KOEPFER Engineering GmbH presented the scholarship to mechanical engineering student Andreas Schmocker. The HFU Business Network ibaa e.V. presented two scholarships to Anna-Sophia Stegmaier and Felix Grimm. The Wieland Bildungswerk is sponsoring Lara Sankari's scholarship. Carsten Dörr from Gewerbeverband Oberzentrum e.V. presented the certificate of sponsorship to Julean Walter and Adrijana Veljokovic. Dr. Katharina Buß presented a scholarship to Martin Seitzer on behalf of the Rotary Club Hohenkarpfen Tuttlingen.
For the first time, Furtwangen University also awarded a Germany Scholarship from two private sponsors. The former Vice-President for Academics, Robert Schäflein-Armbruster and his wife Susanne are supporting Lea Nyerges with the scholarship.
A special honour was the award of the DAAD prize to Siwar Helaoui by Brigitte Minderlein, Head of the International Center at HFU. Helaoui, who comes from Tunisia, is studying International Engineering on the Schwenningen campus and was particularly praised for her outstanding academic performance and commitment to the university.
In addition to the scholarships, prizes for social commitment were also awarded by the Chairman of the ProHFU Association, Dr. Thomas Koepfer. Justin Dretvic and Daniel Koschützki received the award. “Social commitment is particularly valuable in these challenging times − and as a university, we also have a social responsibility. I am therefore very pleased that our students are so active,” said Vice-President Enkler. President Bormann thanked all sponsors and students, saying "We are here for you! It is important to stay in contact in order to shape the best times together. The university serves as a source of inspiration and together with the companies, we aim to strengthen society for the future and the present.”
