Anna Klyushina, who completed her Master's degree in May 2024 and is now a doctoral student and research assistant at the Department of Control Methods and Intelligent Systems in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology, impressed the DAAD award jury not only with her academic excellence, but also with her commitment in the university environment.

Scholarships were also awarded to international students at the award ceremony in karo 5.

‘TU Darmstadt is proud to be one of the universities with the highest proportion of international students in Germany,’ said Heribert Warzecha, TU Vice President, Academic Affairs and Diversity. ‘Especially for our international students, the challenges of successfully completing a degree programme are high. These include, for example, the administrative hurdles involved in starting a degree programme or finding affordable accommodation. International students leave their familiar social environment to study with us, usually have to learn new languages, familiarise themselves with a new university system and financing their studies is also challenging, as they are not entitled to Bafög, for example. I am therefore delighted that we can financially support at least a small number of international students with the scholarships.’

Six students received the scholarship for more equal opportunities, which is aimed at international students who have to overcome particular challenges during their studies, such as caring for children, disabilities or chronic illnesses. The scholarship is paid out in six monthly instalments of 500 euros each (3,000 euros in total).

In the summer semester of 2024, a total of 31 students from 15 different countries in nine departments or subject areas were awarded the Graduation scholarship. This scholarship supports international students in the final phase of their studies.

Since 1976, state funds have been awarded to foreign students as a contribution to ensuring the academic success of international students: originally under the title ‘Beihilfe’, since 2005 as ‘Leistungsorientierte Förderung’. What was originally purely merit-based funding has developed into merit-based funding with the option of taking social criteria into account. In 2024, the average grant amounted to 400 euros per month over a period of six months.

With the HessenFonds scholarship, the Hessian Ministry of Science and Research, Art and Culture (HMWK) supports talented and high-performing refugee students, doctoral candidates and researchers as well as persecuted doctoral candidates and academics. A researcher from Sudan, a doctoral student from Afghanistan and two Master students from Syria are currently being supported at TU Darmstadt.

The Carlo and Karin Giersch Foundation's Study Start Scholarship Programme supports international first-year Bachelor's students at the TU. It is intended to make it easier for graduates of German schools abroad (DAS) and participants of the PreCIS programme (‘Preparatory Course and Support Programme for International Students’) to start their studies. Funding is possible for a maximum of one semester. The scholarship amounts to a total of 2,400 euros for one semester (400 euros per month). This winter semester, four first-year students are being supported.

İrem Alp, who was a Master's student in the Department of Mechanical Engineering in 2023 and has distinguished herself through her commitment to environmental protection and nature conservation, was subsequently awarded the DAAD Prize 2023 by TU Vice President Warzecha during the event.

Dezernat Internationales/bjb/mho