DAAD scholarship holder 2018 presented

Ana Maria Saldana Peña from Colombia is the 2018 DAAD scholarship recipient at Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences. She is currently pursuing a Master's degree programme in “Energy Technology” at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering. With her good and very good academic performance, she has continued to impress during her second phase of study at our university.

She had already completed her first degree at our university and received a good grade for her Diplom thesis on the topic “Development of a Test Facility for the Visual Measurement of Forces on Bodies Subjected to Flow.”

Throughout her studies, she worked as a research assistant and also supported the faculty, particularly

- during the “Come In Weeks,”

- the “Try Studying” student recruitment initiative,

- and in providing general support to international students

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She served as a tutor at the 'Studentenwerk' (student union) dormitory and was actively involved in the community there.

Ms. Peña was also very active in cross-faculty / trans-faculty events such as the “International Coffee Hour” and the “International Dinner.” It is precisely these kinds of events—where the goal is to bring German and international students together, where concerns and challenges can be addressed, and, above all, where tips can be shared—that are so valuable to the university. That is why Ms. Peña’s initiatives cannot be praised highly enough.

All in all, Ms. Peña has made a strong impression: with her achievements, her dedication, and her willingness to help and support her fellow students—and she has done so throughout her entire time as a student.

The German Academic Exchange Service, known as the DAAD for short, aims to use its award for outstanding performance by international students to give a face to the growing number of young people at German universities who come to study here from many countries around the world—and to connect them with a story.

At our university alone, there are 600 students from 35 different countries pursuing their studies here.

The DAAD, an organization that organizes, manages, and funds academic exchange between Germany and the rest of the world, awards this prize annually.

The DAAD Award consists of a certificate and a cash prize of 1,000 euros.

The prize was presented during the enrolment ceremony on October 4, 2018, by Dr. Stefan Kühne, Head of the Division for Student Affairs and International Relations.

Photos: Jens Freudenberg