Germany Scholarship Holders at the HSZG

Shortly before Easter, the Germany Scholarship recipients from the Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences met with their sponsors and the university administration. The goal of the event was for everyone to get to know one another. This year’s sponsors were TRUMPF Sachsen GmbH in Neukirch, Deutsche Kreditanstalt (Dresden branch), Sparkasse Oberlausitz-Niederschlesien,Vattenfall Mining & Generation (two scholarships), AUKOM e. V., GWT-TU Dresden, the Friends of Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences e. V., and Cellpack GmbH (two scholarships).

Member of the Bundestag Michael Kretschmer and members of the state parliament Dr. Stephan Meyer and Octavian Ursu jointly provided a Germany Scholarship. As a result, the sponsors made it possible to award eleven Germany Scholarships to students from various faculties during the 2014–2015 academic year.

The recipients are Johannes Hebrich (KIA electrical engineering program), Frank Resick (KIA Mechanical Engineering program), Stephanie Bahr (Business Administration program), Daniel Peuker (KIA Mechanical Engineering program), Paul Herrmann (energy and environmental engineering program), Moritz Pietsch (KIA Mechatronics program), Robert Wagner (KIA mechatronics program), Kati Knoll (Business Administration program), Susann Rudolf (Business Mathematics program), Michael Pein (Tourism program), and Marie-Luise Sakowski (Culture and Management program).

After a round of general introductions, a lively discussion developed among the participants. Susann Rudolf, for example, spoke enthusiastically about her stays abroad in South Africa, where she completed internships at BMW. The Germany Scholarship was a huge financial relief for her. Paul Herrmann completed a practical training placement at VW in Mexico. For him, too, the Germany Scholarship was a great help. “In Mexico, it’s usually the case that master’s students have to work to make ends meet,” he reported. Also, the fact that an academic thesis must be submitted after a practical semester is not widely known. He was only able to write it alongside his internship. But this “pressure” from the university also led to the thesis turning out to be good.

The president noted that there are an exceptionally high number of KIA students among the scholarship recipients. “This also shows that there are very high-achieving students in this group.” “Overall, our ‘Deutschlandstipendium’ recipients represent a certain level of academic achievement at the university. It is not only academic achievement in coursework that is taken into account during the selection process, but also social and community engagement plays a major role,” the rector continued.

Moritz Pietsch is in his 10th semester studying mechatronics and will begin his diploma phase at Trumpf Sachsen GmbH in May. From the very beginning of his studies, he has been a KIA (sandwich-style) degree course student at this company and has also received funding and support from them. He is very grateful for this, as he would also like to stay in the region. He has since specialized in software development and is already receiving independent contracts. After completing his studies, he will begin working there.

All scholarship recipients view receiving the Germany Scholarship as personal recognition of their academic achievements. It also allows them to focus more on their studies and eases their financial burden.

Saskia Grosser from Vattenfall emphasized that the company would like to become more involved in the selection process and that it would be desirable for students in their early semesters to submit an application for a scholarship; she also expressed a desire for earlier contact with the scholarship recipients. Through their commitment, the donors of the Germany Scholarship aim not only to support particularly talented young people but also to offer them prospects in the region. The rector thanked the sponsors in attendance and presented them with a certificate in recognition of their commitment.

For more information, visit www.hszg.de/deutschlandstipendium.