High-achieving and socially committed Seven students honoured with the "Braunschweig Citizen Award" 2023 - 14,500 euros distributed
f.l. TU-President Angela Ittel with the winners of the Braunschweiger Bürgerpreis Paula Hainz, Pinar Dogantekin, Vivien Schüer, Inka Peschel, Maik Weber, Corinna Thoben, Sarah Koop-Brinkmann and chair of the foundation Brigitte Blum. Photo credit: Madeleine Franke/TU Braunschweig
This year, for the 28th time, seven students from Technische Universität Braunschweig have received the “Braunschweiger Bürgerpreis” for their outstanding academic achievements and special commitment.
The seven awards, each worth €1,500, are largely funded by the proceeds of the »Stiftung Braunschweiger Bürgerpreis für herausragende studentische Leistungen« (Braunschweig Citizens’ Award Foundation for Outstanding Student Achievement). This was established in 1996 by the dedicated Braunschweig citizen Lieselotte Alter, who died in 2011 at the age of 92. The Soroptimist Club Braunschweig and Carl Peter Langerfeldt each provide the winners with a prize of 1,500 euros. In addition, three needy students at TU Braunschweig will receive a total of €4,000 from the foundation.
The winners
Pinar Dogantekin stands out not only for her academic achievements in the Bachelor’s programme in Media Studies, but also for her extensive practical involvement. She has completed or is completing various internships, including at the ZDF foreign studio in Brussels, in the Vatican City and at the Press and Information Office of the German Federal Government, in pursuit of her goal of becoming a journalist. This year, she was also awarded the German President Johannes Rau’s journalism scholarship. Dogantekin is also a German Youth Ambassador for ONE, where she works to fight extreme poverty and preventable diseases in Africa.
Student Corinna Thoben is achieving excellent results in her Bachelor’s degree in Biology and is one of the best in her year. She excels at combining knowledge and skills from different disciplines and developing innovative solutions. She has used her experience as a trained IT specialist as a bioinformatics tutor for two years. As a first-time academic, she is also keen to encourage children’s interest in science. To this end, she organises school visits where she teaches students the basics of biology and encourages their interest in the subject.
Paula Hainz is the best student of the semester in the bachelor’s degree programme Environmental Sciences. They impress with their outstanding performance and exceptionally active, constructive and creative participation. Hainz shows an exceptional interest in the subject and impresses the lecturers with their ability to work through the course content. Paula Hainz is also involved in the Environmental Sciences department and is committed to student interests, including the Study Commission. Hainz organises student talks, information and freshers’ events, and represents TU Braunschweig in the Association for Geoecology in Germany.
With an outstanding academic record and an average grade of 1.3, architecture student Vivien Schüer is the best Bachelor student in her year. She is characterised by an unusually high level of academic interest, independence and professional and social competence. During her studies she critically examines and questions different approaches, searches for architectural solutions and supports her fellow students with positive impulses and suggestions. In her spare time, she volunteers as a youth volleyball and cheerleading coach.
Inka Peschel excelled in the Sustainable Energy Technology programme with very good results and an outstanding bachelor’s thesis, in which she investigated the topic of “female safety” in the context of vehicle safety in accidents. She compared the requirements of an established crash test dummy with those of a female crash test dummy to be launched on the market. Vivien Schürer is also active in the social field. Through the research club changING, she inspires students to take up STEM subjects, and through Rock your Life! she helps to give educationally disadvantaged children and young people better prospects for the future. The Braunschweig Citizen Award 2023 for Inka Peschel is sponsored by the Soroptimist Club of Braunschweig.
Maik Weber is one of the top students in Information Systems Engineering. In his bachelor thesis, which he completed independently and with flying colours, he developed a concept for measuring current and future mobile communications systems. He tested the concept with measurements in the mobile network in the city centre of Braunschweig. In addition to his outstanding academic achievements, he is also involved in student self-government as a long-standing member of the Electrical Engineering and Information Technology student council. Weber is currently in his second Master’s semester and is a student member of the admissions committee for the Master’s programme in Information Systems Engineering.
Bachelor graduate Sarah Koop-Brinkmann impressed with her outstanding academic performance in the Bachelor of Electrical Engineering programme. In her bachelor’s thesis, she excelled with results worthy of an excellent doctorate. She demonstrated deep analytical thinking and a high degree of independence and creativity. She also does voluntary work to help war-displaced people from the Ukraine integrate, and contributes her musical talents to the academic brass band “akaBlas” at TU Braunschweig and the Drebber church brass band. The “Braunschweiger Bürgerpreis” 2023 for Sarah Koop-Brinkmann is sponsored by Carl Peter Langerfeldt.