DAAD Prize

Curious about the DAAD Prize?

Every year, the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) awards funds to recognize outstanding achievements by foreign students at universities. The prize is endowed with 1,000.00 euros and is awarded to the most outstanding international student. 

The prize is to be awarded to an international student who is studying at Europa-Flensburg and who has distinguished him/herself through special academic achievements and remarkable social or intercultural commitment. The award ceremony is intended to draw public attention to the importance of studying abroad.

DAAD Award Winner 2024: Marta Wiktoria Gontarz, Student of B.A. European Cultures and Society

DAAD Prize 2024 awarded to Marta Wiktoria Gontarz
22.10.24

Outstanding international students honored at EUF

Dr. Isabella Tegethoff presents this year’s DAAD Prize to Marta Wiktoria Gontarz.

Europa-Universität Flensburg (EUF) has awarded Marta Wiktoria Gontarz the prestigious DAAD Prize 2024. The DAAD Prize is awarded annually to international students for outstanding academic achievements and remarkable social commitment. Gontarz, who recently completed her Bachelor’s degree in “European Cultures and Society,” impressed the jury with her exceptional academic success and her active engagement in the student community.

“It is a great pleasure to honor Marta for her exceptional achievements,” said Dr. Isabella Tegethoff, Advisor for Europe and International Affairs, who presented the renowned prize to Gontarz during the Intercultural and Diversity Day. “She is not only an outstanding student but also an inspiring personality who enriches the university and society through her commitment.”

Marta Wiktoria Gontarz began her studies at EUF in 2020 under the challenging conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the difficulties, she took on responsibility early on and organized virtual meetings to foster cohesion within her cohort. After arriving in Flensburg, she engaged in various student committees, including the student council of her program and the Local Erasmus Initiative (LEI), where she recently assumed the chairmanship. Her student contribution to the internationalization of the university was especially praised by Tegethoff in her laudation. Gontarz not only represented her Bachelor’s program in online formats for partner universities but also enthused others with a Polish information booth during Europe Week 2023 and her engagement in LEI to motivate students for possible study abroad opportunities. “It is remarkable that Ms. Gontarz engaged so intensively in her activities and at the same time was able to complete her studies successfully with excellent grades,” said Tegethoff.

Asked how she manages her many activities, Marta Wiktoria Gontarz simply says, “I just do it!” She enjoys working with people, helping people. That motivates her. Incidentally, Gontarz will continue her academic career at EUF as she has enrolled in the Master’s program “Language – Culture – Media.”

About the DAAD Prize
The DAAD Prize has been awarded for over ten years to international students at German universities. The prize is intended to highlight the special commitment of students who excel not only academically but also through their contribution to the common good.

Former DAAD prize winners

Interested in a nomination?

If you are studying at the Europa-Universität Flensburg and would like to be nominated, here are the criteria:

  1. Proven above-average academic performance.
  2. Social commitment, especially to promoting intercultural relations, ideally within Flensburg or the university.
  3. Foreign nationality.
  4. University entrance qualification obtained abroad.
  5. Be enrolled in a regular degree program at Europa-Universität Flensburg (not as a guest student).
  6. You are in an advanced study phase, i.e. at least in the second year of a Bachelor's/Doctoral degree program or in the second semester of a Master's degree program, and are still enrolled until the end of October 2024.
  7. No DAAD scholarship holders or recipients of a full scholarship from public funds can be funded.
  8. The DAAD Prize is not a research prize.  If possible, it should be awarded to students, at most to doctoral candidates. 

The award ceremony must take place in 2024 and is expected to be part of the Fall Semester. 

Procedure

A lecturer can submit a nomination proposal for award winners to the International Center via lucila@uni-flensburg.de by August 15, 2024.

The proposals should include:

  1. Student CV
  2. Transcripts of Records
  3. A copy of a term paper
  4. Name, subject and semester of study and a short justification (including a remarkable social or intercultural commitment).

After receiving the proposals, the committee will select the award winner.

Selection procedure:

A Student Support Committee, chaired by the Vice President for Academic Affairs and Teaching and made up of representatives from the three faculties and the International Office, carefully reviews all applications. The winner is then announced in a university press release.


Contact person
Lucila Morales de Mittag
On the campus 1, 24943 Flensburg
Helsinki Building HEL 031
Phone: +49 8052776
E-mail: lucila@uni-flensburg.de


Funded by:
AA - Federal Foreign Office