3 September 2024

Rutuja Koli, a student on the Environmental and Recycling Technology Master's programme, was awarded this year's DAAD prize.

The DAAD Prize is awarded annually by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and is awarded as part of the project funding in the STIBET-I programme at Nordhausen University of Applied Sciences. The DAAD Prize is awarded to international students who have distinguished themselves through special academic achievements and remarkable social or cultural commitment.

This year's award winner, Ms Rutuja Koli from India, has been studying the English-language Master's degree programme "Environmental and Recycling Technology" at Nordhausen University of Applied Sciences since the winter semester 2022/23. "During her studies, Ms Koli impressed with her excellent performance, a high degree of independence and social and intercultural commitment at Nordhausen University of Applied Sciences," says Prof. Dr Michael Rutz, Dean of the degree programme, who nominated Ms Koli for the award.

Mrs Koli was already learning German intensively before her arrival in Nordhausen. Thanks to her independent way of working and self-organisation as well as her extracurricular commitment, she was able to get involved early on as a tutor and mentor for new international students at the university and in student projects.

Ms Koli also proactively sought contact with the regional economy and was initially employed as a working student at Habau Deutschland GmbH at the Heringen / Helme site during her studies. Her potential was also recognised there and she was offered a project for her Master's thesis. In terms of content, the thesis deals with the substitution of plastics used in production with more sustainable, wood-based materials, which serves both to reduce the amount of waste and to reduce production-specific emissions. Mr Keilholz (Head of Research and Development at Habau) and Professor Rutz, who are both supervising Ms Koli's Master's thesis, are confident that Ms Koli will successfully complete her work within the standard period of study by the end of 2024.

The DAAD Prize as part of the DAAD's STIBET I project funding programme is supported by funds from the Federal Foreign Office.