In the winter semester 2024, Paderborn University officially bid farewell to numerous graduates from the Faculties of Business Administration and Economics, Cultural Studies, Natural Sciences and the PLAZ - Professional School of Education. In addition to certificates, several prizes were also awarded for special commitment or outstanding theses.
Faculty of Business Administration and Economics
Around 200 graduates of the Faculty of Business Administration and Economics celebrated the successful completion of their studies together with their families and friends at the "Day of Economics" in mid-November.
The Dean of the Faculty, Prof Dr Jens Müller, congratulated them on their successes: "We are proud of our graduates, whose success stories reflect the quality and commitment of our faculty. Shape the world with your knowledge and stay connected with us!" Müller and Prof Dr René Fahr, Vice President for Knowledge and Technology Transfer at Paderborn University, provided insights into current developments at the university in a round table discussion. "Paderborn University is one of the leading locations for economics in Germany. Take responsibility and make the most of your opportunities," appealed Fahr. This year's guest of honour, Dr Eugen Dimant, Associate Professor at the University of Pennsylvania, demonstrated what is possible for graduates in his lecture on "Experimentation. Fail. Grow." from. Dimant, who studied and completed his doctorate in Paderborn, reported on his journey from difficult beginnings in Germany after fleeing Moldova as a child to his appointment in the White House.
Several new prizes were also awarded during the event. Prof Dr Stefan Betz was honoured with the faculty's internal "Dean's Service Award" for his exceptional commitment as Chairman of the Examination Board. Prof Dr Tobias Jenert, Dean of Research at the Faculty, awarded the "Sponsorship Prize for Outstanding Theses with a Focus on Gender and Diversity", worth 700 euros, to Luisa Vockel for her Bachelor's thesis on "Achieving Pay Equity between Men and Women in the Employment Relationship". The "Horst Gräfer Prize", which honours people with unconventional life paths and social commitment, was also awarded for the first time. This year's winners, Dr Reyhaneh Safaei and Thorben Scholz, each received prize money of 5,000 euros. "With this prize, we would like to commemorate the legacy of Prof Dr Horst Gräfer with the support of the Heidloff family foundation and the SolarKapital Foundation, which was founded by alumni," explained Dr Andreas Leimbach, co-initiator of the Horst Gräfer Prize and alumni of the Faculty of Business Administration and Economics. As a university lecturer at Paderborn University from 1972 to 2005, Gräfer accompanied and shaped numerous students on their way to successful careers.
Faculty of Arts and Humanities
At the end of November, the Faculty of Arts and Humanities (KW) at Paderborn University hosted its graduation ceremony for graduates of the Bachelor and Master of Arts degree programmes. Almost 400 guests accepted the invitation to the festive event, at which the graduates' farewells took centre stage. In addition, 21 doctoral and six post-doctoral graduates from cultural studies disciplines who had successfully completed their work were honoured.
Prof Dr Birgitt Riegraf, President of Paderborn University, congratulated the graduates on their degrees. "The knowledge acquired during their studies is a cornerstone of their professional success, but it is also important in order to face the diverse social challenges with a critical mind and an alert eye," emphasised Riegraf. Prof Dr Dr Oliver Reis, Dean of the Faculty, advised them to be courageous, confident and aware of their own social responsibility.
In addition, the Paderborn University's improv theatre and the "Leave your mark" campaign, in which the graduates had their photos taken in gowns, provided a varied supporting programme. In addition, the "Golden Spirit", a prize awarded by the faculty's student representatives for the best teaching, was presented to Prof Dr Dominik Rumlich from the Department of English and American Studies and Peter Somogyi from the Department of German and Comparative Literature.
In the run-up to the graduation ceremony, Dr Anda-Lisa Harmening, Managing Director of the Graduate Centre KW, presented the prizes for outstanding theses. This year's awards, each worth 500 euros, went to Stine Malin Dyck, Joel Gorden Feldkamp, Maximilian Gockel, Noa Marie Ibrahim and Katharina Kaiser. Marie Adebahr was honoured in the field of practical art work. The Margarete Schrader Prize for students, endowed with 750 euros, was awarded to Joachim Pollmann. Monja Reinhart was honoured with the PhD Prize for Cultural Studies, sponsored by the Brill Publishing Group and endowed with 1,500 euros, for her work in the field of philosophy.
Faculty of Science
At the end of November, the Faculty of Science celebrated the successful completion of their degree or doctorate with this year's graduates. The Vice President for Teaching, Studies and Quality Management, Prof. Dr. Volker Schöppner, and the Dean, Prof. Dr. Wolf Gero Schmidt, congratulated them in the Audimax on behalf of the university management.
This year, the motto of the graduates' contributions was "From reaction to result: our mixture of success". Katja Rumpke from Chemistry and André Schäfer from Physics gave a brief review of an eventful time at Paderborn University. Experiments from the fields of natural sciences and a dance performance by the sports team provided special highlights in keeping with the motto.
A number of awards were also presented as part of the certificate ceremony. Erik Bangel, Franka Henneke and Laura Hütter received the Paderborn Sports Science prize for the best bachelor's theses in sport. Katja Rumpke, Nils Düsterhues, Niklas Mergard and Rebecca Clement received the book prizes from the Association of Former Members and Active Friends of Paderborn Chemistry for the best chemistry degrees. For the first time, the faculty prize of 300 euros for outstanding Master's theses was also awarded to Rebecca Clement, Jonas Lammers, Maurice Makdissi and Nele Weike.
PLAZ - Professional School of Education
At the beginning of December, around 250 graduates celebrated the successful completion of their Bachelor's or Master's of Education teacher training programme at Paderborn University in the packed Audimax. At the atmospheric ceremony, which was held under the motto "Those who know how to read hold the key to great deeds, to undreamed-of possibilities", the prospective teachers of this year's graduating class were presented with their congratulatory certificates.
Prof Dr Bardo Herzig, Director of the PLAZ - Professional School of Education, congratulated the graduates on their success. He also emphasised the great importance of skills that are important both in the successfully completed degree course and in everyday school life and society as a whole: "Developing reading skills is a key to education. As teachers, you fulfil a socially important task and become systemically relevant beacons of hope," Herzig emphasised. The motto of the graduating class, for which a quote from the writer Aldous Huxley was chosen, should also be understood in this sense.
Prof Dr Volker Schöppner, Vice President for Teaching, Studies and Quality Management at Paderborn University, congratulated them on behalf of the Presidential Board. "You have prepared yourself excellently for the all-important teaching profession by studying at our university, for which teacher training is a core subject," he emphasised. Carolin Honermann from the Teacher Student Council, who helped organise the ceremony, also joined in the congratulations and took those present on a humorous journey through the formative stages of teacher training. Prof. Dr. Rita Burrichter, 1st Chairwoman of the PLAZEF alumni association, emphasised that the great benefit of studying is not only professional expertise but also making new friends. In order to enter into lasting friendships, she invited the graduates to join the alumni network and thus remain loyal to the university.
Afterwards, several graduates were honoured for special achievements. Eilana Stephan and Vanessa Ressel each received a prize of 150 euros for extraordinary commitment, sponsored by the Gewerkschaft Erziehung und Wissenschaft and the Philologenverband NRW. Kirsten Wierspecker and Nicolas Melz received the PLAZEF prize of 500 euros each, sponsored by the financial services provider MLP, for outstanding final theses.
This text has been translated automatically.
