In July 2021, the successful graduation of the 2020/2021 academic year was once again only celebrated virtually due to the pandemic. The honoring of the best graduates and outstanding theses - otherwise a traditional part of every graduation ceremony at the university in Ludwigshafen's Pfalzbau - was now held yesterday as part of a ceremony at the university:
Elena Dahlem, graduate of the dual Bachelor's degree course in Midwifery Science, was awarded 500 euros each by the Association of Friends and Sponsors of Ludwigshafen University of Applied Sciences as the best Bachelor's graduate and Frank Aschenberger, Catholic priest and graduate of the part-time Master's degree course in Business Management, as the best Master's graduate. The prize for the best Bachelor's thesis, also worth 500 euros, was awarded to Nina Unger, a graduate of the Bachelor's degree course in Marketing, for her thesis on "The revenue-oriented design of freemium online games. An empirical study of price and product factors". The prizes from the Association of Friends and Sponsors were presented by board member Dominik Heberling after an introduction by university president Prof. Dr. Peter Mudra and a laudatory speech by Prof. Nina Knape and Prof. Dr. Elmar Günther.
The Family Award, which is endowed with 300 euros and recognizes students with multiple family responsibilities, went this year to Ina Schlösser, a student on the Bachelor's degree course in Social Work. However, the single mother of two daughters was unable to accept the award in person due to work commitments.
The Gender Award, also endowed with 300 euros, which was presented at the university for the first time last year, went to Benita Baum from the Master's degree course in Social Work for her thesis "Foreign Perpetrators, White Victims? An intersectional analysis of the ethnicization of sexualized violence against women in public discourse". The prize, which is awarded as part of the Federal and State Professors' Program for the Promotion of Gender Equality in Science and Research at German Universities, recognizes the best thesis on a gender or women's studies topic. The laudatory speech was held by Equal Opportunities Officer Prof. Dr. Elke Raum.
University President Prof. Dr. Peter Mudra hosted the evening, with Johanna Roßbach on the violin and Stefan Pedljo on the guitar from the Ludwigshafen Music School providing the musical backdrop.
