Svitlana Fedko is this year's winner of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) prize at the Ludwigshafen University of Business and Society (HWG LU). She was awarded the prize, which is endowed with 1000 euros, on Wednesday, December 9, 2020, at the university.
This prize for foreign students is traditionally awarded once a year at the HWG LU. All members of the university can submit nominations, from which an interdisciplinary jury makes the selection. The decision criteria are outstanding academic achievements, university commitment and social engagement. This year's winner, Svitlana Fedko, who is studying Business Taxation and Auditing in her 4th semester and was nominated by several fellow students for her commitment and willingness to help, meets all of these requirements.
In his welcoming address, University President Prof. Dr. Peter Mudra expressed the hope that personal encounters would soon be able to take place again at an international level. Especially in these times, the focus must be on internationality, said Mudra. In light of the coronavirus pandemic, Kerstin Gallenstein, Head of International Affairs at the HWG LU, reported a "severe slump" in her department in particular. "Successful partnerships thrive on personal contacts," she said, referring to the HWG LU's relationships with over 150 partner universities worldwide. However, there was no question for her team that the DAAD prize would not be awarded this year. Nor was it to be a purely digital event. After the President's video message, the DAAD Prize was awarded in the auditorium of the HWG LU - but in front of an empty audience. Instead, interested parties were able to attend the award ceremony live via Zoom.
Laudator Kerstin Gallenstein left no doubt that the jury had chosen a worthy winner this year in Svitlana Fedko: the Ukrainian studied law at the National Karasin University in Kharkiv from 2006 to 2011, where she obtained a Bachelor's and Master's degree. After graduating, she initially worked in a law firm in Kharkiv and in two companies before moving to the Rhine-Neckar region in 2017 for love. The very next year, Svitlana Fedko passed the German language exam for university entrance with top marks and began her studies at HWG LU in the summer semester of 2019. Since then, she has supported the Business Administration BIS degree programs and the Executive Board as a student assistant. The 32-year-old has also held various honorary student positions on the administrative board of the Studierendenwerk Vorderpfalz and in the university's student parliament. Since the beginning of her studies at HWG LU, she has also been on hand to help her fellow students with subject-related questions. Despite all these activities, Svitlana Fedko achieved outstanding academic results. At the award ceremony, the new 2020 DAAD prizewinner explained that she had "felt welcome and comfortable" at the HWG LU right from the start.
Specialist contact:
Ludwigshafen University of Business and Society
Department of International Affairs
Kerstin Gallenstein
Tel.: 0621/5203-187
Email: kerstin.gallenstein@ 8< SPAM protection, please remove >8 hwg-lu.de
