The International Center honors StudentsAalen University gave out prizes for exceptional engagement

Michelle Loicka Kounga, Bachelor student in Electrical Engineering, received the DAAD-Prize.

Tu, 22. Dezember 2020

International success even in Corona times: at Aalen University, three students received honors for their exceptional engagement. Around 60 students, faculty members as well as professors participated in the International Center’s online event and made the prize ceremony something special, despite the restrictions imposed by the pandemic.

The prize endowed with 1,000 Euros from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) for the outstanding accomplishments of international students went to the Cameroonian Bachelor student in electrical engineering, Michelle Loicka Kounga, this year. In his speech, Prof. Dr. Wilhelm Kleppmann voiced his appreciation for the student’s above-average academic achievements, as well as her social engagement.

Kounga has been passionately involved within and outside of the university. She participated in Aalen University’s ISA Buddy Program for two semesters, and assisted other international students beginning their studies. Additionally, Kounga worked for the “Brave Children Foundation” (Stiftung Tapfere Kinder) and collected donated clothes for people in need in Cameroon. “Our university needs more students like Michelle Loicka Kounga and our society needs more people like Loicka. I think we can all learn from her example”, says Kleppmann.

The university’s nonprofit organization „International Society Aalen e.V. (ISA)“, which belongs to the International Center alongside the Languages Center and the Welcome Center Ostwürttemberg (WCC OW), awarded two additional prizes each with 500 Euros for internationally engaged students at Aalen University. Tamara Sary, a student in the study program International Business Studies, received the prize “Buddy of the Year 2020”. Prof. Dr. Dirk Flottmann, a representative of ISA, emphasized Sary’s unparalleled care for international students in the ISA Buddy Program. Through her support, Sary helped the students make unforgettable experiences while staying in Germany.