Raiffeisenbank, as sponsor, had provided €5,000 for a doctoral scholarship. Because 14 young researchers had applied for the scholarship and, in the opinion of the jury, all deserved financial support, the foundation provided two additional scholarships of €2,000 and €1,000, explained Prof. Beckmann, chairman of the foundation's advisory board.
Raiffeisenbank director Stefan Hinsken emphasised that his bank was very happy to contribute to promoting Straubing as a university location with international students. Raiffeisenbank has been supporting students with scholarships since 2017. With the doctoral scholarship, it has now broken new ground and hopes that other companies will also provide funding.
Sustainability opens up new perspectives
As chairman of the foundation, Mayor Markus Pannermayr looked back on Straubing's encouraging development as a university city. An impressive network on the topic of sustainability has emerged around CARMEN, TFZ and TUM Campus, opening up enormous opportunities and perspectives. However, the current 1,200 students and 25 professors should not represent the end of this development. Straubing will insist on the creation of the promised 34 professorships and the necessary infrastructure to make what has been achieved so far crisis-proof for the future. He does not expect the Carmelite monastery to be used for the TUM Campus until the 2030s. The topic of sustainability is particularly important for a future full of challenges in order to discover new opportunities and possibilities.
Prof. Beckmann emphasised that there is a well-coordinated network in Straubing around the Competence Centre for Renewable Raw Materials, which is now seeing the fruits of decades of work. Raiffeisenbank has provided a very substantial amount of 5,000 euros for a doctoral scholarship. With its grammar school prizes for pupils and scholarships for students, the foundation now also supports doctoral students with the often difficult task of financing their work.
A formative experience in his own childhood
The €5,000 scholarship goes to Klaus Reinarz Abrigo from Chile, who is working on the topic of climate and environmental protection in developing countries. Prof. Dr. Anja Faße, Vice-Rector of the TUM Campus and Professor of Environmental and Development Economics, gave the laudatory speech for her doctoral student. As a child in his home country, Abrigo witnessed a stream suddenly running dry, he recounted. This prompted him to come to Straubing to study sustainability and then solve the problems in his home country.
The €2,000 scholarship goes to Dominik Groh from Franconia, whose topic is the carbon cycle. Prof. Dr. Jakob Burger from the Professorship of Chemical and Thermal Process Engineering gave the laudatory speech for him and praised his work, which he said could compete with any international comparison.
Gunay Osmanova from Azerbaijan, who is receiving the €1,000 scholarship, is researching the origins of life on Earth. Her professor, Dr Henrike Niederholtmeyer from the Professorship of Synthetic Biology, emphasised that this research could be of great importance for the future in view of climate change.
President Dr Eric Veulliet from Weihenstephan-Triesdorf University of Applied Sciences made an impassioned plea for sustainability. Straubing should continue to focus on this issue because humanity will be dealing with it for the next 1,000 years in order to ensure its survival.
