DAAD Award for Foreign Students
Table of contents

DAAD Award winner 2023 - Zhaowei Zheng (right) at the award ceremony with Vice-Rector Academic Affairs, Prof. Dr. Michael Kobel (left).
In order to recognize that international students enrich the university community at German universities both culturally and academically, the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) provides annual funding to universities for the "DAAD Award for Outstanding Achievement by International Students at German Universities".
Each year, an international student is also awarded this prize at TU Dresden. The prize, endowed with 1,000 EUR, is intended to recognize outstanding international students who have distinguished themselves through remarkable social or intercultural commitment and special academic achievements. The selection of the honored person is made internally at the university.
Award Winner 2024: Maria-Catalina Costache
Ms. Costache went to school in Romania and visited TU Dresden for the first time during a school trip in year 9. Later, she had great success in her course of studies of Art History and has now graduated both with a Bachelor's as well as a Master's degree from TU Dresden.
Maria-Catalina Costache was engaged in a wide variety of projects during her time at TU Dresden, which includes a 6 year time period with the European Student Forum AEGEE. This non-profit organization includes around 13.000 members from 200 local groups in 40 European countries to date and has been uniting students from all over Europe since its year of foundation in 1985. Ms. Costache was co-responsible for the AEGEE Buddy-Program, an active member of the workgroup Human Resources, responsible for fundraising, cash auditor and, in the years 2020 and 2021, even chairwoman for AEGEE-Dresden. Additionally, she contributed to the AEGEE Help Ukraine Task Force and, in the process, curated the travelling exhibition "Unissued Diplomas", which could also be visited at TU Dresden.
Furthermore, Ms. Costache showed engagement with AWO SONNENSTEIN - a non-profit organization for labor wellfare - for multiple years. At her occupation at the Servicestelle für Sprach- und Integrationsmittler she supported daycare centers, schools, clinics, businesses, bureaus, and agencies as well as councelling centers in their communication with foreign-language customers, clients, and patients. With her language skills, she was able to support countless people in their communication and integration in Dresden.
Ms. Costache's engagement during her time at TU Dresden contributed a great deal to the welcome culture at the university, to the integration of people in the city, as well as to the expansion of democratic and European values within the TU study community and beyond. The TU Dresden is very proud to honor Ms. Costache today with the DAAD Award 2024 as an exceptionally engaged international alumna.
The DAAD Award 2024 was handed over to Ms. Costache on 24. October 2024 at the award ceremony for the Preis Internationalisierung 2024 by Prof. Dr. Roswitha Böhm, prorector for unversity culture. A corresponding report has also been made public on the TU Dresden's social media channels.
https://www.instagram.com/tudresden/p/DBiYIOxvLOF/
Former Award Winners
Information on all our former award winners can be found here.
Call for Applicants DAAD Award 2024
We would like to encourage all of the committed international students to present their voluntary work to us and to apply for the DAAD Award. The application can be submitted directly to the International Office (scholarship programs for international students).
However, applicants need support for their application from a TUD employee / department / group. This must be noted in the application.
Expected application timeline:
March 2024: Call for applications: via our website, the student newsletter and posts on social media.
May 2024: Application deadline: 31 May 2024.
June 2024: Selection (by a committee with representatives of the areas: Teachers, administration and students TU Dresden)
24 October 2024: Award Ceremony
The prize money in the amount of 1,000 EUR will be officially presented to the winner in October 2024.
Applicants must be able to demonstrate the following criteria:
- a foreign nationality and a foreign school leaving certificate (graduates of German schools abroad and German Studienkollegs can also participate)
- an active social or intercultural commitment during their studies at the TU Dresden
- very good academic performance
- Enrolment in an advanced stage of studies at TU Dresden (Bachelor, Diplom, Staatsexamen: at least 3rd semester, Master: at least 2nd semester)
- Support of the application by TUD employee / department / group
Future graduates of TU Dresden may also be nominated for the DAAD Award, provided that their studies will not be completed before July 1st in the year of the award. The DAAD Award is not a research award and is not intended to honor a doctoral thesis.
Active socio, social or intercultural commitment is the basis for an application for the DAAD Award. Such a commitment is often also referred to as voluntary work.
Many international students are actively involved in charitable institutions or groups within and outside TU Dresden.
For example, TU internal commitments include: the unpaid supervision of students, cultural events or tandem and mentoring programmes. For example, you can get involved in the following initiatives and associations:
Hochschulgruppen an der TUD, Fachschaftsrat des Studiengangs, STURA (Referat Ausländische Studierende), Campusbüro Uni mit Kind, Studentenwerk Dresden
TU external engagement can be found in clubs and associations, churches and foundations, private and public institutions, political parties and trade unions, initiatives, movements, projects, self-organised groups, neighbourhood networks or self-help.
You can find more information about volunteering on the City of Dresden website:
For the award of the DAAD Prize, the engagemente should fulfil the following criteria:
- it must take place during the time of study at TU Dresden
- it officially counts as voluntary work (= activities that are carried out for others in a self-determined and non-profit-making manner and are oriented towards the common good) and is only marginally remunerated, if at all.
- it should be of a minimum duration of 6 months. In the case of a shorter commitment, a high level of impact must be demonstrated. (e.g.: a large-scale fundraising campaign)
- written proof from a TU internal or external institution or association about the duration, scope and nature of the social or intercultural engagement must be submitted (with official letterhead of the institution and contact details of the person issuing the letter).
- Completed and signed application form (PDF)
- If you have several relevant commitments, please submit the following form for each additional commitment.
- Certificate from the Examination Office stating the credits achieved so far and the average grade* achieved so far
- A current list of grades issued and stamped by the Examination Office must also be submitted. In case that no preliminary average grade can be calculated via the Examination Office, the average grade will be calculated by the International Office in a simplified procedure (= all grades are equivalent).
- Written proof of the duration, scope and nature of the social or intercultural commitment signed by a representative of the institution/association in whose framework the commitment takes place.
- If several commitments are to be included, please submit proof of each commitment.
- Signed declaration of consent to data protection (download data protection form).
Application Deadline: 31 May 2024
Please send your complete application documents only digitally (PDF documents, max. 10 MB) using the following e-mail address with the subject: DAAD Prize 2024 Application
We recommend sending your application documents in encrypted form, but encryption is not mandatory. Notes on the encryption of e-mails (optional):
For secure, encrypted sending of your application documents from your private e-mail address, first register with your private e-mail address in the SecureMail portal of TU Dresden (https://securemail.tu-dresden.de/). Then you can send your application documents as an attachment to the above-mentioned e-mail address via the SecureMail portal of TU Dresden.
For secure, encrypted sending of your application documents from your TUD email address (@tu-dresden.de or @mailbox.tu-dresden.de), you first need to apply for a digital certificate. After configuring the digital certificate, send your application documents as an attachment to the above-mentioned e-mail address.
As soon as we receive your application documents, we will send you a confirmation by e-mail.
Contact

Coordinator
NameMs Cornelia Hesse
Scholarship programs for international students
Send encrypted email via the SecureMail portal (for TUD external users only).
International Office - International Students
Visiting address:
Fritz-Foerster-Bau
Mommsenstraße 6, Office 176
01062 Dresden