Sciences lives and profits from international exchange. In order for our university to meet the global challenges of our time, internationalization is a high priority at TU Dresden and is already practiced in many ways and at various levels of our university. One measure to make the diversity of internationalization at TU Dresden more visible, to honor it and to encourage others to do the same, is the Internationalization Award, which has been awarded annually since 2016. A total of 18 initiatives and project leaders took part in this year's call for entries and showed in their applications how they are committed to the internationalization of our university. The projects, which were already chosen by a jury in September, were now honored in an official event by Prof. Ronald Tetzlaff, Chief Officer Technology Transfer and Internationalization, and Prof. Michael Kobel, Vice-Rector Academic Affairs.

Four student initiatives, namely "Start with a Friend", "IDA- Ankommen In Dresden", "Refugee Law Clinic" and "Salsa and Bachata Fridays" were honored as well as the Czech-German model project "CouReg" and the team spirit of the Boysen-TU Dresden Graduate School. In his laudatory speech, Prof. Tetzlaff emphasized that internationalization does not work on its own, but needs personal commitment which deserves and requires appropriate recognition as a motivator. With the Internationalization Award, exemplary activities at our university receive visibility and appreciation and it should encourage all members of TU Dresden to incorporate and expand internationalization in their own work. Prof. Kobel, who is personally involved in many projects that support social solidarity, was particularly happy to be able to honor the student initiatives.

After the presentation of the awards by the two members of the extended rectorate, the awarded initiatives introduced their projects and commitment in short impulse presentations. These impulses are to be understood explicitly as good practice and can offer inspiration for future activities and events.

Not only this year's winners, but also the four winners of the previous year's competition were invited to the ceremony. In 2020, the Internationalization Award was announced with a focus on special commitment to a culture of welcome. The initiatives "X-Mas Tram e.V." and the "International Theatre Workshop" under the direction of Laura Park, as well as the individual initiatives "Science Beer" by Siavash Ghiasvand and "Stammtisch - German Conversation Evenings" by Fatema Darbar were already presented to the TUD public in the summer of 2021 in a social media campaign. At Yesterday’s event they and were once again officially recognized for their commitment by Peter Rosenbaum, Head of the International Office.

A total of 6.000 EUR is available. The internationalisation award is funded by the Excellence Strategy of the Federal and State Governments. Detailed information on the award-winning projects can be found on our website: https://tu-dresden.de/internationalisierung/award.

A continuation of the award is also planned for next year.

Contact persons
Daniela Mohrich and Philip Grünauer
International Office, Team Strategy and Internationalization
phone: +49 351 463-35169