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Mülheim an der Ruhr, 19.09.2022. The DAAD Prize for the best foreign student(s), awarded for the 2nd time, went to Firas Sheikh Mohamad. He comes from Damascus, Syria, and came to Germany as a refugee in August 2015. Sheikh Mohamad has been studying civil engineering (in the Master's programme) at the HRW since 2021. He is a civil engineer by passion. He already studied civil engineering in Syria and worked successfully as a construction manager in Syria and Lebanon, among other places. In Germany, he had to start all over again; however, he was not deterred! According to the jury, his outstanding academic achievements and exceptionally good knowledge of German qualify him for the DAAD award. He is also remarkably active socially and interculturally: He worked as a translator for refugees at the Job Centre and the Foreigners' Registration Office, is a volunteer artist and developed a non-profit idea for refugees at universities. Together with three fellow students, they developed a translation app for engineering terms - "DICTIOneering". In a television competition, the team's idea was awarded as one of the best.

The DAAD prize is endowed with 1,000 euros. The DAAD awards this prize with funds from the Federal Foreign Office to foreign students who distinguish themselves through particularly good academic achievements and at the same time special social commitment. The award illustrates the positive contribution foreign students make at universities and in German society.

The laudation was held by Prof. Dr. Daniel Jun (l) and Prof. Dr. Felix Meckmann (r) from the Institute of Civil Engineering. HRW President Prof. Dr. Susanne Staude presented the award. The organisation was taken over by the colleagues from the International Office, represented by Naema Eftat Qurbani and Dana Holczek(centre), staff member for COIL projects at the Institute of Civil Engineering.