German Student Union and German University Association honor student commitment
Who will be "Student of the Year 2026"? The German University Association (DHV) and the German Student Union (DSW) are looking for the student or student team of the year for the eleventh time. The prize, which was established ten years ago, is awarded by the DSW and DHV in recognition of outstanding student commitment. The prize money amounts to 5,000 euros and is donated by the Stifterverband. The prize is awarded to students or teams who go above and beyond their academic achievements in a special, innovative and preferably unique way - regardless of the form. The prize will be awarded on March 23, 2026 at the "Gala of German Science" in Berlin.
"There are a pleasingly large number of the approximately 2.9 million students who are voluntarily involved in the state and society, politics and associations beyond their studies and are exemplary in their commitment to our community," explain DSW President Professor Dr. Beate A. Schücking and DHV President Professor Dr. Dr. h.c. Lambert T. Koch. "The DHV and DSW want to make this commitment more visible with the 'Student of the Year' award by publicizing a particularly positive example of student commitment."
Both award organizers are calling for candidates to be nominated for the award by December 31, 2025. Interested parties can find more information in the following announcement text:
https://www.hochschulverband.de/student-des-jahres.pdf
Previous winners were:
1. medical student Christoph Lüdemann from Witten/Herdecke University, who provided help for self-help in Rwanda and Sierra Leone through the association "L'appel Deutschland", which he helped to set up (2016),
2. the Spinelli Barracks Mannheim construction project supported by 16 architecture students from the Technical University of Kaiserslautern, in which they worked with refugees to design, plan and build a wooden pavilion on a former US military barracks site, which now serves as a meeting place and retreat for the residents of the initial reception facility (2017),
3. medical student Philipp Humbsch from Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin in Frankfurt/Oder. He is the originator and driving force behind the "Anyone can be a hero" initiative, which has been teaching first aid to primary school pupils in structurally weak areas of Brandenburg free of charge since 2016 and at the same time sensitizing them to further volunteer work in voluntary civil protection aid organizations (2018),
4. medical student Wiebke Gehm from the University of Rostock, leading member of the student initiative "TNA - Tommy nicht allein", in which students have been caring for patients in need at the Rostock Children's Hospital in their free time since 2015 (2019),
5. the medical student Sagithjan Surendra from the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, who is the founder and driving force behind the "Aelius Förderwerk", which has been supporting children and young people from non-academic homes, often with a migration background, on their educational path since 2017 through a broad range of non-material support (2020),
6. the "TechAcademy", a 20-strong group of students from Goethe University Frankfurt am Main, which promotes the digital skills of its fellow students from all departments and disciplines with free seminars (2021),
7. 15 students from the Catholic University of Applied Sciences North Rhine-Westphalia (katho) from the Department of Social Work in Aachen, who selflessly supported many of those affected by the flood of the century in Stolberg (2022),
8. seven students from different disciplines from Hanover, Berlin and Hamburg for founding and their outstanding commitment to the group "Hanover Helps e.V.". Immediately after the start of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, the student group started aid deliveries, collected donations, set up children's play areas in the reception halls at the Hanover exhibition grounds and distributed hundreds of packed school bags to needy schoolchildren in the Hanover region,
9. Contimi Kenfack Mouafo, an electrical engineering student from Cameroon at RWTH Aachen University, for founding the "3 E's 4 Africa" association, which has been supporting African students and doctoral candidates at universities in Africa since 2020. The aim is to promote research projects on energy transition, climate change mitigation and adaptation through education, empowerment and ecofriendliness,
10. student teacher Noah Dejanovic from Leipzig University, who experienced physical, psychological and sexualized violence himself as a child and is committed to educating and raising awareness among students and lecturers about child endangerment and abuse through the "Child Protection in Higher Education" project.
- The German Association of University Professors and Lecturers is the nationwide professional association of academics in Germany with over 33,900 members.(http://www.hochschulverband.de)
- As the association of the 57 student unions in Germany, the German Student Union represents their interests as well as the socio-political concerns of students.(https://www.studierendenwerke.de)
Mail from presse@hochschulverband.de from 22.10.2025