Chronicle of the sponsorship awards of the Soroptimist International Club Cottbus since 2016
This prize, which is donated annually by the Soroptimist International Club Cottbus and endowed with 1,000 euros, honors a female student at the BTU Cottbus-Senftenberg who is particularly committed to upholding ethical values, human rights and improving the status of women, friendship as well as international understanding, both in her studies and beyond.
Since 2022, the award has been sponsored by the association"FrauenhilfswerkCottbus e.V.".
Thi My Linh Nguyen is studying industrial engineering at the BTU. She has been involved in social activities since her school days. She is a trained paramedic and has been a volunteer member of the Youth Red Cross (JRK) since 2014. She has been a member of the Landesjugendring since 2017. As a recognized youth group leader, Thi My Linh Nguyen teaches first aid skills to children and young people and supervises recreational activities. She also supports youth association work and social projects such as the "Neuberliner*innen-Projekt" (New Berliners Project), which focuses on the integration of refugees and children and young people with a migration background. As a confidant, she is particularly concerned about the welfare of girls and women.
Thi My Linh Nguyen showed her willingness to learn in her studies, in her work as a math tutor at the BTU College and as a research assistant. She also gained experience in establishing the Center for Hybrid Electric Systems Cottbus (CHESCO). She has been a member of the Association of German Industrial Engineers (VWI) since April 2022. In the Cottbus university group, she supports intercultural development, the planning of lectures and seminars, and the establishment of a cooperation network. Since 2020, she has been involved as a deputy decentralized equal opportunities officer in the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Electrical and Energy Systems in the faculty council, appointment committees and job interviews. She is also active in the development of an equal opportunity concept for the promotion of young female scientists at the BTU.
(Source: Press release)
Roshni Bhatia has been studying Environmental an Resource Management (ERM) at BTU Cottbus-Senftenberg since October 2020. She prepared for this study program starting in the winter semester 2019/2020 in the two-semester program Brücke zum Studium and passed the DHS German language exam. She participated from day one with exceptional diligence as well as dedication. She also excelled in the online study under Corona conditions with her special willingness to do significantly more than what was required. Roshni Bhatia is always ready to share already acquired skills and her knowledge with others. In addition, she successfully uses her reliable, solid social skills and communicative abilities during her studies in the group. ln situations resulting from the encounter of people of different socialization and culture, she acts as a mediator, mediating and balancing. In this way, she ensures that all those involved in the discussion have their say and can thus contribute equally to the resolution of conflicts. She was already socially active in her home country of India. Now she is transferring her commitment to Germany. She is a member of Malteser Hilfsdienst e.V. and is also interested in opportunities to participate in student committees at the BTU, such as the ERM Board of Students. Closer involvement in these groups and an expansion of her social commitment were only denied her due to the contact restrictions made necessary by the Corona pandemic.
Zineb Alaoui Selsouli has been successfully studying in the English-language Master's program Cyber Security in the Department of Computer Science since October 2018. Born in Morocco, she has always been fascinated by mathematics and challenges not least her professors with her enormously fast grasp and intelligent questions. She completed some modules of the male-dominated course as best in her year (of the last two years!) due to her outstanding abilities and her special scientific talent. The jury was particularly impressed by the versatile linguistically gifted student who, in addition to her native Arabic, also speaks French, English, German and other Arabic dialects. This testifies to her great intercultural interest and her culture-connecting nature. In addition to her student activities, the young woman is particularly involved with other students and teaches them about mathematical-theoretical issues in cryptography in a weekly preparatory course. Against the background that Zineb Alaoui Selsouli only came to Cottbus in 2018 from a different cultural background, it is particularly remarkable how motivated the cosmopolitan and open-minded young woman is to assist other international students and help them settle into their new environment. Through her extraordinary university achievements and compassionate dedicated helpfulness, Zineb Alaoiu Selsouli radiates a special role model effect.
"Being an enthusiastic student and a future scientist in the Cyber Security field, which is usually known to be a male specialty, is a challenge for me and an inspiration for every girl in this world, who caries horizons of goals and dreams to make them all come true." - Zineb Alaoiu Selsouli
The 2018 Soroptimist International Club Cottbus Award is presented to Miriam Oeter.
Since May 2017, Miriam Oeter has been enriching the department of young academics in the BTU's research division as a research assistant in the area of international doctoral students in the BTU's three structured doctoral programs. For the PhD students, she developed ideas for a monthly get-together in the student café "quasiMONO" such as musical and culinary evenings. She is always on hand to give new PhD students advice and support, give them a tour of the campus, inform them about what the BTU has to offer, establish contacts, and make it easier for them to get settled in Cottbus. Here, Miriam Oeter builds on her volunteer work for IAESTE e. V. in Cottbus (since 2015) and as part of the BTU Buddy Program of the International Relations Office (since 2017). Her open-mindedness and enthusiasm for international and intercultural cooperation is also evident in her stays in Latin America and Cameroon. The student of "Renewable Resources and Energies" first got involved during her travels after finishing school, among others in a women's shelter, a convent and a girls' home. In the region, Miriam works as a translator for refugees visiting doctors and authorities. She also gets help and support herself, such as in 2011 and 2012 as part of the project 'Mentoring for Women - Shaping the Future Together' in Cottbus.
The 2017 Soroptimist International Club Cottbus Award was presented to Mary Nthambi .
Mary Nthambi has been writing her dissertation on "An economic valuation and analysis of climate change adaptation measures in Makueni county, Kenya" at the Department of Economics, in particular Environmental Economics, since October 2014. As part of her ERM-PhD studies, she has already passed all module exams with a very good grade of 1.3. Mary Nthambi is not only pursuing academic goals with her doctorate. She hopes to use her work to identify suitable measures and the governance structures needed for this purpose that will enable farmers in her home country to cope better with longer periods of drought as a result of climate change. Mary Nthambi is committed to helping the disadvantaged in Kenyan society, for example as an active member of the NGO "Kenya Association for the lntellectually Handicapped" in Nairobi.
The 2016 Soroptimist International Club Cottbus Award is presented to Anisha Patel.
Anisha Patel is committed to international understanding and dialogue. She has served as General Secretary of the University-wide Student Association at the Dr. B.N. College of Architecture and as a committee member at the 51st Conference of the National Association of Students of Architecture. She is a member of the Indian National Trust for Arts and Heritage. She was also selected in a study project to implement the UNESCO Convention for the Protection of World and Cultural Heritage. Since August 2016, Anisha Patel has been the chair of the Student Council of the World Heritage Studies program. She also supports the activities of the dual degree program with Deakin University in Australia.