BTU honors outstanding female students in the STEM field

The President of BTU Prof. Dr. Gesine Grande, the Vice-President for Academic Affairs Prof. Dr. Peer Schmidt and the Deputy Central Equal Opportunities Officer Jenny Scholka presented the certificates for the STEM Bachelor's Prize to Marie Elaine Müller from the Mechanical Engineering study program and to Lina Jessica Manuela Prenzler from the Civil Engineering study program.

In addition to good to very good academic performances, the jury, chaired by Birgit Hendrischke, the BTU's Central Equal Opportunities Officer, considered the voluntary commitment - also beyond the BTU - to be of great importance for the selection of the award winners, who meet these requirements in a special way.

Marie Elaine Müller successfully completed her dual Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering at Faculty 3 - Mechanical Engineering, Electrical and Energy Systems at BTU and at the family business IHMCAD-Ingenieurbüro Helge Müller in Bernsdorf. She is currently continuing her studies in the Master's program in Mechanical Engineering at BTU. In addition to good to very good grades in typical engineering modules, she is also characterized by her great extracurricular commitment. She has been taking piano and guitar lessons for many years and performs voluntarily at church services and in retirement homes. Other interests include dancing and athletics. At university, she is very active in the Mechanical Engineering Departmental Committee, for example, and is involved in organizing events such as the Faculty 3 alumni reunion in Senftenberg. To encourage high school students to study STEM subjects, she tutors them in STEM subjects such as Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry.

Lina Jessica Manuela Prenzler, who successfully completed her practice-oriented Bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering at Faculty 6 -Architecture, Civil Engineering and Urban Planning, also impressed the jury as a very active student with a wide range of interests. She stood out for her exceptional strength in STEM subjects and also took the Higher Mathematics 3 module. As a STEM tutor, she supported other BTU students in the subjects Structural Mechanics 1+2. She encourages young women to study a technical subject and already has practical experience in teaching. Lina Jessica Manuela Prenzler has training in therapeutic riding. She does voluntary work, for example in church services or fundraising campaigns. She currently works as a structural engineer at HALTEC Hallensysteme GmbH in Vetschau, where she already worked during her studies.

Background:
The term MINT stands for Mathematics, Computer Science, Natural Sciences and Technology.
Since 2016, the "Best STEM student at BTU" prize has been awarded as part of the university's equal opportunities program. With this award, BTU honors a particularly talented, high-performing and committed female Bachelor's/Master's student on a STEM study programme. In addition to these central criteria, in particular the personal career to date, social and family circumstances, social commitment and special successes can be taken into account.
This year, five applications were received for the STEM Prize for Bachelor students, which is endowed with 500 euros. The jury, chaired by the Central Equal Opportunities Officer, consisted of five Local Equal Opportunities Officers from the faculties and two representatives of the Commission for Teaching, Studies, Academic Reform and Continuing Education.