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AwardDAAD Prize for Elizaveta Chernova from Croatia

21 January 2021

Heidelberg student honoured for academic achievements and social commitment

Elizaveta Chernova, a Croatian student of molecular biotechnology at Heidelberg University, has been honoured with the DAAD Prize for international students for her academic achievement and social commitment. The prize, endowed with 1,000 euros, is awarded by Heidelberg University and financed by funds from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD). Prof. Dr Marc-Philippe Weller, Vice-Rector for International Affairs at Ruperto Carola, presented the award and congratulated the dedicated prize-winner.

Presentation of the DAAD Prize certificate 2021

The awardee started her bachelor course at Heidelberg University in the 2019/2020 winter semester. Elizaveta Chernova excels through her above-average interest in science, emphasises Dr Dorothea Kaufmann, study programme manager at the Institute of Pharmacy and Molecular Biotechnology of Ruperto Carola. In addition, Elizaveta Chernova is a mentor for first semester students. Besides her remarkable academic achievements, she also works for social projects, e.g. with “Etudes sans Frontières – Studies Without Borders”.

The student participated in the Genetically Engineered Machine Competition; this is an undergraduate scientific competition, in which teams of students from different subject areas each promote an interdisciplinary research project. In the context of this competition, Elizaveta Chernova and her team organised an online science slam and developed an “Experiments Booklet” for advanced secondary school students and their teachers. “I am particularly keen to share my enthusiasm for science with others,” says the prize-winner. To this end, she would like to set up a Croatian-language science blog in the near future.

Even though the coronavirus pandemic is currently setting limits on studying abroad and international exchange: “Heidelberg University attracts many students from abroad. We are proud of that,” the Vice-Rector remarked when presenting the prize. Since the traditional reception for DAAD scholarship holders had to be cancelled because of the COVID-19 regulations, the prize was awarded on 19 January 2021 at a small ceremony in the Great Hall of the Old University.