Elisabeth Nounla, Germany scholarship holder since 2023

Medical student Elisabeth Nounla's commitment to higher education policy has really taken off in just a few years. She first became involved as a quintile spokesperson, was then responsible for university policy in the AStA and has since been elected as a student member of the MHH Senate. After the AStA years, in which she worked to improve teaching according to the bottom-up principle, her work in the Senate now tends to follow the top-down principle. "It's a really great feeling when you can play such an active and concrete role in shaping decisions that shape the university," says Nounla. For example, she represents the student perspective in appointment procedures together with her fellow student Jakob Kasimir Warweitzky and recently helped elect the new President of the MHH. Unfortunately, she won't reveal who it was, but: "One of the 13 votes was mine," laughs Nounla.

Jan-Niklas Ricke, Germany scholarship holder since 2020

Jan-Niklas Ricke is one of the "old hands" in the scholarship program. He has already been selected as a scholarship holder four times in a row and his joy is unbroken. "Without the scholarship, I would have to go back to waitressing or tutoring," says the medical student. "I wouldn't have much time besides my studies and would have to cut out some activities." And Ricke has quite a few activities to show for it: He is involved with MediNetz Hannover, a non-profit association that provides access to medical care for people without health insurance. The ambitious track and field athlete, who became North German indoor 800m champion in 2020, also spends a lot of time on the sports field and in the gym. And last but not least, Ricke has been a student member of the Marburger Bund state executive committee for three years - another development that would not have happened without the Deutschlandstipendium. "I didn't even know before that you could be involved in the physicians' union if you're not yet a professional," says Ricke. "But in the first year, the Marburger Bund was my sponsor and the contact at the scholarship ceremony got the ball rolling." His case shows that the program not only has a financial impact, but also a moral one.

Luisa Huwe, Germany scholarship holder since 2023

Luisa Huwe is studying Public Health in her fourth semester and is a good example of the fact that Germany Scholarship holders are not only represented in Human medicine, but also in other study programs at the MHH. She successfully applied for the scholarship program in 2023 and, in addition to her good grades, was able to convince the selection committee with her commitment to organ transplant patients. Together with her father, she heads the Lower Saxony regional group of the German Organ Transplant Association. She organizes regular meetings and is the contact person for transplant patients, people waiting for transplants and relatives. In this voluntary work, she also draws on her own experiences time and again, as the 32-year-old has been living with a donor heart herself since 2019.

Marcel Borchert, Germany scholarship holder since 2022

During the pandemic, the topic of loneliness has preoccupied many people, including medical student Marcel Borchert. Together with his partner, he thought about how he could at least bring some joy to the residents of retirement homes, who have often been hit particularly hard by the lockdown, at Christmas, for example with a handwritten and perhaps even homemade Christmas card. The couple from the Heidekreis district contacted neighboring retirement homes, set up the website www.heideherzen.de without further ado and have been providing addresses of interested home residents to volunteer card writers there every Christmas since 2022. "We often receive very touching re-registrations from the nursing staff in the retirement homes about how happy they were to receive the greeting cards," says Borchert. "That's why we continued the campaign after the pandemic, because loneliness is a big issue even without coronavirus." With this commitment, Borchert scored particularly well with the selection committee for the Deutschlandstipendium scholarship, making his university political involvement in the AStA and the Student Parliament almost a minor matter.

Julian Ghani, Germany scholarship holder since 2021

When Julian Ghani began his medical studies at the MHH, he already had a degree behind him. The trained trumpet player first studied his instrument as a junior student in Karlsruhe, then in Hamburg, Munich and finally at the Hanover University of Music, Drama and Media (HMTMH). It was here that he became fascinated by the Institute of Music Physiology and Musicians' Medicine (IMMM), which focuses on the physiological foundations of music performance and music perception, research into the causes of occupational illnesses in musicians and their prevention. "At the time, a good friend fell ill and I couldn't get rid of the idea of finding out more about musicians' illnesses," says the 30-year-old professional musician. That's why he began studying medicine at the same time in 2019 and started his doctoral thesis at the IMMM alongside his studies, working closely with the Clinical Department of Psychiatry. At the same time, Julian Ghani has been involved in university politics at the MHH since his first year of study. With the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, he lost his most important source of income, which is why he is very grateful to have been supported by the Deutschlandstipendium scholarship since 2021. "It has helped me to continue to dedicate myself to my doctoral thesis despite financial losses and to get involved in university politics."

Sophie Hügel, Germany scholarship holder since 2022

Sophie Hügel is a very determined young woman. "It was clear to me from the start of my studies that my future lay in orthopaedics/trauma surgery," says the medical student. The scholarship gives her the time she needs to attend workshops and seminars in this field alongside her regular studies. She can also devote more time to her own health, because due to a joint disease she always has to plan enough time for sport and physiotherapy so that she is not restricted in her later work as a physician. However, Sophie Hügel sees the most important benefit of the scholarship in being able to pursue her voluntary work. For three years, she has been helping to organize events for the student project group "Teddy Bear Hospital", in which children's fear of physicians is taken away in a playful way. She has also been a quintile spokesperson since the beginning of 2022 and represents the interests of the student body to lecturers. "I enjoy these tasks immensely and would certainly not be possible to this extent without the scholarship," says Hügel. Hats off to so much multifaceted focus!

Marc Philipp Silchmüller, Germany Scholarship Holder 2016-2017

Marc Philipp Silchmüller only applied for the Deutschlandstipendium towards the end of his studies and, thanks to the funding, was able to complete his remaining clinical traineeships, continue working on his dissertation and concentrate on studying for the written state examination. One of the things that convinced the scholarship committee was his commitment to the local MHH group Aufklärung gegen Tabak e.V., which he co-founded and led in 2012. Together with like-minded students, he visited schools and used specially tailored concepts to inform children and young people about the dangers of smoking. "Working with the young people was always very enriching and meaningful. We always got great feedback, from the schools as well as the students and sometimes even the parents," recalls Silchmüller. Today, he is a junior physician in the Clinical Department of Rheumatology and Immunology and is currently working in the internal medicine emergency department at the MHH as part of his specialist training rotation.

Dr. Alexandros Rahn, Germany Scholarship Holder 2016-2017 and 2018-2019

Germany Scholarship holders are always good for a surprise beyond medicine. Dr. Alexandros Rahn, who now works as a junior physician in the neonatal intensive care unit at the MHH Children's Hospital and was supported for a total of two years as part of the scholarship program, is no exception. The financial support not only enabled him to complete his doctoral thesis during his studies, but also to set up the "Unipulli MHH" project group together with his fellow student Moritz Meyer. "Our goal was to design a piece of clothing that would allow people to identify with the MHH," explains Dr. Alexandros Rahn. "We started with a sweatshirt in 2016 and expanded our collection to include a T-shirt and an MHH sports bag." From design and material selection to marketing and sales, all tasks were and are in the hands of students - because although Rahn and Meyer have now finished their studies, the university sweater lives on. In 2020, the surpluses from the non-profit project were even used to finance a bicycle column for the campus, where bikers suffering from a puncture can find the most important tools for immediate repairs or simply pump up flat tires.

Dr. Tobias Buchacker, Germany Scholarship Holder 2013-2014, 2017-2020

Tobias Buchacker graduated in Human medicine at the end of 2020 and is now working as a training assistant at the Institute of Diagnostic Imaging and Interventional Radiology at Helios Klinikum Hildesheim. He can look back on a fulfilling period of study, which was also shaped by the Germany Scholarship. For four years, he was able to secure a place on the scholarship program through above-average academic performance and voluntary work. "After initially concentrating primarily on my studies in my first year, I found that I increasingly enjoyed getting involved in university politics. I became AstA Chair and was a member of the Study Commission and the Student Parliament for several years," says Buchacker. "Without the Deutschlandstipendium, that wouldn't have been possible because I would have had to take on a second part-time job." Thanks to the funding, however, he was not only able to continue his commitment to the student body, but also to advance his doctorate and successfully complete it in spring 2021.

Dr. Marius Hoepfner, Germany Scholarship Holder 2012-2015

Marius Hoepfner applied for the scholarship program in 2012 and impressed the selection committee with his excellent academic achievements and commitment to higher education. His heart beat for rheumatology early on: he began his doctoral thesis in his third year of study under Prof. Dr. Torsten Witte, now Director of the Clinical Department of Rheumatology and Immunology at the MHH - and Hoepfner's boss. Hoepfner is on the home stretch to becoming a specialist, researches vasculitis and is active in teaching. "I really enjoy it because it reminds me of my first years as a student, which I look back on with great pleasure," says Hoepfner. "The scholarship is certainly one of the reasons why this is the case. I was able to pursue my social and academic commitments with a clear conscience and had less financial pressure. I even had time for sport, friends and music." Music, that was guitar, singing and a band with which he not only performed in various venues in Hanover, but also at his own graduation party in 2016. After graduating, the band moved in all directions and time was short anyway due to the start of his career. But last year, Hoepfner rented a band room again and wanted to look for new bandmates. "But then came corona," says Hoepfner. "Let's see what the future holds."

Heba Alyousef, Germany scholarship holder 2019-2022

The young Syrian woman came to Germany to join her father in December 2016 as part of the family reunification process. Just under a year later, she was able to begin her studies in Human medicine at the MHH. However, as she was already of legal age when she came to Germany, she was not entitled to Federal financial aid and had to work a lot alongside her studies. Thanks to the scholarship, some of her financial worries have disappeared, so that Heba Alyousef can now concentrate better on her studies. She also passes on her experience to foreign students who are still at the beginning of their journey in Germany. Since 2019, she has been involved in the IsiE-MHH program to promote the integration of students with an international and foreign language background at the MHH. As a guide, she provides new foreign students with advice and support. She is also an active member of the student association "Aynouna", which aims to improve the educational opportunities of refugees in Jordan.

Lara Kühnle, Germany scholarship holder 2017-2019

Lara Kühnle came to Human medicine in a roundabout way, which is why she fell out of Federal financial aid as well as the funding programs of the Begabtenförderungswerke with her second degree. As an applicant for the Deutschlandstipendium scholarship, she was able to score points not only with good grades, but also with her social commitment. She is involved in the "Teddy Bear Hospital" project, which aims to take away children's fear of hospitals in a playful way. She was also active in the AStA and still works on the student magazine Curare. The Deutschlandstipendium scholarship gave her the financial security to start a doctoral thesis in her third year of study alongside her degree. The thesis has now been submitted and is awaiting its defense, which is due after the PJ. We are keeping our fingers crossed and wish her every success!

Felix Volmer, Germany Scholarship Holder 2019-2022

Felix Volmer is also involved in many different ways: At the beginning of his studies, he visited schools in the Hanover area for the "Mit Sicherheit verliebt" project and, in addition to sex education lessons, supported young people in building a reflective and self-determined relationship with their sexuality. He was active in the Student Parliament and took on the role of Social and Finance Officer in the AStA. He was supported by the Else-Kröner-Fresenius Foundation for a year for his doctoral thesis on liver transplants in children before successfully applying for the Deutschlandstipendium scholarship. This enabled him to continue his commitment to the interests of students. "There are many ideas and even more committed students who support them. The Deutschlandstipendium promotes this diversity. In my opinion, the best reason to become a sponsor is that the scholarship holders pass on the material support in an immaterial way," says Felix Volmer. We think there's nothing to add to that.

Nina Rittgerodt, Germany Scholarship Holder 2017-2021

Every minute is precious in Nina Rittgerodt's life: she is studying Human Medicine at the MHH, is currently completing her practical year, has two children and, until a few months ago, was looking after her grandmother, who was 98 years old and in need of care. To earn a living, the single mother regularly works as a student assistant in a Central Emergency Room alongside her studies. She volunteers at her daughter's school and is about to complete her doctoral thesis. "Sometimes it's a bit tricky to juggle everything," says Rittgerodt. She has now been a Germany Scholarship holder for three years, no longer has to work every weekend day at the hospital and can spend more time with her children. "I really enjoy that," beams the student.

Johannes Loddenkemper, Germany Scholarship Holder 2018-2020

During his studies, Johannes Loddenkemper always saw himself as a link between students and lecturers. He was the semester speaker and was also involved in the Dentistry specialist group and the Dentistry Study Commission. His focus was on improving study conditions and ensuring a smooth course of study. However, first semester work was particularly close to his heart. "It is important to me that the students are integrated into the large community of MHH students from the very first day and that they have an instructive and successful time at the university," says Loddenkemper. In November 2020, he completed his studies with the grade "very good". He is currently continuing to work on his doctorate, which he has already started alongside his studies in the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at the MHH. "Thanks to the Deutschlandstipendium, I was able to concentrate fully on my studies because I didn't have to work on the side," says Loddenkemper, looking back. We wish him all the best for the future!

Dr. Julia Spanier, Germany Scholarship Holder 2019-2022

Julia Spanier holds a doctorate in human biology and works in infection research at TWINCORE, a joint Facilities or Institutions of the MHH and the Helmholtz Center for Infection Research. She is the mother of a three-year-old son and is a volunteer at the Hanover Gospel Church. Two and a half years ago, she decided to take on another challenge and has been studying Human medicine at the MHH alongside her job ever since. Despite the many demands, she has not lost her sense of community: In November 2020, she took over the Students with Children group. "My predecessors did a great job and established good structures. I want to build on this and continue to drive forward the networking of students with children so that no one is left behind, especially now during the pandemic," says the Germany Scholarship holder, explaining her commitment. We have only one comment to make: Hats off!