Ulm University has awarded this year's DAAD prize to Igor Mikhailov. The award, which is endowed with 1000 euros, is presented to international students who have demonstrated outstanding coursework and are particularly committed to society. The candidate was nominated by the student representation (StuVe) of the Ulm University.
Igor Mikhailov is more involved in university politics than any other international student at Ulm University. As a student substitute, he is a member of the University Senate and has been active in the University's institutionalised student body (StuVe) for years. The 25-year-old Chemistry student, who is one of the best in his year, is also interested in media and journalism. Through "Medienebene", a platform for the promotion of young journalists, he has also gained insights into political decision-making processes at European and national level alongside his studies. "There are few international students on the student council at Ulm University who are as involved as Igor Mikhailov. With his many years of commitment to the election committee, he has not only managed to improve student voter turnout, but has also succeeded in getting other students interested in university politics and working in the student representation," says Annika Wilke. The student, legally accountable in the Student Body Executive for the "Internal/External" department, initiated the nomination on behalf of the StuVe.
Igor Mikhailov, born in 1999 in the Russian Volga city of Samara, studied Chemistry at the National Research University in Samara (Korolev University) from 2017 to 2020 and moved to Germany five years ago. He came to Ulm University via the "FOKuS - Studienstart Deutsch" programme, where he began a Bachelor's degree in Chemistry after a preparatory semester with a German course. With an excellent Bachelor's degree, he finally started his Master's degree at Ulm University in the summer semester of 2024. Professor Radim Beránek from the Institute of Electrochemistry, who expressly supports Mikhailov's nomination, not only appreciates the professional service performances of the student, who completed his Bachelor's thesis with him, which was graded 1.0. Mikhailov has been employed as a research assistant at the institute since the beginning of 2024 and has been actively involved in the organisation of colloquia, specialist conferences and the visit of Science Minister Petra Olschowski.
But the students who work with Mikhailov in the StuVe and his fellow students also appreciate his creativity and drive as well as his openness and willingness to stand up for others. The DAAD award winner also proves that he has a knack for social media on Instagram with authentic posts and reels about the student representatives' activities. His aim is to make the work of the StuVe even more visible.
The cheque for 1000 euros was presented at a small award ceremony by Professor Dieter Rautenbach, Vice President for Ulm University. The event, which was organised by the International Office, was also attended online by the Vice President for Teaching, Professor Olga Pollatos, who also congratulated the award winner. When asked what Mikhailov will do with the prize money, the Russian student replied, not without a note on higher education policy: "It's a nice discount on tuition fees for me!" Because as a student in the state of Baden-Württemberg from a non-EU country, Mikhailov also has to pay 1500 euros per semester.
Further information:
Prof. Dr Olga Pollatos, Vice President for Teaching at Ulm University, e-mail: olga.pollatos(at)uni-ulm.de
Text and media contact: Andrea Weber-Tuckermann