During the summer semester of 2026, numerous graduates from the Faculty of Computer Science, Electrical Engineering and Mathematics, as well as from PLAZ – Professional School of Education at Paderborn University, were honoured. During the festive graduation ceremonies, alongside their certificates, graduates were also awarded prizes for exceptional commitment or outstanding final theses.
Faculty of Computer Science, Electrical Engineering and Mathematics
At the end of June, the Faculty of Computer Science, Electrical Engineering and Mathematics bid farewell to its graduates at a ceremony in the Audimax at Paderborn University. Together with their families, friends and numerous guests, they celebrated the successful completion of their studies. The event opened with a musical performance by the band ‘Weekender’. Dean of Studies Prof. Dr.-Ing. Katrin Temmen then welcomed those present and, in her address, paid tribute to the graduates’ dedication and achievements, thanking everyone who had supported them throughout their studies.
Prof. Dr René Fahr, Vice-President for Transfer and Sustainability at Paderborn University, delivered the welcome address on behalf of the University Executive Board. The subsequent keynote speech was given by Prof. Dr Peter Schreier, CEO of metamorphosis GmbH. Under the title ‘The Case for Being Human in the Age of AI’, he highlighted the role of human skills in a world increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence and provided the graduates with valuable insights for their future professional and personal journeys.
Prof. Temmen then presented the certificates of congratulations to the Bachelor’s and Master’s graduates, as well as to the PhD candidates, in a formal ceremony. Six graduates were also honoured for outstanding academic achievement, with the support of the sponsors dSPACE GmbH, Phoenix Contact GmbH, S&N Invent GmbH, Wöhler Technik GmbH and achelos GmbH. At the Institute of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology, Samantha Schmidtmann received the award for the best academic performance at Bachelor’s level. In the Master’s programme, the award went to Oliver Josef Schweins. At the Institute of Computer Science, Moritz Hölting was honoured in the Bachelor’s programme and Tim Leonhard Storm in the Master’s programme. Gina Lizzy Pohlenz (Bachelor’s) and Luca Henry Wasmuth (Master’s) received the awards at the Institute of Mathematics.
Following this, the 2026 Weierstrass Teaching Prize was also awarded. The prize for outstanding teaching was presented to Prof. Dr Johanna Schönherr. Dominik Strasser was recognised as the best tutorial group leader. The teaching prize was sponsored by Delta Energy Systems.
PLAZ – Professional School of Education
At the beginning of July, around 250 graduates celebrated the successful completion of their teaching degrees, leading to a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Education, at Paderborn University. At the lively ceremony, which took place simultaneously in both lecture theatres of Building L, the prospective teachers were presented with their certificates.
‘What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make’ was the graduating cohort’s motto – a quote from behavioural scientist Jane Goodall. Prof. Dr Bardo Herzig and Prof. Dr Sabine Fechner congratulated the graduates on behalf of the PLAZ Executive Board on their successful completion of the programme and highlighted the opportunities awaiting them in the field of school education: “You shape not only teaching and learning situations, but also relationships. And it is within these relationships that education becomes possible in the first place.” On behalf of the Executive Board of Paderborn University, Prof. Dr Beate Flath, Vice-President for Teaching, Studies and Quality Management, offered her warm congratulations: “Today, one thing is very clearly the focus: you, dear graduates. You have achieved a great deal; you have persevered, learnt, passed your examinations and successfully completed an important stage in your lives. I congratulate you most sincerely on this.” Franziska Pradel and Finn Schorstein from the Teacher Training Students’ Council, which co-organised the ceremony, also congratulated their (now partly former) fellow students on successfully completing their Bachelor’s or Master’s in Education.
“Join forces with those who are also driven by issues relating to teacher training, with alumni and supporters. At PLAZEF, we know how important it is for the fundamental questions of school education to engage in dialogue with others, to cooperate respectfully, and to tackle upcoming challenges together,” said Prof. Dr Rita Burrichter and Prof. Dr Christine Freitag, who offered their congratulations on behalf of the PLAZEF alumni association, encouraging the graduates of Paderborn University to remain connected in the future.
Following this, a number of graduates were honoured for their outstanding achievements. The prizes, each worth 150 euros, for exceptional commitment – sponsored by the Education and Science Union, the Education and Training Association (Detmold District Association) and the Association of Philologists of North Rhine-Westphalia – were awarded to Selinay Acikgöz, Karina Bleßmann and Pia Hovemann. For outstanding master's theses with a focus on school-related topics or subject didactics, Sophia Gabriel and Viktor Ens were presented with the PLAZEF Prize, worth 500 euros each and sponsored by MLP. In addition, Johanna Conze and Helena Walfort were awarded certificates for successfully completing the ‘Gute Gesunde Schule’ specialisation programme.
This text was translated automatically.
