THMstudent Lema Yaqub has been awarded the DAAD Prize for her outstanding academic achievements and social commitment. The student, originally from Afghanistan, received the prize from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) at the THM ball.
Lema Yaqub came to Germany in 2021 after studying journalism in her home country. She began a commercial apprenticeship while simultaneously learning German. On the recommendation of a friend, she ultimately decided to pursue a dual study programme in business administration at StudiumPlus.
During her studies, she gained diverse international experience: she completed an Erasmus semester in the Czech Republic, participated in a winter school in Denmark, and attended a summer school in Finland. She is currently working on her bachelor's thesis and plans to graduate in the winter semester of 2025/26. Her StudiumPlus partner company, HTS Tentiq – a manufacturer and supplier of temporary buildings such as event and lightweight aluminum halls – has already offered her a permanent position. In the long term, she hopes to realize her dream of starting her own IT business.
Alongside her dual studies, Lema Yaqub is involved in social projects: Every Saturday, she cooks at a mosque run by the Asiyah association in Frankfurt and distributes food to homeless people in the Bahnhofsviertel district. She also collects and sends winter clothing for refugees in Greece and medical supplies for people in Afghanistan. Furthermore, she is active in the Europe-wide network "2hearts Community" for young IT talent, which supports startup founders and job seekers.
“Ms. Yaqub’s determination to educate herself beyond the necessary study goal and to engage in exchange with other people and cultures is remarkable and stands out as an exemplary figure within the StudiumPlus community,” describes Cornelia Fritzsch, Head of Department for Practical and Project Phases at Studium-Plus, in her letter of recommendation.
The DAAD Prize, endowed with €1,000 per university and awarded for more than ten years, aims to give a face to the large number of international students at German universities and connect them with their stories. The students who have received such a prize through their respective host universities represent their fellow students from around the world and are future partners for Germany in business, politics, and science.