DAAD Award for Foreign Students

Source: https://tu-dresden.de/studium/rund-ums-studium/foerderung-und-finanzierung/daad-preis-fuer-internationale-studierende/index Parent: https://tu-dresden.de/studium/vor-dem-studium/internationales/stipendien

In order to recognize that international students enrich the university community at German universities both culturally and academically, the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) provides annual funding to universities for the "DAAD Award for Outstanding Achievement by International Students at German Universities".

Each year, an international student is also awarded this prize at TU Dresden. The prize, endowed with 1,000 EUR, is intended to recognize outstanding international students who have distinguished themselves through remarkable social or intercultural commitment and special academic achievements. The selection of the honored person is made internally at the university.

Award Winner 2025 - Mohammad Zafer Saysaa

The award recipient, Mr. Mohammad Zafer Saysaa, is a Syrian national and has now graduated from his Master’s degree program Vocational Education and Personnel Development at TU Dresden. With a very good grade point average, he ranks among the high-performing students in his program. Since October 2023, his academic engagement has included membership in the Study Commission of the Faculty of Education, where he actively contributed student perspectives to the re-accreditation and further development of the degree program, thereby making a direct contribution to its continuous improvement.

A further focus of his engagement lies in the field of integration and social participation and extends back to his time in Syria. For several years, he was active with the Syrian Arab Red Crescent and the Syrian Society for Social Development, where he worked in health and hygiene campaigns, provided psychosocial support for vulnerable groups, and was involved in the coordination of emergency response operations.

Since May 2024, Mohammad Zafer Saysaa has been volunteering as an interpreter and cultural mediator with Caritasverband für Dresden e. V., providing linguistic and cultural support to people with refugee and migration backgrounds in sensitive counseling situations. Since June 2025, he has also been volunteering as a travel companion with Freizeit ohne Barrieren e. V., supporting inclusive leisure activities for people with disabilities, for which he has qualified through several training courses in the fields of inclusion and accessibility.

Mr. Saysaa’s engagement sets an impressive example of the successful management of the challenges of academic study and of the integration of academic competence with exemplary social responsibility, both within and beyond lecture halls and seminar rooms. TU Dresden is very proud to honor Mr. Saysaa as a member of its alumni and as a representative of openness, tolerance, and helpfulness that extend far beyond the university.

The DAAD Award 2025 was handed over to Mr. Saysaa on 18. December 2025 by Prof. Dr. Roswitha Böhm, prorector for unversity culture and internationalization.

https://www.instagram.com/p/DScsjzpD2KM/

Former Award Winners

Information on all our former award winners can be found here.

Call for Applicants DAAD Award 2026

Application Process in the year 2026

We would like to encourage all committed international students to present their voluntary work to us and apply for the DAAD Award. The application can be submitted directly to the International Office. Applicants need a signature of a TUD employee on the application form (e.g. lecturer in the degree program) who supports the application.

Application deadline: April 30, 2026

The award ceremony is expected to take place in October 2026.

Prize 2026

The prize money in the amount of 1,000 EUR will be officially presented to the winner in October 2026.

Which criteria have to be fullfilled?

Applicants must be able to demonstrate the following criteria:

foreign nationality and foreign school leaving certificate (graduates of German schools abroad and German Studienkollegs can also participate)
active social or intercultural engagement during your studies at TU Dresden (voluntary or marginally paid activities at TU Dresden, e.g. with a student university group at TU Dresden or civil society engagement outside TU Dresden with a non-profit initiative, organization, association or club)
very good academic performance
Enrolment in an advanced stage of studies at TU Dresden (Bachelor, Diplom, Staatsexamen: at least 3rd semester, Master: at least 2nd semester)
Support of the application by the signature of a TUD employee (e.g. lecturer in the study program) on the application form

Future graduates of TU Dresden may also be nominated for the DAAD Award, provided that their studies will not be completed before July 1st in the year of the award. The DAAD Award is not a research award and is not intended to honor a doctoral thesis.

What counts as active socio, social or intercultural engagement?

Active social or intercultural commitment is the basis for an application for the DAAD Award. Such a commitment is often also referred to as voluntary work.

Many international students are actively involved with charitable institutions or groups within and outside TU Dresden.

For example, TU internal commitments include: the unpaid supervision of students, cultural events, or tandem and mentoring programmes. For example, you can get involved in the following initiatives and associations:

Hochschulgruppen an der TUD, Fachschaftsrat des Studiengangs, STURA (Referat Ausländische Studierende), Campusbüro Uni mit Kind, Studentenwerk Dresden

TU external engagement can be found in clubs and associations, churches and foundations, private and public institutions, political parties and trade unions, initiatives, movements, projects, self-organised groups, neighbourhood networks, or self-help.

You can find more information about volunteering on the City of Dresden website:

Civic Engagement in Dresden

For the award of the DAAD Prize, the engagemente should fulfil the following criteria:

it must take place during the time of study at TU Dresden
it officially counts as voluntary work (= activities that are carried out for others in a self-determined and non-profit-making manner and are oriented towards the common good) and is only marginally remunerated, if at all.
it should be of a minimum duration of 6 months. In the case of a shorter commitment, a high level of impact must be demonstrated. (e.g.: a large-scale fundraising campaign)
written proof from a TU internal or external institution or association about the duration, scope, and nature of the social or intercultural engagement must be submitted (with official letterhead of the institution and contact details of the person issuing the letter).

Which documents have to be submitted?

Completed and signed application form (PDF)
If you have several relevant commitments, please submit thefollowing form for each additional commitment.
CV
Short letter of motivation (about previous life and educational background and motivation for social commitment)
Certificate from the Examination Office stating the credits achieved so far and the average grade* achieved so far
A current list of grades issued and stamped by the Examination Office must also be submitted. In case that no preliminary average grade can be calculated via the Examination Office, the average grade will be calculated by the International Office in a simplified procedure (= all grades are equivalent).
Written proof of the duration, scope and nature of the social or intercultural commitment signed by a representative of the institution/association in whose framework the commitment takes place.
If several commitments are to be included, please submit proof of each commitment.
Scan of Passport / ID
Scan of Permission of Stay
Signed declaration of consent to data protection (download data protection form).

Where and until when to submit the application?

Application Deadline: April 30, 2026

Please send your complete application documents only digitally (PDF documents, max. 10 MB) using the following e-mail address with the subject: DAAD Prize 2026 Application

We recommend sending your application documents in encrypted form, but encryption is not mandatory. Notes on the encryption of e-mails (optional):

For secure, encrypted sending of your application documents from your private e-mail address, first register with your private e-mail address in the SecureMail portal of TU Dresden (https://securemail.tu-dresden.de/). Then you can send your application documents as an attachment to the above-mentioned e-mail address via the SecureMail portal of TU Dresden.

For secure, encrypted sending of your application documents from your TUD email address (@tu-dresden.de or @mailbox.tu-dresden.de), you first need to apply for a digital certificate. After configuring the digital certificate, send your application documents as an attachment to the above-mentioned e-mail address.

As soon as we receive your application documents, we will send you a confirmation by e-mail.

Contact

Employee

Name

Mr Maximilian Schurig

Scholarship programs for international students

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Contact Information

Organization Name

International Office - International Students

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Visiting address:

Fritz-Foerster-Bau \ Mommsenstraße 6, Room 176

01062 Dresden

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work Tel.

Coordinator