The prize, endowed with 1,000 euros, was presented by Prof. Juliane Winkelmann, TUM Senior Vice President for International Alliances & Alumni together with Dr. Stephan Geifes, Director of the National Agency for EU Higher Education Cooperation at the DAAD. He also paid tribute to the TUM award winner and emphasized the importance of the contribution made by student groups at universities.
"I am very happy to have been selected as this year's DAAD Prize winner at TUM. The award recognizes the time and energy I have put into ESN TUMi, and that means a lot to me. ESN TUMi has allowed me to contribute to campus life for international students at TUM over the past year and a half and to develop personally in many ways. The exchange with Prof. Winkelmann at the award ceremony was a good opportunity for me to pass on student feedback directly to the university management. Above all, it's about better framework conditions for voluntary work and making combining studying and voluntary work easier," explained Matthias Decarli after the ceremony.
Major contribution to the welcoming culture for international students as TUMi President
The Italian-born Master's student is enrolled in the Automotive Engineering program at the TUM School of Engineering and Design. In addition to his studies, Matthias Decarli works for the student association ESN TUMi München e.V. He is already in his second term as president and is continuously developing the association. ESN TUMi is the largest initiative of its kind at a university in Germany, with a very diverse range of hundreds of events every year.
The work of TUMi is an elementary component of the support provided to international students at TUM in close cooperation with the TUM Global & Alumni Office. It contributes significantly to the welcoming culture for international students and creates numerous networking opportunities with other TUM students. Matthias Decarli took over the chairmanship of TUMi 2022 when the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic were still noticeable. Since then, he has designed many working methods, processes, and structures in the young association, contributing to its further development.
In addition to his work at TUMi, Matthias Decarli is also involved in the further development of the TUM Student Clubs and provides the Association of Munich Student Initiatives with important impulses for identifying the needs of student groups in Munich - even beyond TUM.
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