May 19, 2017
Alexia Fadzai Paradzai and Priyanka Sharma are the prize winners of the Mercator Award 2016/17. The 22-year-old student from Zimbabwe and the 21-year-old from Nepal will each enjoy an award of 5000 Euro. Each year since 2008, the Stiftung Mercator has honored students who distinguish themselves through outstanding social and intercultural engagement as well as excellent scholastic achievement, and who live in Mercator College on the campus of Jacobs University. A representative of Stiftung Mercator recently presented the award to the two honorees.
"The dedication of Alexia Fadzai Paradzai and Priyanka Sharma to social concerns and their academic performance are exemplary“, declares Dr. Felix Streiter, Head of the area of science at the Stiftung Mercator foundation. "With the Mercator Award, we want to motivate other students as well to assume social responsibility, like these prize winners."
"Internationality, interculturality, and interaction in a spirit of trust are the hallmarks of Jacobs University. This prize is an important incentive for students to help shape our campus life. We thank Stiftung Mercator for that," says Professor Katja Windt, President of Jacobs University.
Alexia Fadzai Paradzai is in her third year of study in Global Economics and Management at Jacobs University and will get her degree this summer. Since 2014, she has been working in the Mercator College Office and, as a Student Assistant, supports the college community with great dedication. However, her commitment goes far beyond this job; she makes sure that everyone in the college feels at home. Beyond that, she is also an engaged in the Feminist and Queer Equality Alliance of the University and is active in the African Heritage Society. She has great charisma and is a model for her community.
Priyanka Sharma is studying Industrial Engineering and Management in her second year. At first, she worked for her immediate community as a so-called Floor Representative and has since extended her efforts to encompass the entire college. As a highly committed member of theFood Committee, she works for the health and well being of the students in matters concerning food at the college. Furthermore, with her caring nature, she helps all those who need support in meeting challenges and makes her contribution to their ability to master difficult phases.
About Stiftung Mercator:
Stiftung Mercator is a private foundation that promotes science, education, and international understanding. It initiates, develops, and finances specific projects and partner companies in its sphere of activities: It wants to strengthen Europe, improve integration through equal educational opportunity for all, advance the energy turnaround as a motor for global climate protection, and anchor cultural education in schools. The foundation feels a special obligation to the Ruhr area, the home of the family that started it and also the foundation’s home.
About the Mercator Award:
The Mercator Award was first awarded by Stiftung Mercator in 2008. Since then, the prize has been awarded annually. The award, which comes with a prize of 5,000 euros, honors the special social and intercultural engagement of one student each in the second and third year of study who lives in the Mercator College at Jacobs University and also distinguishes themselves through outstanding scholastic achievement. The college is one of four on the campus of the international university and is home to about 200 students.
