Selected students have been honored by the Senate of The Hochschule Niederrhein (HSNR) for their outstanding achievements with their theses. Nine students from a total of 2,000 Bachelor's and Master's graduates at HSNR received the Senate prizes, each worth 1,000 euros.

Among those honored was Rosa Sonntag from the Faculty of Textile and Clothing Technology with her Bachelor's thesis "Handustrie". In her thesis, she developed a concept of how skilled trades and industry can be further developed and sustainably led into the future through cooperative product development in co-design. To this end, she researched across Europe and conducted interviews with experts from the textile and leather industry.

Energy systems must be operated efficiently in order to achieve climate targets. Computer simulations are used to calculate the best system state with the help of mathematical optimization. In her master's thesis, Louisa Zaubitzer from the Faculty of Mechanical and Process Engineering compared three optimization methods in terms of computing time and accuracy.

Bachelor's graduate Carina Hauschulz from the same faculty dealt with the process optimization of a continuous sugar dissolving system in her thesis. In order to increase production output, Hauschulz implemented measures such as adjusting the controller, increasing the sugar supply and lowering the dissolving temperature. Their optimizations increased throughput by 58 percent and saved 20 percent in energy.

Food waste among students was the focus of Sarah Gertz's Bachelor's thesis from the Faculty of Food and Nutrition Sciences. The student used observational interviews as a methodology in her work. From shopping behavior in the supermarket to washing food: She observed how the student acts, what he says and what decisions he makes. She then asked him specific questions in order to better understand his actions.

As part of her Bachelor's thesis, Katharina Kampmann (Faculty of Food and Nutrition Sciences) looked at all the studies on eating vegetables before carbohydrates and their effects on blood sugar and insulin. She summarized the studies in a review and concluded: "The results suggest that adhering to this order could have a positive influence on blood sugar and short-term insulin levels. However, the student, who carried out the work in collaboration with the Institute of Biometry and Epidemiology at the German Diabetes Center, sees a need for further research.

Can artificial intelligence (AI) serve as a nutritional advisor for pregnant women? Laura Rabsteinek tackled this question. In her Bachelor's thesis, she reviewed and evaluated nutrition plans generated by AI and highlighted their weaknesses.

Džina Bešić from the Faculty of Design was distinguished for the best thesis in the "Gender and Equality" category. In her Bachelor's thesis, she addressed discrimination against women, particularly on the internet. She recorded her collected impressions conceptually and creatively in a glossary, which includes categories such as abortion, gender pay gap and sexism.

In her master's thesis, Milena Hake from the Faculty of Industrial Engineering looked at the future of shopping. Specifically, she investigated the shopping experience in virtual stores in immersive environments such as the Metaverse. To this end, she interviewed representatives of Generation Z. Her findings show that the sensory, social and immersive dimensions of the shopping experience play a particularly important role here.

In her master's thesis, Daria Kozica from the Faculty of Health Care analyzed access to reduced earning capacity pensions due to mental illness. She found a 30 percent increase in new entrants to reduced earning capacity pensions between 2007 and 2021. She identified anomalies such as regional or gender-specific differences as well as important influencing factors such as GP density or household income.

In his laudatory speech, Senate Chairman Professor Dr Georg Oecking praised the diversity of the work submitted and emphasized: "Achievement is female! All of this year's prizes were won by female graduates!"

The event was accompanied by music from the duo "Wir Sind Hier". Singer Nina Lentzsch is studying Cultural Education and Cultural Management at the Faculty of Applied Social Sciences at HSNR.

Students cannot apply directly for the Senate Prize: Their respective examiner suggests the work to the Examinations Board in the faculties, which in turn passes the suggestions on to the Senate. A Senate jury then selects the winners.