Promoting commitment, opening up prospects: Scholarship strengthens UW/H students

This year, Witten/Herdecke University (UW/H) is once again honouring students who stand out for their special achievements, remarkable lives and social commitment. A total of 40 students will receive a Deutschlandstipendium from October 2025 to September 2026. During a joint meeting, the recipients and their sponsors came together to share insights, make contacts and honour their achievements.

The Deutschlandstipendium creates scope for students to develop both professionally and personally - be it in their studies, in voluntary work or in challenging life situations. The diversity of the scholarship holders is an impressive illustration of how different paths to success can be.

Personal paths and commitment of the scholarship holders

One of the scholarship holders is John Cheikho, who is studying human medicine at UW/H. He comes from a family with a history of immigration and grew up with his single mother, who has been living on social welfare for a long time. He describes the fact that he is now studying medicine as the realisation of a long-held wish. "Even as a child, I wanted to be a doctor. As a teenager, my social background made it a huge challenge to keep believing in this dream because the statistics were so strongly against it." John is now being supported by the Deutschlandstipendium scholarship for the third time. "What I love about studying medicine is the combination of scientific understanding and working directly with people. It's fascinating to see that I can make a real difference with what I'm learning." He is particularly interested in supporting chronically and seriously ill patients and in transplant medicine - an area that often deals with existential issues.

New among the scholarship holders is dentistry student Catharina Althaus. As a first-time graduate, she made a conscious decision in favour of Witten/Herdecke University, not least because of the practical approach and the close-knit community. Alongside her studies, she is involved in the "Glücksliga" - a handball team in which people with physical and mental disabilities play sport together. She previously played for Borussia Dortmund's youth team herself - experiences that still characterise her today.

"For me, the Deutschlandstipendium is above all a great appreciation of my previous work. It creates freedom and at the same time gives me the incentive to continue contributing," says the student.