After a Corona-related delay, but in a fitting setting, three outstanding theses were awarded the "Wagner Family Prize 2020" at the Ludwigshafen University of Applied Sciences on Wednesday, June 23, 2021. The award-winning theses not only deal with cutting-edge issues at a high scientific level, but also take ethical-social components into account. Bachelor graduates Elena Sismani, Annika Kohler and Barbara Kolbinger received the award, which is endowed with a total of 3,000 euros, from the donor, Dr. Dieter Wagner, and his family.
This is the seventh time that the "Wagner Family Sponsorship Award" has been presented at the Ludwigshafen University of Applied Sciences: With this award, the donor family around the long-standing chairman of the university council and honorary senator Dr. Dieter Wagner honors bachelor's and master's theses that deal with values and ethical-social behavior in social contexts in a scientifically sound manner. On Wednesday, June 23, 2021, the "Förderpreis der Familie Wagner 2020", endowed with a total of 3,000 euros, was awarded to the bachelor graduates Elena Sismani, Annika Kohler and Barbara Kolbinger with a Corona-related delay and in a small but festive setting during a ceremony hosted by the Department of Management, Controlling, HealthCare. The ceremony was broadcast via live stream.
This year's first place, with prize money of 1,500 euros each, went to Elena Sismani, a graduate of the dual bachelor's degree program in Health Economics in Practice (GiP), with her thesis on "Orphan Drugs - The Tension between Innovation and Affordability". In this thesis, written in cooperation with her training company Pronova BKK, Sismani focuses on "orphan drugs", i.e. medications for rare diseases, for which for a long time there was no interest in research and development on the part of pharmaceutical manufacturers due to low sales volumes. "Today, incentive effects and sketchy pricing mechanisms make orphan drugs worthwhile medicines that highlight the tension between innovation and affordability like no other area. The means-constrained healthcare system is faltering in the long term by attempting to ensure treatment without prioritization and discrimination," explained award winner Elena Sismani. Laudator Prof. Dr. Elke Raum, physician and professor of medical management at the Department of Management, Controlling, HealthCare, was enthusiastic about the stringency of the work and praised its high scientific quality, practical relevance and social significance, which had convinced her and the entire jury.
The second prize of 1,000 euros was awarded to Annika Kohler, a former fellow student of Elena Sismani in the Bachelor's program in Health Economics in Practice and now a Master's student at HWG LU. Her bachelor thesis "ePrivacy Regulation - A challenge for the introduction of new data protection and security measures on the Internet" sheds light on the draft EU regulation to protect fundamental rights and freedoms in the provision and use of electronic communications services in the European Union. "The legislative process on the ePrivacy Regulation only gained intensity a few weeks ago and is not yet finished. Ms. Kohler's bachelor thesis could hardly be more up-to-date," praised Prof. Dr. Andreas Rein, a lawyer and professor of social services law at the Department of Social and Health Services, in his laudatory speech. In addition, the protection of data and fundamental freedoms in the use of communication services is a topic of high social importance, said Rein.
Third place, endowed with 500 euros, went to Barbara Kolbinger, a graduate of the Bachelor's degree program in Nursing Dual, for her work entitled "Opportunities and hurdles of digital learning in nursing. E-learning and Co. as a replacement or supplement to classroom training?". "Ms. Kolbinger has dealt with the topic of e-learning in continuing education and training in a critical and reflective manner, even before it dominated teaching and learning due to the pandemic, almost prophetically," said Andreas Rein in his laudatory speech with a twinkle in his eye. In doing so, he said, she had come to the well-founded conclusion that e-learning was a good supplement, but not the sole solution - a conclusion he absolutely shared after last year's experience.
University President Prof. Dr. Peter Mudra also picked up on last year's extraordinary situation once again in his welcoming address and praised the award winners explicitly and to a certain extent also on behalf of all students for their patience and outstanding achievements despite the challenging circumstances. "This pandemic has shown us that digital channels help us connect. We have succeeded comparatively well. But what we need even more is real connectedness," he said.
The fact that the changed conditions for teaching, learning and working over the past year were not bad per se was pointed out by Dr. Dieter Wagner in his very personal greeting to the award winners: "When will we get back to the 'old' normal? - Hopefully never, because we have learned so much!" He gave the award winners the following advice: "Go your own way, go new ways: be courageous, tackle things instead of being paralyzed by fears and considerations! Take responsibility! And: Dare to make mistakes, because you learn the most from them," he advised the three successful graduates.
The "Wagner Family Award" is presented annually and is aimed at graduates from all four departments at the Ludwigshafen University of Applied Sciences. "For my family and me, the ethical-social component, the focus on people, is an important part of every course of study and an indispensable foundation for later careers. The Covid 19 pandemic has once again confirmed us in this view," explained Dr. Dieter Wagner in the run-up to the award ceremony. The jury this year included Prof. Dr. Elke Raum, Prof. Dr. Harry Müller, Dieter Ott, Prof. Dr. Andreas Rein, Pastor Dr. Günther Geisthardt, Dr. Dieter Wagner, and students Carolin Kotzot and Nina Marx. The "Wagner Family Award 2021" is expected to be awarded in the fall of this year.
