Nationwide, promising young academic talents benefit from the Deutschlandstipendium. Ottobock has been involved as a sponsor for ten years now.

The medical technology company supports students from a wide range of disciplines at various educational institutions in the region, including scholarship holders of the HAWK (University of Applied Sciences and Arts). In order to honour the good cooperation and joint commitment to young academics, representatives of the HAWK and Ottobock employees met in Duderstadt. Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Viöl (Vice President of the HAWK Göttingen) presented a certificate to the training team led by Céline Cepeda Rodriguez (Personnel Officer Training, Ottobock).

"We are very pleased about this recognition and take it as an incentive to continue to promote young talent," promised Cepeda Rodriguez.

“Deutschlandstipendium“

When the “Deutschlandstipendium“ was launched at the Federal Ministry of Education and Research in 2011, the objective was clear: to promote academic talents, to give them access to networks and partners from science and industry, and to give them the freedom to concentrate on their projects through financial support.

A goal that has lost none of its significance even years later. On the contrary: In times of a shortage of skilled workers and multiple crises worldwide, bright minds with creative ideas are needed more than ever.

The Deutschlandstipendium is funded equally by the federal government and private sponsors. The scholarship holders receive a monthly support of 300 Euros, the duration of a funding period is one year. The target group of the scholarship are academics who have distinguished themselves through special professional achievements, but also through a special social commitment. In addition to financial support, the scholarship holders have the opportunity to gain professional experience in the company that supports them, for example through internships, and to establish valuable contacts. An opportunity that the scholarship holders at Ottobock have taken advantage of time and again in the past.

Consistently promoting top performers

"The Deutschlandstipendium is a win-win situation for us," summarizes Christian Lambrecht (Head of Global HR Management at Ottobock). "Because although we don't have any major problems filling our positions at the moment, we are also feeling the changes in the labor market.

The shortage of skilled workers will worsen in the coming years. It is only logical to promote top performers, especially in our core areas of orthopaedics and medical technology."

Top performers, such as Simone Gerner, who is completing her master's degree in medical technology at the HAWK and was supported by Ottobock for three years as part of the Deutschlandstipendium.

"I am very grateful for the scholarship. On the one hand, it means financial relief for me and allows me to concentrate on my studies and my volunteer work. On the other hand, I was also able to establish very good contact with Ottobock. Not only did I complete an internship, but I was also able to write my bachelor's thesis and now my master's thesis at Ottobock," summarizes Simone Gerner.

HAWK and Ottobock – a long-standing partnership

Since the beginning of the program, HAWK students have always been among the scholarship holders in every funding period. The HAWK and Ottobock have a long-standing, good partnership and share the common goal of creating the best possible starting position for young talents for their professional future. In addition to the Deutschlandstipendium, this is done, for example, through the Orthobionics degree program at the HAWK in which Ottobock and the university are cooperating closely. The two partners have also moved closer together spatially with the opening of the Ottobock Patient Care Center on the health campus in the Sartorius Quarter. Ottobock owner Professor Hans Georg Näder has also held an honorary professorship at the HAWK since 2022.

"My first contact with Ottobock began in 1996 with the supervision of theses. This was followed by several joint research projects, several joint spin-offs and the joint design of courses of study such as medical technology and orthobionics," says Professor Dr. Wolfgang Viöl, looking back.

"The funding of the Deutschlandstipendium for more than ten years underpins this close cooperation. The students of the HAWK are not only financially supported. One result of this close cooperation is that some graduates work for Ottobock. I'm still in contact with many of them."

This close connection, from which HAWK, Ottobock and the students benefit equally, is to be maintained and further expanded in the future. For this reason, Ottobock will once again participate in the coming funding period of the Deutschlandstipendium and support a total of six HAWK students.