Award for excellent bachelor's degree: Graduate prize awarded in the ‘Quality, Environment, Safety and Hygiene’ degree programme
Scientific excellence meets business practice: at the festive closing ceremony of the Faculty of Life Sciences, this year's Lower Rhine Entrepreneurship Award was presented to graduates of the Bachelor's programme in Quality, Environment, Safety and Hygiene. The award traditionally honours final theses that impress with their practical relevance and high scientific quality.
Award winner Lena Gräßer with Dr. Ralf Wimmer (Lower Rhine Entrepreneurship Association) and programme director Prof. Dr. Simone Pauling and Dr.-Ing. Rudolf Schumachers.
This year, Lena Gräßer was delighted to receive the award. She was honoured for her bachelor's thesis entitled: ‘Development of a concept for external company management at BSN-Jobst GmbH’. In it, the graduate subjected the existing processes at the Emmerich site to an in-depth analysis and evaluated them against the backdrop of Essity's group-wide guidelines.
In his laudatory speech, Dr Ralf Wimmer from the Lower Rhine Business Association humorously addressed the supposed dryness of the subject matter: "External company management sounds a bit dry at first, I thought so too. But it's a very, very relevant topic.‘ Wimmer emphasised the fundamental importance of the subject, as the management of external service providers forms the basis for a company to ’operate safely, economically successfully, legally compliant and with high quality."
The jury was particularly impressed by the fact that Lena Gräßer not only developed her concept theoretically, but also ‘directly brought it to life’ at BSN-Jobst GmbH. The result is a ‘very comprehensible, usable guide’ that will serve as a valuable tool for the company from now on.
Dr Wimmer also highlighted the graduate's diverse social commitment. Lena Gräßer supported fellow students free of charge, was involved in international projects with the University of Lyon and was active as a dance teacher in university sports. The nomination was made by the head of the degree programme, Prof. Dr-Ing. Rudolf Schumachers. He praised the work as an ‘excellent and completely independent’ achievement that creates real added value through concrete recommendations for action and clear responsibilities.
The graduate award is presented annually by the Lower Rhine Business Association. The aim is to promote particularly committed students whose scientific work makes a visible contribution to the further development of the regional economy.