Computer science student awarded Soroptimist sponsorship prize

As part of the TU Dortmund University's traditional scholarship ceremony on February 26, computer science student Antonia van Ophuysen was awarded the Soroptimist International Club Dortmund sponsorship prize. The annual award supports women in STEM subjects who combine outstanding achievements in their studies with voluntary work.

During her bachelor's degree, Antonia van Ophuysen was particularly committed to sustainability at TU Dortmund University and the promotion of female students in STEM subjects. At the Department of Computer Science, she was part of the Faculty Council and the Sustainability Commission, where she campaigned for good study conditions and sustainability issues in teaching. For example, she co-initiated the Department of Computer Science's sustainability award, a workshop on integrating sustainability into courses and the lecture series "Computer Science and Sustainability", which is now in its third year. Last year, the department's sustainability committee was awarded the TU Dortmund University Impact Cup for this commitment.

The computer science student's commitment also extended beyond the department. As a member of TU Dortmund University's Senate and Student Parliament, as well as a sustainability and mobility officer in the AStA, she was involved in the annual Sustainability Week at TU Dortmund University and FH and ran her own project seminar as part of the studium oecologicum . She also worked on the DigiNetzBNE research project in teacher training and was a mentor for MinTU - Mädchen in die TU Dortmund, a project that offers schoolgirls the opportunity to get to know STEM degree programs at TU Dortmund University.

With the presentation of the Soroptimist Sponsorship Award by Julia Meyer-Kleinmann, President of the Soroptimist International Club Dortmund, the club honored precisely this commitment to the advancement of women. At the same time, they honored the award winner's outstanding achievements in her studies. She wrote her thesis on "Characterization and recognition of Wheeler automata" in the field of theoretical computer science in the working group of Prof. Dr. Thomas Schwentick.