“NiKU system” wins the 2025 University Award
In 2026, the HfG hosted the University Award ceremony for the first time, welcoming guests from the worlds of academia, business and regional politics.
District Administrator Dr Joachim Bläse, Chairman of the Board of the Sparkassenstiftung Ostalb, emphasised in his welcome address the central role of universities in ensuring the region’s future viability. Aalen University, the University of Education in Schwäbisch Gmünd and the University of Design in Schwäbisch Gmünd are important drivers of academic, economic and social development in the Ostalb district.
A total of 17 bachelor’s and master’s theses, as well as one doctoral thesis, were submitted.
HfG Rector Maren Schmohl welcomed the guests as the event’s host and thanked the Sparkassenstiftung Ostalb for its long-standing commitment to the regional higher education landscape. At the same time, she presented the HfG as an interdisciplinary hub for design, research and social issues.
Ausgezeichnete Projekte
This year’s prize winners include HfG graduates Donna Auerswald and Jule Schwarz. For their joint bachelor’s thesis *NiKU system – When the start of life is shaped by technology*, they were awarded one of three university prizes, each worth 2,000 euros. The thesis examines the unique situation of premature babies and their parents in intensive care units and demonstrates how design can make technology-driven medical environments more human and accessible.
Michael Scherdel from Aalen University was also honoured. His master’s thesis on the production and characterisation of sustainable flax-bio-epoxy composites was presented via a live video link from Seattle. There, the graduate is currently working on electric propulsion systems for boats – at a start-up company in Schwäbisch Gmünd.
The third university prize went to Katharina Reinhard from the University of Education in Schwäbisch Gmünd. In her master’s thesis, ‘Child protection-related case work in child and youth welfare’, she addressed a socially highly relevant topic at the intersection of education and social work.
Science, design and regional networking
The presentation of the 2025 University Award once again highlighted the potential that lies within the region’s universities. The award-winning projects serve as excellent examples of how research, design and social responsibility can work together. At the same time, the event underscores the close ties between universities, the regional economy and funding bodies in the Ostalbkreis district.
Image source for cover photo: Sparkassenstiftung Ostalb ‘The winners of the 2025 University Award with representatives from the Sparkassenstiftung, universities and the political sphere’
