For the second time, the Paderborner Hochschulkreis e. V. has awarded the Horst Gräfer Prize in collaboration with the Heidloff Family Foundation and the SolarKapital Foundation. This year, Nicole Weitzenbürger was honoured for her exceptional courage, commitment and impressive personal career during the "Day of Economic Sciences" ceremony. The prize is endowed with 5,000 euros.
An award winner who pushes boundaries
Nicole Weitzenbürger shows how much strength there is in determination, creativity and personal attitude. She was the first in her family to graduate from high school and successfully completed a bachelor's degree in economics at Paderborn University. Because her final grade was just not good enough for the business administration master's programme, which had restricted admission, she decided to do a master's in Management Information Systems and chose her modules skilfully in order to consistently pursue her interests. She passed every exam at the first attempt, while working several part-time jobs.
After completing her Master's degree, she initially went into practice before returning to the faculty as a research assistant in 2016. She later moved to the Software Innovation Campus Paderborn (SICP), where she worked as a project and innovation manager for more than four years. Today she is a consultant to the CEO of dSPACE. As a mother raising her children separately, she masters the balancing act between professional responsibility, personal challenges and caring for her son.
Nicole Weitzenbürger is involved in activities beyond her professional duties - be it charity events at the SICP, which raised 4,000 euros for the Paderborn project "Broadwood", or with the Schloss Neuhaus marching band.
Prof Dr Dennis Kundisch paid tribute to her commitment in his laudatory speech: "Nicole shapes and leaves a positive mark!" Her attitude is characterised by tenacity and openness. As Kundisch describes it: "With Nicole, a 'That's not possible' triggers a 'Challenge accepted' - friendly, solution-orientated and persistent until a solution is found."
Be a Horst!
The Horst Gräfer Award honours the legacy of Prof. Dr. Horst Gräfer, who taught at Paderborn University from 1972 to 2005. The award named after him honours individuals who rise above themselves, overcome obstacles and stand up for others. The award is based on Gräfer's outgoing and cosmopolitan nature as well as a life path that was characterised by detours, personal ambitions and an optimistic attitude.
The prize was awarded by the founders Eckard Heidloff and Dr Andreas Leimbach. Leimbach welcomed Gräfer's family, among others, and spoke about moving anecdotes from Horst Gräfer's life.
The Faculty of Business Administration and Economics would like to congratulate Nicole Weitzenbürger on this special honour!
