Syrian Feras Karakit, a doctoral candidate at the University of Oldenburg, has been awarded the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) prize for his above-average academic achievements and voluntary work at the university.
The award for international students is endowed with 1,000 euros and is presented once a year. The laudatory speech was held by Dr Ulrike Feudel, Professor of Theoretical Physics/Complex Systems and supervisor of the dissertation.
Karakit completed his Master's degree in mathematics at the University of Oldenburg as a DAAD scholarship holder. He is currently working on his doctorate, which is focussed on theoretical ecology and is interdisciplinary in nature. He is collaborating with landscape ecologists, oceanographers, biologists and physicists. In her laudatory speech, Feudel praised Karakit's rapid familiarisation with these different scientific disciplines. After only seven months, his first publication is already foreseeable. He is breaking new scientific ground with his work, and his enthusiasm and will to succeed are helping him to make positive progress, Feudel continued.
In addition to his doctoral studies, Karakit has been involved in the university's UniLotsen project since 2013, which advises international students and helps them find their way around. Since 2014, he has also been working as a "buddy" for the local Erasmus initiative for the University's International Student Office. There, he supports international students in the initial phase of their studies and in their new everyday life in Oldenburg. Karakit also acts as a doctoral student representative for the University's Graduate School of Science and Technology (OLTECH). In this role, he represents the interests of doctoral students on the Graduate Academy's Board of Directors.
Karakit is a scholarship holder of the Research Training Group "Interdisciplinary Approach to Functional Biodiversity Research" (IBR), which is funded by the Ministry of Science of Lower Saxony.
