Sponsor

Though not originally from Oldenburg, Heinz Neumüller was an Oldenburg native. Born in 1920, he joined the photography shop of his father-in-law, Carl Wöltje, at the age of twenty eight, by then already a passionate photographer himself. In 1961, in the ancestral home of his father-in-law in Oldenburg, he founded CeWe Color Company and named in his honor. Today, the shops of Wöltje can still be found in the city center of Oldenburg. Heinz Neumüller’s company, now known as CEWE, has since become the largest photo development company in Europe with over 3,000 employees.

On the occasion of his 75th birthday the entrepreneur announced the establishment of a foundation in order to support young scientists in Oldenburg. Only a month earlier, the founding of the Heinz Neumüller Stiftung had already been carried out for this very purpose. Two years before his death, in 1998, Neumüller was made an honorary senator of the University of Oldenburg in recognition of his achievements.

Scholarship

Thus the Heinz Neumüller Stiftung annually supports from the fields of engineering, law, computer, economic, and natural sciences such doctoral candidates at the University of Oldenburg "who have distinguished themselves during their studies through ability, initiative and responsibility". It fulfills this purpose by providing financial and material support, specifically through four to six scholarships with an eligibility period of one year and a monthly maximum grant amount of 400,00 €.

Applicants can apply on their own or be recommended by a faculty member. In both cases the following qualifications have to be met:

• Master's degree or diploma (no M. Ed.) in one of the subjects listed above
• Dissertation topic is completely or partly based in one of the subjects listed above
• Affiliated with the University of Oldenburg

A complete application contains at least the following documents (in copy or original):

• personal cover letter
• photograph
• (tabular) description of the previous course of life and studies
• diploma and diploma supplement for the degree qualifying for doctoral studies
• certificate of matriculation
• exposé and schedule for the dissertation
• letter of confirmation from the dissertation supervisor that the dissertation project has been offered, including the topic and a statement on its relevance for the future development of science
• letter of recommendation from a second faculty member