About Us Awards

Our Awards

Learn here more about the awards our students, teachers and other partners have won - and earned.

Awards

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UE was once again able to impress in 2024

29.08.2024

The University of Europe for Applied Sciences (UE) has once again achieved excellent results in the survey of further education providers for 2024/25 conducted by the renowned market research institute Globis, securing a place in the top five. Among the more than 4,500 respondents, UE was rated as the leading provider among private universities in Germany. The evaluation criteria “satisfaction and recommendation” and “value for money” stood out in particular.

top media school badge

TOP MEDIA SCHOOL

27.02.2024

On January 27, 2024, the University of Europe for Applied Sciences was presented as a leading media university in the prestigious magazine FOCUS (BurdaVerlag Data Publishing GmbH). This recognition is based on customer feedback and underlines the outstanding quality of our work.

The award was presented as part of a comprehensive online survey in which customers shared their experiences and evaluations of various providers. The selection of participants was representative of the population and no customer addresses of the providers were used. The customer survey was conducted independently by the renowned Cologne-based analysis and consulting firm ServiceValue on behalf of DEUTSCHLAND TEST, without the involvement of the providers surveyed.

German Service Award 2024

German Service Quality Award 2024

15.02.2024

In a recent consumer survey commissioned by the German Institute for Service Quality and the News Channel ntv, the University of Europe for Applied Sciences has been acknowledged as a leading institution in the realm of Service Quality. This recognition stems from a comprehensive annual evaluation: Numerous studies, customer surveys, and social media monitoring with Brandwatch Analytics analyzed 2,277 companies. The award was based on 6,117 hidden test contacts, 185,227 customer votes, and 24,165 social media posts. The study focused on on-site advice, online service, telephone and email service, as well as customer statements on the service provided by the providers. We are delighted with this recognition, which confirms the trust placed in our service quality.

UE awarded n-tv deutscher bildungs award 2023/2024 top private hochschulen

German Education Award 2023/24

02.11.2023

In a recent consumer survey commissioned by the German Institute for Service Quality and the News Channel ntv, the University of Europe for Applied Sciences has once again been acknowledged as a leading institution in the realm of education. Consumers evaluated educational institutions across more than 46 categories to recognize the top-performing establishments throughout Germany. These categories encompassed aspects like costs and services, product quality and benefits, the breadth of services provided, as well as competence and friendliness in contact and advice.

We are genuinely delighted by this accolade, appreciating the trust placed in our extensive years of teaching experience!

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Another successful participation in the 'Blurring The Lines' competition

04.09.2023

Congratulations to all, this is a great achievement!

UE’s BA Photography has again participated in the photo competition “Blurring The Lines 2023“, the 8th edition. Each participating university was able to nominate 5 alumni, who then submitted their photographic thesis on this year’s theme “An Ecology of Seeing“. 159 exemplary projects were submitted by 36 schools from 23 countries worldwide.

3 of our alumni were nominated as finalists:

  • Alice Odegova, BA Photography
  • Ada Retegan, BA Photography
  • Ping Ting Lo, MA Photography

In addition to being a finalist, Alice Odegavoa is in the category of special mentions, who are involved in the „Blurring the Lines“ activities of the education programme throughout the year.

Our alumni Ragna Arndt-Maric, winner of the 2020 edition was part of the „Blurring the Lines“ competition jury along with other members.

GSG Berlin - architecture photo competition

The most beautiful architectural photo: 1st place goes to UE student

04.09.2023

GSG Berlin and the University of Europe for Applied Sciences select winners of the architecture photo competition.

GSG Berlin, the most important private office and commercial space leasing company in Berlin, has searched for and found the most beautiful architectural photo of the GSG commercial courtyards. The winners of the photo competition “We’re looking for the Big Shot”, which was announced in cooperation with the Berlin University of Europe (UE), have been determined after long and intensive rounds of discussion. The jury, consisting of UE lecturers around Professor Michael Danner and selected GSG Berlin staff members as well as Head of Communications Michael Mandla, evaluated the submitted photographs and has now selected the winners of 1st, 2nd and 3rd place – first place goes to UE BA Photography student Furqan Sohail, with a great shot of the econopark Plauener Straße and is rewarded with 1,000 euros in prize money. “A photographic eye-catcher was created here. The mood and creative implementation convinced the jury and shows the GSG commercial property in a new light,” says UE professor Michael Danner, explaining the decision.

ADC Competition 2023 - UE students win BRONZE

ADC Competition 2023 - UE students win BRONZE

16.06.2023

There was a lot of joy last Friday at the ADC Festival 2023!

Our university project Brokdorfbleibt won the “bronze nail” last weekend at the ADC talent competition, the most important German award for young talent in the creative industries. Michelle, Laura, Lukas, Tim and Mona submitted the book on the project, which documents most of the contributions from the cooperation with the municipality and the Brokdorf nuclear power plant. Congratulations to the team – and to everyone else involved in the project!

UE awarded n-tv deutscher bildungs award 2022 top private hochschulen

UE awarded as top educational institution 2022

22.11.2022

We are delighted about the top-class recognition of our teaching.

As part of a large consumer survey commissioned for the first time this year by the Deutsche Institut für Service-Qualität and ntv, the University of Europe for Applied Sciences has been named one of the top providers in the field of education.

Consumers rated educational institutions in over 38 categories to award the best educational institutions across Germany. These included categories such as costs and services, the quality of products and their benefits, the range of services offered as well as competence and friendliness in contact and advice.

We are very pleased about the award and the trust in our many years of teaching experience!

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Congratulation to Jeremy Wilson and Charmaine de Heij

05.09.2022

Our two graduates have been part of the Blurring the Lines 2022 Edition.

This year’s theme ‘The Meaning in the Making’ aims to potentially distinguish “meaning in a photograph” from “meaning through photographing.” Blurring the Lines received 174 high-quality projects from 44 participating schools worldwide. The curators selected 3 winners, 30 finalists, and 13 special mentions for the seventh edition. Congratulations to Jeremy Wilson (Finalist) and Charmaine de Heij (Special mention). This is a wonderful success. 

“In my experience, it is rather the idea of cooperation than a principle of competition that distinguishes Blurring the Lines as an extraordinary format. After graduating in photography in 2020, I found this intensive dialogue with graduates worldwide enriching, inspiring, and empowering. Today, as a jury member for Blurring the Lines, I am grateful for the excellent opportunity to continue to meet many committed people who often courageously and sensitively visualize their critical view of social, ecological, and political social grievances.” Ragna Arndt-Marić, Photographer, Jury member, and Winner of the Blurring the Lines 2020 edition. She graduated two years ago and studied Photography at Campus Hamburg.

©Blurring the lines

HEARTBEAT PHOTO Winner 2022

HEARTBEAT PHOTO Winner 2022

20.02.2022

Our photography graduates from the Hamburg Campus Ragna Arndt-Marić and Max Arens are the HEARTBEAT PHOTO winners 2022 with their project “How are you?”

In their project, Ragna Arndt-Marić and Max Arens give youth culture in Hamburg a stage with an interactive art project. They accompany the young people in their everyday lives and let them show through photography what really moves them. Their work, together with two others, was selected from a total of 90 applications for the prize. To realise their projects, the sponsors receive financial support of up to €5,000 and are supported with publicity measures.

PUNKT journalism award goes to UE photography graduate Maximilian Glas

PUNKT journalism award goes to UE photography graduate Maximilian Glas

18.10.2021

The PUNKT – Prize for Technology Journalism and Technology Photography awards a photography scholarship to Maximilian Glas for his exposé ‘Creatorem Terrae Et Caeli’.

In the summer of 2020, Maximilian Glas successfully completed his studies at the University of Europe for Applied Sciences in Berlin with a BA in Photography. Maximilian was  awarded with 5,000 Euros, courtesy of acatech – German Academy of Science and Engineering.

Scholarship for weather modification was awarded to Maximilian Glas

Maximilian Glas impressed the PUNKT jury, with his exposé, ’Creatorem Terrae Et Caeli’. In a documentary project, Max investigated the tense relationship of weather modification between technology and sustainability. In doing so, the freelance photographer aimed to highlight ethical, socio-economic and philosophical problems that could become universal and pressing issues in a climate-changed future. The jury sees great potential in Glas’ photo project and is eager to see it realised.

Sarah Grethe won Vonovia award in Category of “Best Young Talent 2021”

UE student wins important Vonovia award

04.10.2021

Our photography student, Sarah Grethe, won in the category of “Best Young Talent 2021”. Congratulations Sarah!

In her project “Manchmal ist der Himmel über uns offen”, Sarah accompanies her mother to the place where she grew up: a farm in southern Germany. Get an impression of the series, how emotions and past experiences of her mother affect Sarah and how she photographically captures and portrays the feeling of ‘home’.

Sarah said: “I asked myself: how did she become the person she is today? …We were a super team, she also had some subject ideas and it was a beautiful, intense time…”

Also, part of this year’s jury was our photographer, Professor Dr Nina Röder, from the Hamburg campus. She explains the background, why Sarah’s work in particular deserves this award and what significance she has achieved with her strong photographs.

Andra Schnebbe nominated for Vonovia Award

Vonovia Award

22.05.2021

We are so proud to announce that our photography student Andra Schnebbe has been nominated for the Vonovia Award, in the category Young Talent. The Vonovia Award is the most prestigious photography awards in Germany.

Congratulations Andra!

About Andra’s project: „For me, family is only a small part of my life. Important members are my grandma Ute, my older sister Tara and my mum Uta. Without them I would have no family. However, I also have a total of six cousins, a stepsister, stepmother, uncle, aunts, grandma, grandpa and a father. I only see them once or twice a year, though, because we’re not very close

I have the deepest, most emotional and strongest connection with my mum. That’s why I want to do this series together with my mum. I will focus on what we have already experienced together as well as how similar we look even though we’re still different. All pictures will all be taken from the same camera angle: eye level to the model, 90 degree angle and landscape format. To brighten up the rooms, I will use a softbox and bounce the flash off the ceiling.

I got the idea when I gave a presentation on Julia Fullerton-Batten‘s series „Mothers and Daughters“.

Through my series I want to express that everyone has someone in their family who they are close to and who is more important than anyone else. I also want to express that my mum is my anchor in my family and that without her I have no family feeling.“

Jennifer Lang wins bronze at ADC competition

Jennifer Lang wins bronze at ADC competition

05.06.2021

Graduate Jennifer Lang (Communication Design) wins bronze at this year’s ADC competition with her final thesis „Renewal – Limitless Lifetime“.

Task: “My bachelor project, „Renewal – Limitless Lifetime“, questions the possible influence of speculative design on major economic, political and social processes of the future. The focus is on the field of human enhancement, which deals with any improvement and optimisation of the human being as a process. Can speculative design influence debates, discussions and decisions on future technologies?”

Idea: “The organ trader renewal sells artificially produced organs. These organs are compatible with everyone and improve, as well as prolong, life. However, without a charge, paid for in the form of a monthly flat rate, the artificial organs would not work. The design aims to play with the imagination of the viewer. The organs are vacuum packed but despite their opaque packaging, they are still vividly recognisable. This leaves room for speculation.”

Solution: “The interactive experience through Renewal allowed me to confront people with a potential vision of the future. The focus of the design was to present the organs in a futuristic and clearly recognisable way to arouse immediate interest. The appealing idea of improving and prolonging life should be a source of inspiration. The subscription model and the horrendous costs of the organs, on the other hand, were intended to shock people and encourage them to think and act.”

Congratulations Jennifer Lang!

Max Arens - STERN scholarship for photography graduate

Success story: STERN scholarship for photography graduate

17.06.2021

Max Arens – one of our photography graduates from the winter semester 2019/2020 – has received the renowned one-year STERN scholarship. Every year, the STERN Editorial Office awards a scholarship to an outstanding photojournalist.

His final project „Independencia“ was supervised by Prof. Nina Röder and Prof. Gora Jain.

In the future, Max will photograph portraits and reportages for STERN magazine.

You can find his Instagram page here: @maxarens

We congratulate Max on this achievement!

Competition won: A university - a book

Competition won: A university - a book

02.07.2021

Our application video will give you the best impression of the project. A detailed description can be found on the website of the Stifterverband.

We are very happy to announce that UE has won the competition „A university – a book“ with its project: „The UE reads The Arrival of Shaun Tan“! The competition was announced by the Stifterverband and the Klaus Tschira Foundation in cooperation with the ZEIT publishing house. A panel of participants from the fields of culture, science and civil society selected ten universities, each of which will receive €10,000 in funding. The aim of the competition is to get all members of a university talking about a selected book and excited about a common theme.

UE’s Application

The UE application, coordinated by Dr. Thomas Gerdes, was prepared by a team of employees and students from all departments at the Hamburg site. Our competition entry, the graphic novel “The Arrival” by the Australian artist and writer Shaun Tan, was selected through a survey of all university members. In our application, we proposed a diverse programme of projects and events. These include photography and art projects, discussion events, reading groups, workshops and celebrations with refugees. We are also planning a cooperative project with the University of Hong Kong.

Our application video will give you the best impression of the project. A detailed description can be found on the website of the Stifterverband.

The Project

The implementation of the project is financed with the €10,000 prize money and will take place in the winter semester 2020/21 and in the summer semester 2021. In the coming weeks, a project team will work out the detailed plan of the programme with a calendar of events and a detailed project description; these will then be published on the UE website as soon as possible.

We would like to thank all students and staff members who supported the UE application, especially Prof. Dr. Jiré Gözen and Thessa Bähnke, who proposed “The Arrival” as UE’s contribution. Together with Prof. Dr. Angela Harre and Prof. Christian Meyer zu Ermgassen, both of them also made an important contribution to the application. A very special thank you goes to René Scharton for creating the application video!

If you have any questions about the project or are interested in working with us, please contact Dr. Thomas Gerdes: thomas.gerdes@ue-germany.com

Alma del Banco Prize

24.01.2020

On Friday, 24 January, the Alma del Banco Prize for the best thesis will be awarded for the second time at our campus in Hamburg as part of the bachelor’s exhibition and award ceremony. The prize is donated by the “Forum für Künstlernachlässe“, which is dedicated to the promotion of art, the care and preservation of cultural values and the support of artists in Hamburg and northern Germany.

Tina Ahrens (left), Suze Barrett (middle) and Stefanie Plappert (right) are part of the jury:

Tina Ahrens is the director of photography at Philosophie magazine in Germany and an independent visual consultant providing project management, visual concept and editorial development for corporate and editorial clients such as CNN Digital, GEO magazine and National Geographic.

Suze Barrett is a cover designer for the news magazine DER SPIEGEL. For many years she was Executive Creative Director at Scholz & Friends in Hamburg and Managing Director for the creation department of Scholz & Friends Switzerland in Zurich. Suze Barrett has won over 200 creative awards nationally and internationally.

Stefanie Plappert is a renowned theater-, film- and media-scientist as well as exhibition curator at the German Film Institute & Film Museum in Frankfurt. She has been responsible for several film exhibitions and is a member of the selection committee of the EMAF (European Media Art Festival).

Anne-Christin Plate wins ARTE

Anne-Christin Plate wins ARTE

12.12.2020

The University of Applied Sciences Europe warmly congratulates Anne-Christin Plate on winning ARTE’s “Grenzenlos” competition last week with her 5-minute short film “Iktamuli“.

Anne-Christine Plate started as a lecturer in 2008 and has been involved in our illustration programme since 2013. 

You can find more information here

GUS

Global University Systems received the award for ‘Private Education Group of the Year’

12.12.2019

At the Education Investor Awards 2019 in London – one of the biggest and most prestigious education industry awards ceremonies – Global University Systems (which we are a part of) received the award for ‘Private Education Group of the Year’ from Education Investor magazine.

This makes us very happy and is a recognition of our policy of putting students at the centre of everything we do – throughout our group.

ALMA DEL BANCO AWARD goes to Marianne Kjeldsen

17.07.2019

This year, the Alma del Banco award for the best thesis was awarded at campus Hamburg as part of the BA exhibition and awarding of certificates for the very first time. The winner is the young photographer Marianne Kjeldsen who convinced the jury with her photographic work and installation “Flaschengeist”.

Marianne’s father is a hero. At least that’s how he sees himself in the stories he tells his young daughter.

In her work “Flaschengeist”, Marianne again approaches the child she once was and the father of that time. She takes her father’s self-awareness as an all-rounder literally and stages him as a racing driver, swimming with the sharks, as a helmsman, as a man without fear. 

Dealing with her childhood turns into a cheeky tribute that leaves out any accusations.

This biographical work not only deals with an inner world but also courageously confronts a difficult reference person: one’s own father.

 “Flaschengeist” works with different dimensions. Marianne translates her father’s stories into two-dimensional photography and into three-dimensional objects that are positioned in space in such a way that they create references to the images. And she lets you guess her story behind her father’s stories.

The members of the jury reacted immediately when entering the room: With goose bumps and great joy.

We congratulate Marianne on her great success!

Alma del Banco was a German modernist painter and one of Hamburg’s most popular artists. She was born on 24 December 1863 into an assimilated Jewish merchant family in Hamburg and took her on life on 8 March 1943.

Her work as an artist and networker had a lasting influence on the Hamburg art scene. In 1919, she was a founding member of the Hamburg Secession and from 1920 a member of the Hamburg Artists Association. In 1931, she and other women founded the first German Zonta Club. From 1933, she was persecuted as an avant-gardist and a Jew. In 1933, the Hamburg artists excluded her from their community.

The prize was awarded in cooperation with the Forum für Künstlernachlässe Hamburg, which owns the estate of Alma del Banco. The aim is to anchor the remembrance and commemoration of important artistic personalities in the consciousness of young artists as an inspiring impulse.

The Power of Narratives in Video Games

Graduate receives award for pARkinson project

04.04.2019

Maren Demant, art & design graduate from Campus Berlin, won the pitch at the Audition of VISION.A, the digital conference of APOTHEKE ADHOC, with her start-up “Invisible Room” and her augmented reality application for Parkinson’s patients.

Her thesis in 2015 dealt with a virtual reality project. She has meanwhile established herself as an immersive experience designer and founded “Invisible Room”. The company creates software, games, virtual reality, augmented reality, 3D on the web and event concepts. 

Maren says about her start-up: “What particularly excites me about Immersive Experience is that it creates a feeling of presence. This means that I can actually put myself in another place or in another person or situation with the help of the medium.”

Your Augmented Reality application helps Parkinson’s patients when the “freezing” phenomenon occurs. Patients are paralyzed by a muscle block and cannot move any further. Maren’s AR application dissolves the blockage in Parkinson’s patients within seconds. Patients are shown stairs using 3D glasses. “The brain is tricked and stimulated to resume movement,” Maren reveals.

You can contact Maren Demant and Invisible Room on Linkedin and the homepage.

Would you like to work with virtual reality and augmented reality in the future? Then inform yourself about our study offers. Study communication designfilm and motion design or game design at the University of Applied Sciences Europe in Berlin, Hamburg or Iserlohn. 

Turning your passion for gaming into a career in Germany

Prof. Eric Jannot: Nomination for the most important prize of the German games industry

26.03.2019

Prof. Eric Jannot, Head of Game Design at Campus Hamburg, has been nominated for the German Computer Game Award 2019 in the category “Best Serious Game” with his game “Moving Tomorrow – a game about intercultural business competence”.

The German Computer Game Prize (DCP) is the most important prize of the German games industry and has been awarded by the German government and the industry association game since 2009. 

The selection criteria for the DCP are, among other things, fun and entertainment, artistic quality, innovative character and the educational and cultural aspirations of a game.

We keep our fingers crossed for Professor Jannot and his team and hope he can bring the prize to Hamburg!

Would you like to study Game Design? Find out more about the course here on our website!

Graduate Sophie Adamski wins New Talent Award

30.10.2018

Graduate and photographer Sophie Adamski received the New Talent Award 18/1 for her photo series “Plastics“, congratulations!

Society wants to be more polished and better – with the help of plastic she describes this kind of society in her pictures and questions the wishful thinking of a perfect world and apparent certainties.

Alumni win LensCulture Emerging Talent Awards 2018

30.10.2018

At the end of July, the Art & Design department hosted the major Re: Bachelor + Master exhibition on Campus Berlin.

Among the many graduates were Louise Amelie Müller & Aljaž Fuis from the study program Photography. In the exhibition, they presented their joint project “Sole Harlem“.  

Their photographic work not only inspired their professors and numerous guests at the exhibition, but also the jury for the LensCulture Emerging Talent Awards 2018. Their project “Sole Harlem” has been awarded for international and intercultural work.

In December, the work will be exhibited at the KLOMPCHING GALLERY in Brooklyn, New York City.  

Furthermore, the graduates won the German Photograph Book-Price 2018! The book will be exhibited in December during the Stuttgarter Book weeks. And from January 12th 2019 at Forum für Fotografie in Cologne.

We congratulate Louise Amelie Müller & Aljaž Fuis on their awards and upcoming exhibitions. For their future projects, we wish them continued success and look forward to many pictures.

Professor Carl Lygo wins “Outstanding Contribution by an Individual” Award

11.10.2018

Professor Carl Lygo, Executive Chair of the Board of Governors at University of Applied Sciences Europe (UE) and HTK Academy of Design, has been honoured with the “Outstanding Contribution by an Individual” award at the EducationInvestor Awards 2018.

Professor Carl Lygo was announced as the recipient of the Grand Prix category award during the annual EducationInvestor Awards ceremony held on Wednesday 3 October in London. This special award goes to the individual whose work has made the greatest difference to the British education system and the awardee is chosen by the Investor Publishing editorial team.

Reflecting on the honour, Professor Carl Lygo commented: “I am deeply honoured to receive this award from the industry, it means a lot to me. For the last year I have been working with outstanding people at the University of Applied Sciences in Europe, part of the Global University Systems (GUS) family. This has been by far the most rewarding and exciting work I have been involved in. I am looking forward to helping GUS achieve even greater success in the future.”

The EducationInvestor Awards are presented annually by EducationInvestor Global, the definitive source of financial and market intelligence for the world’s growing education markets. These awards recognise organisations and individuals that have made an outstanding contribution to education, promoting excellence and innovation in the private education sector.

Global Bioeconomy Summit 2018 - our students receive awards

26.04.2018

How do students imagine the future of bioeconomy? The answer was given in illustrated form at the Global Bioeconomy Summit 2018. Bioeconomy is about creating organic products for sustainable consumption.

The students worked passionately on this current and long-term issue, managed by Prof. Hans Baltzer. “It wasn’t easy for our students. Sometimes they were upset about their project, but they have learned a lot because so many topics are related to it,” says Prof. Hans Blatzer.

15 Illustrations were presented to 800 invited guests at the Global Bioeconomy Summit. The best three received awards. Among the winners were two of our students. One of them is Tali Teper, a visiting student from Israel. Alexis Stylianou, a student of communication design at the University of Applied Science Europe, won first place. Alexis on his current work: “I wanted to depict the concept of biosphere and how the concept of biosphere could eventually be developed to show how a city could exist inside of it without producing any waste.”

We congratulate our students on their excellent work.

Our graduate wins 1st prize at the Felix Schoeller Photo Award

04.11.2015

His photos deal with the social and familiar environment. What does home mean for the individual, how do you define memories, what sparks nostalgic feelings? Thomas Friedrich Schaefer creates photos that make you pause for a moment. Now he has been awarded the 1st prize at the Felix Schoeller Photo Award!

„Somehow you wish for this kind of accolade as a photographer“, says Schaefer about his award. „Although a jury is only a group of people, people like friends and colleagues, they rewarded my work based on their experience. It is my first award.“

Winner of the photography award Close Up! for up-and-coming talents 2014

Our student Xiomara Bender has been awarded the first price of the photography award Close Up! for up-and-coming talents by C/O Berlin and the 64th Berlinale. Congratulations!

Initiated by C/O Berlin, 13 young photographers tried to get the best shots of the red carpet at the 64th Berlinale, taking the role of professional photo journalists. They decided whether to take portraits of the celebrities, the ticket sellers or take a self-critical view of the event photography – each of the young photographers chose a specific topic they wanted to visualize.

The series was being viewed by a jury in February 2014 at C/O Berlin. Afterwards Dieter Kosslick, the projects patron, awarded UE student Xiomara Bender the first price, a Canon EOS 6D. In her series “Abrakadabra“ she documented the childlike anticipation for the film. If the film is good, one can feed on one’s personal pivotal moment. And as all the little ones will be adults in the future, for the photographers it’s the many small lights of the Berlinale, which make the film moments come alive.    

Xiomara Bender’s and all other participant’s photographs can be seen in an open-air exhibition at C/O Berlin until April 2014

Our Alumni designed the set of Grand Budapest Hotel

27.02.2015

Our Alumni Alexander Jacob is “a little bit Oscar-Winner” who co-designed the set of the award-winning comedy Budapest Hotel.

A little bit of red Carpet, a little bit of Hollywood, a little bit of golden glam: „Grand Budapest Hotel“, the visually stunning, grandiose costume comedy made by exceptional-talent Wes Anderson, is one of the biggest winners of  Academy Awards 2015 and was awarded with four Oscars.

The movie was honored with the Silver Bear already at Berlinale, as “best Comedy” at Golden Globe, with five BAFTA Awards, and now the highlight: the Oscar for film music, costumes, make-up and scenery. A “bit Oscar-Winner” is also our Alumni Alexander Jacob, who helped design the set in Görlitz.

„It was so extremely cold“, said Alexander in his Berlin dialect about his time in Görlitz in January 2013. Hollywood stars like Ralph Fiennes, Jeff Goldblum, Owen Wilson and Edward Norton came along, the film production lasted for three month. „We built and rebuilt the set all the time.“ Around 400 painters, carpenters, plasterers and designers created something which has now been honored with the Oscar in Los Angeles. “In the meantime we made movies with Clooney and ´The Hunger Games III´, The Book Thief´ and so many other movies– an Oscar movie comes along almost unnoticed.“

Winner of the St. Leopold Friedenspreis 2014

Our graduate Dominik Fleischmann won the St. Leopold Friedenspreis in October 2014.

The award is named after the convent and is meant for artwork dealing with humane and socio-political topics. There are no specifications as to how the artistic works have to be realized. However, the content should make people think. Mottos are often taken from the Bible such as the one of the year 2014 which was “I am the guardian of my brother? from the Book Genesis, chapter 4, verse 8.

The first price was awarded to Peter Müller for his creation called „Funny Games“, made from videos taken by security cameras installed within the Berlin Underground System. It shows two teenagers beating up a man for no reason. People standing around did not intervene. Their fear was greater than their courage. By abstracting the still image he managed to visualize the aggression and fear. He used wood to emphasize that this behavior is part of human nature.

Sponsorship prizes were awarded to the photographers Willy Puchner and Dominik Fleischmann. For many years Willy Puchner has been exploring all aspects of age. His work „Dialog mit dem Alter“ is an emotional series of images showing old people hugging and loving each other. The second work by Dominik Fleischmann is called „Lakew II“ and is part of the „Leaves of Grass – Söhne und Töchter Äthiopiens“ series. He focuses on the life of people and their social conditions in all parts of the world. His work shows a sleeping watchman in the foggy Simien-Mountains in the highlands of Ethiopia.

Winner of the LISTROS poster competition

Congratulations go to Dominik Fleischmann and Julia Lachmann! They’re the winners of the LISTROS DAY 2012 poster competition. LISTROS is an annual event for promoting enhanced youth education in Ethiopia. The competition was organized jointly by University of Applied Sciences Europe and the University of Fine Arts and Design in Addis Abeba.

Even the hanging up of the winning posters all over Addis Abeba was a real joint effort by our students, Dawit and Regime von Listros, students in Addis Abeba, and friends. Together with Professor Hans-Hendrik Grimmling, a handful of our students traveled to Ethiopia for the launch. After all, it’s not every day that you get to see your own designs hanging up in the city.

Winner of the Portfolio Review

Our exchange student from Korea, Jung A Kim, won first place at Portfolio Review for the Month of Photography award. Portfolio Review regularly takes place and enables photography students in advanced semesters, as well as freelance photographers and photographic artists, to present their work to roughly 40 renowned experts from all over the world. In the end, a five-person jury chooses the three best portfolios.

You can see the work by winner Jung A Kim in a solo exhibition at dat Galerie from February 13th to March 7th, 2015. By the way: This year’s winner especially liked the inspiring atmosphere at University of Europe for Applied Sciences (UE)’s Portfolio Review.

Prof. Yang Liu

Red Dot for our Professor Yang Liu

We’re delighted that our colleague Yang Liu has been distinguished with the coveted Red Dot Design Award! For her award-winning signposting system in Dresden’s Albertinum, she combined neon and metal lettering. The Neo-Renaissance building is today a museum, home to the sculpture collection and the New Masters Gallery of Dresden’s public art collection. In light of this, our Professor Yang Liu’s signposting system unites the modern interior design of Volker Staabs with the historical building from the 19th century.

Winner of the German Youth Photo Award

We congratulate Cedric Vilim for winning the 2010 German Youth Photo Award! He was able to win over the jury in the special category “Wonderland” with his term paper on art photography, under Professor Matthias Leupold. For his series “Hold on – Nothing new in the East”, he photographed the architectonic characteristics of the former GDR along Germany’s Baltic Sea coast – they being a symbol of the “not wanting to let go” mentality of the people who live there.

He used a twin-lens, mid-format camera, scanned the 6 x 6 colored negatives, and then completed a slight color correction on them. Cedric has been studying Communication Design at University of Europe for Applied Sciences (UE) since 2007. With this series, he wanted to show the discrepancy between Germany’s celebrated reunification in the press and its divide in reality.

Nominated for the INDEX: Award 2013

University of Europe for Applied Sciences (UE)’s Assistant Professor Martin Backes has been nominated for the INDEX: Award, the world’s biggest design award. His work “Pixelhead”, a grainy mask that you can actually put on, reminds us of the important role that art plays in today’s discussion on data protection and anonymity.

The topic is controversial, polarizes, and forces us to think about our own place in the digital world. Because everything that is not supposed to be in the public domain will be systematically made to feature a grainy look – just like the design in “Pixelhead”. This foreign, parallel world is at the heart of Martin Backes’ artistic project, who teaches Sound Design at our university.

Prof. Volker Pook

Red Dot Award for book design

  • Congratulations to our Professor Volker Pook and our student Cedric Vilim for their third design award! Their book design for the volume “Art as a Negation” by Lars Mextorf has now won the Red Dot Award, too, following the gold award from Berliner Type and the Certificate of Typographic Excellence from Type Directors Club.
  • More than 100 drafts and an entire year of work went into the unique publication, which focuses on the topic of Minimal Art – reflecting reduction, objectivity, and schematic clarity. This can be seen, for example, in the white cover, which features striking, neon-red lettering, as well as in the consistently two-toned design, and in the clear typography. 
Prof. Yang Liu

Book award and award ceremony in Shanghai

“China’s most beautiful book from 2007 to 2009”: our Professor Yang Liu is happy to receive the award for the design of the book “3000 years of Chinese publication history”. The festive award ceremony took place in Shanghai.

The design of this extraordinary book was also honored with the Red Dot Design Award 2010.

Born in Beijing, designer Yang Liu has been a professor at University of Europe for Applied Sciences (UE) since 2010. Her work has won several renowned design awards. 

Silver from the Las Vegas Indie Film Festival

University of Europe for Applied Sciences (UE)’s Assistant Professor James Higginson has been honored for his experimental film “Willful Blindness” with the silver award in the category “Best editing” at the 2012 VEGAS INDIE FILM FEST! The winning films at this international festival were shown in major and alternative movie theaters across the globe.

“Willful Blindness” tells the hypnotizing tale of a man who drags himself home after being shot at. The artist intertwines the stories of three people, without the use of words or a clear timeline, mixing old memories with the present, and dreams with reality. 

Merit Award for “Willful Blindness”

After winning at the 2012 VEGAS INDIE FILM FEST!, the experimental film “Willful Blindness” has now received the Merit Award at LIFF, the Lucerne International Film Festival. At the screening in the public pool in Lucerne, the audience could dive into the kaleidoscopic roller-coaster ride of three figures in the movie and go on an impressive journey to the existential questions and decisions surrounding our own survival. The movie’s concept took artist and University of Europe for Applied Sciences (UE) Assistant Professor James Higginson to his limit, thus ensuring lots of inspiration and discussion at the party that followed. 

Prof. Andrej Glusgold

Finalist for the Felix Schöller Photo Award

The photographs by our Professor Andrey Glusgold have been distinguished with the 2013 Felix Schöller Photo Award in the category “Landscapes”. The ceremony took place at Osnabrueck’s cultural-historical museum, where they are also on exhibit. 

Andrej Glusgold sees his photographs as a way of communicating with the soul. In addition to pure aesthetics and intellect, he is interested above all in the psyche’s inner landscapes and hidden mechanisms. Andrej’s work has already appeared in several international publications and has been exhibited several times – from Los Angeles to Berlin. 

Prof. Matthias Leupold

Best Photographer of the Year

We’re delighted that our Professor Matthias Leupold has won bronze as Best Photographer of the Year 2008 at the Lianzhou Photo Festival in China. In addition to contemporary Chinese photography, works from select international photographers are also put on display there.  

Matthias Leupold is a freelance photo artist who also works in the areas of Media and Industry. He has been Professor for artistic photography and digital image media at our university in Berlin since 2007. In his series of works, he probes the ways that series appear and their connection to society


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