The 2019 DAAD Award from Macromedia University was given to 5th semester Bachelor’s student, Olcan Hiller. With a value of 1,000 euros, Olcan received the honor for his outstanding commitment on the Macromedia Berlin Campus. Congratulations on your dedication to student and campus life!
Olcan, who comes from Galway, Ireland, started at Macromedia in the summer of 2017. He will begin his 5th semester as a Media and Communications Management student this coming October. As a non-traditional student at the age of 31, Olcan has made it his goal to help fellow internationals integrate and feel at home at Macromedia. He works as a tutor giving private lessons, but also fills in as a T.A. for a number of Macromedia’s Berlin Campus’s courses. In addition, Olcan is also a ‘Kurssprecher’, or representative, for his class – a key role that helps give a voice to students.
When asked about Olcan, Media Management professor, Dr. Astrid Friese, said, “Olcan Hiller has a strong social competence and had already shown his commitment to improving student life in the first few weeks after enrolling at Macromedia University. His fellow international students, who have to get used to the German university standards, are particularly close to his heart."
While still in Ireland, Olcan was already committed to social issues and simply continued that commitment after his move to Berlin. In Ireland, he volunteered to lead a workshop at a local radio station to teach young refugees how to record and produce their own podcasts. Olcan also took part in an initiative that produces maps of crisis areas that can be used to warn of local danger zones. We are delighted that he is a member of the Macromedia community.
The DAAD Prize honors outstanding achievements of foreign students at German universities. It has been awarded for more than ten years as part of the STIBET program. Each university is allowed to award the prize once a year. The 2018 winner at Macromedia was Prerna Lahiri from India, and in 2017 the Mexican José Alberto Espinosa Fernández received the award.
For further information on Media and Communication Management (M.A.) please click here.
(Translated by Rosie Hall)