Recognizing and Promoting Talents

In 2023, the Dean's List at RWTH Aachen University celebrates its 15th anniversary. We want to take this opportunity to expand the program and connect students and graduates who were on the Dean's List in the past with current and future Dean’s List students. “We started the Dean's List back then because we wanted to bring it home to the best students how good they are. We also wanted to support them in developing their talents and abilities,“ said Professor Aloys Krieg, Vice-Rector for Teaching and Learning.

The Dean's List program has been recognizing the best students at RWTH every year for about 15 years now. This makes RWTH the only university in Germany to use this support tool across all departments and student cohorts in order to recognize, nurture, and promote talents at an early stage. The Dean's List has been steadily evolving since its inception. Since 2014, awards have been presented not only to the top three percent but to the top five percent of students in each cohort. In addition, the workshop offerings and the range of activities in collaboration with research and industry have been – and will continue to be – expanded and developed in order to prepare Dean's List students for their careers and the wide range of opportunities that lie ahead. “We place great emphasis on contacts with companies and research institutions, so that high potentials can find each other early on,” says Anja Robert.

Building an Active Network

On the occasion of the anniversary, a digital platform is being created where former and current students on the Dean's List can meet. The goal is to facilitate interaction between Dean's List students and Dean's List alums. In order to be able to achieve this goal, the RWTH Career Center is creating a database that will include not only current Dean's List honorees but also all former top performers of past years. "We want to know what happened to these talented students: Where are they now, what are they doing, and what advice would they give younger people?" said Dean's List coordinator Lea Hummel. To turn this idea into reality, we need your assistance!

Here's how you can help:

Were you on the Dean's List at some time during your studies? Are you interested in becoming part of a network between current and former Dean's List students? Is there something you want to share about your time on the Dean's List, your career path, or your experiences in general? Would you like to serve as a role model for students or be available as a mentor? If so, please feel free to email your first and last name and the year(s) you were on the Dean's List to: deanslist@rwth-aachen.de.