"A graduation ceremony is a milestone where we celebrate your success, commitment and achievements. You have laid the foundations for making a professional impact on the health and well-being of others. You have learned the importance of teamwork, dedication and personal commitment. These qualities are crucial to your success at work and as a responsible member of society. The areas of health and sport are of central importance. You have a responsibility to drive innovation, improve healthcare and highlight the importance of sport and exercise in our society. I am convinced that as graduates of the TUM School of Medicine and Health, you will have a lasting and positive impact on the world. We are proud to celebrate you here today." With these words, Prof. Dr. Gerhard Kramer, Vice President for Research and Innovation at the Technical University of Munich (TUM), welcomed the graduates of the Department Health and Sport Sciences.
On Thursday, February 8, 2024, the Department celebrated this year's graduation in BayWa Lecture Hall 1 of the TUM Campus in the Olympic Park. 18 doctorates, 96 master's theses, 341 bachelor's theses and 178 admission theses (teaching degree) were successfully completed in 2023.
"I look into many satisfied and happy faces and congratulate you all on your graduation," said Prof. Dr. Stephanie E. Combs, Dean of the TUM School of Medicine and Health, in her welcoming address. "Last year, we founded the TUM School of Medicine and Health, which represents the merger of the Faculties of Medicine and Sport and Health Sciences. Two pieces of the puzzle have come together here in an outstanding way. As Dean of this TUM School, I am delighted to be able to share this day with you. I wish you all the best for the future and I am sure that you will go your own way." Prof. Dr. Joachim Hermsdörfer, Head of the Department Health and Sport Sciences, added: "This Campus is a place where we combine research, teaching and practice. I am therefore delighted that we are able to bid farewell to our graduates today, who have completed their research, teaching and practice in this very place."
As the new Vice Dean Academic and Student Affairs of the TUM School of Medicine and Health, Prof. Dr. Pascal Berberat was able to bid farewell to the more than 600 graduates and told them to enjoy the day: "Today is a very important day for you! It is a privilege for me to be able to accompany young people like you at such an important stage in your lives. Sport and health are not just about success, but also about togetherness, discipline and perseverance. Sport helps to shape character. It is a school for life, especially in this early phase of life. And issues of care and prevention are still neglected in our system. They will take on important tasks in our society in the future. So try to maintain your fire and enthusiasm!"
Dr. Gertrude Krombholz Prize
The Dr. Gertrude Krombholz Prize was awarded for the 26th time, recognizing the best scientific work in the field of sport and health sciences that combines theory and practice in an outstanding way. A total of 20 papers were submitted. The jury, consisting of the founder Dr. Gertrude Krombholz as well as Prof. Dr. Ansgar Schwirtz, Prof. Dr. Joachim Hermsdörfer and Prof. Dr. Martin Lames, selected Adwait Sadwilkar and Laura Stetter (Master's thesis) as well as Lisa Reitel and Josephina Ruf (both Bachelor's theses) as the award winners. The graduates each received 500 euros.
Dr. Markus Zimmer, former national sports physician of the National Paralympic Committee Germany, stood in for Dr. Gertrude Krombholz, who was unable to attend. As a doctor and later orthopaedic surgeon, Dr. Zimmer initially developed the classification for wheelchair dance and then provided medical support for the international establishment of today's paradance. He also played an advisory role in the creation of the Dr. Gertrude Krombholz Foundation.
Prof. Dr. Felix Ehrlenspiel then honored and bid farewell to the Department's 18 PhD students. In their PhD theses, they dealt with topics such as "Performance Analysis in Table Tennis", "Connect2Move - New ways of promoting health in the Alps", "Opportunities and challenges for digital interventions in the prevention of depression" and "Better learning in the outdoors? Social, motivational and health-related aspects in Education Outside the Classroom".
Prof. Dr. Pascal Berberat and Prof. Dr. Karsten Köhler, Academic Program Director for the Sport Sciences degree program, then bid farewell to the graduates. In his speech, Prof. Köhler emphasized that "studying is always associated with challenges, such as moving to a new city, new lectures or compulsory attendance". However, he also pointed out that the graduates of the class of 2023 also had to deal with the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic: "You started studying in the midst of a global pandemic. It was studying under difficult conditions. But they learned to adapt to the new circumstances. They still managed to perform at their best. They are therefore predestined to be interdisciplinary players. You are resilient and adaptable, and with these qualities you are ideally equipped."
The two show acts that were performed between the individual items on the Absolvia program made it clear that sport and health sciences means practice as well as theory. It started with the two acrobats Franziska Stark and Mark Arnhold who showed off their skills under the direction of Frank Grob, Head of Gymnastics and Movement Arts at the Department. Later on, three boys and six girls from USC Munich made their grand entrance under the direction of Jennifer Grob and demonstrated their outstanding skills in floor gymnastics.
The Department's student council bid farewell to six long-serving members of staff: Lukas Bulitta, Regina Deuring, Klaus Haggenmüller, Mika Jos Jacobs, Axel Schmidt and Isabel Uphoff. After the graduation ceremony, the Department invited all graduates and their parents and friends to a champagne reception in the gymnastics and dance hall of the TUM Campus in the Olympic Park.
Contact:
Dean’s Office
TUM School of Medicine and Health
Department Health and Sport Sciences
Georg-Brauchle Ring 60/62
80992 München
phone: 089 289 24601
e-mail: deans.office(at)mh.tum.de
Text: Romy Schwaiger
Photos: Bastian Daneyko