Award winner

Zimbabwe Dr. Locardia Shayamunda

Dr. Locardia Shayamunda of Zimbabwe was awarded the 15th Peter Hünermann Prize by the KAAD Foundation in 2025 for her social-based commitment to justice and peace, as well as for her work in the field of environmental science. Her work combines issues of sustainable development with education, human rights, and participation, and includes projects on climate adaptation, rural development, and the empowerment of local communities.

Since her return to Zimbabwe, Locardia Shayamunda has also been a key contact for the KAAD network in the country.

Argentina Prof. Dr. Guillermo Kerz and Dr. Ana María Bonet

Guillermo Kerz is Vice Rector for Academic Affairs at the Universidad Católica de Santa Fe in Argentina and is shaping the field of public health through international networking. He played a key role in founding the “Salud Global” alumni group and supports the reintegration of Argentine KAAD alumni who have completed the Heidelberg Master’s program in “International Health” and work at UCSF for several years after their return. Ana María Bonet conducts research at the Argentine National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET) and teaches law at the Instituto de Humanidades y Ciencias Sociales del Litoral in Santa Fe.” Together, the two award recipients contribute to promoting academic life in the Santa Fe region and strengthening KAAD’s international networks between Argentina, Latin America, and Germany.

Ukraine Prof. Dr. Oleh Turiy

For more than twenty years, he has been a reliable partner for KAAD in Ukraine.

India Prof. Dr. Babu Thaliath

The Germanist and philosopher was honored for his outstanding academic work in the fields of epistemology and aesthetics, particularly for his studies of mechanical philosophy and its transition into modern natural sciences. Babu Thaliath completed his doctorate with a KAAD fellowship in Freiburg and Basel. This was followed by research stays in Cambridge and Berlin. At Christ College in Bangalore, India, he developed a new doctoral program. Since 2013, he has been a professor of German studies and philosophy at Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi, India.

Lebanon Lebanon Partner Committee

The 2022 award was presented to four Lebanese partners of KAAD. This marks the second time that an association within the KAAD network, the Lebanon Partner Committee, has been honored. Professors Dr. Ziad Fahed , Dr. Roula Talhouk , and Dr. Souad Slim , together with Reverend Dr. Jules Boutros , are active members of this partner committee.

Kenya Dr. Constansia Mumma-Martinon

She has served for many years as vice president of the Kenyan KAAD partner organization.

Paraguay Dr. Lauro Sitzmann

Born in 1957, Lauro Sitzmann has made significant contributions to the healthcare system in the rural south of his native Paraguay by establishing a cooperative healthcare and insurance system, as well as training opportunities for it, ensuring that all segments of the population, especially the most vulnerable, are included. Following his KAAD fellowship in the mid-1980s, he was also a member of the former KAAD partner committee for Paraguay in the 1990s. He has consistently supported our work and, in recent years, has been actively involved in networking KAAD health scientists within the framework of specialist groups.

His projects centered on the “Sanatorio Alemán” were also the subject of a WDR documentary. Prof.”

Myanmar MyanKAAD

With the awarding of the prize to the Myanmar alumni association “MyanKAAD,” the honor was bestowed for the first time not on an individual but on a group.

Poland Dr. Rafal Dutkiewicz

Rafal Dutkiewicz was one of the very first recipients of a scholarship under our new Eastern Europe program in 1990, 91. Originally a doctor of logic, his political achievements lie primarily in his work to deepen Poland’s integration into the EU, to preserve the cultural memory of his city, Wrocław, and to promote civil society in Poland. In 2017, he was also awarded the prestigious German National Prize.

Bolivia Dr. Franz-Peter Freudenthal

His inventions and innovations in the field of cardiac implants for children have saved the lives of thousands of people, not only at the “Cardiac Center” he founded in his hometown of La Paz. Franz-Peter Freudenthal was a KAAD scholarship recipient between 1993 and 1996 and laid the groundwork for his later research at RWTH Aachen University. Franz-Peter Freudenthal combined inventive spirit with technical expertise. The education he received in Germany fostered his talent and led him to continue his research in Bolivia. His achievements in medical technology and cardiology are not expensive European high-tech solutions, but rather combine Andean craft traditions with modern medical technology.

Zimbabwe Misheck Masamvu

Misheck Masamvu , a painter originally from Zimbabwe who works there, is the first artist to be awarded the Peter Hünermann Foundation Prize. Masamvu was born in 1980 in the mining village of Penhalonga, studied first at the “Atelier Delta” in Harare, and then, from 2005 to 2007, at the Munich Academy of Fine Arts on a KAAD scholarship., the Venice and São Paulo Biennales), and actively supports young talent in Southern Africa, for example through the artist studios at “Village Unho,” which he established together with his wife Gina.

Palestine Dr. Hiyam Marzouqa

In the 1990s, Hiyam Marzouqa specialized in pediatric intensive care medicine with the help of a KAAD scholarship. In 1994, she returned to Bethlehem as a specialist.

Since then, she has been committed to improving healthcare for the most vulnerable in a politically challenging environment, an effort that is also recognized as a contribution to peace in a conflict-ridden region.

With her medical expertise, her persistent dedication, and her tactful and caring manner, she has earned the hospital the highest respect.

Georgia Dr. Vaja Vardidze

” Under his leadership, the institute received the status of a state-recognized and accredited university in 2009.

As president of the partner committee, Dr. Vardidze assisted numerous applicants with their applications on site, serves as an advisor to the KAAD in the selection of candidates, and also looks after the alumni community in Georgia.”

Ethiopia Elias Lewi Teklemariam, Ph.D. (Engineering)

Elias Lewi was a KAAD doctoral fellow until 1997. He earned his doctorate in geophysics from the Technical University of Darmstadt with a “summa cum laude” distinction and returned to Ethiopia in 1998. After several years as a co-owner of a company specializing in geodetic surveys, he accepted a position as a lecturer at TU Darmstadt in 2001. In 2006, he moved back to Ethiopia permanently; since then, he has been teaching at Addis Ababa University (AAU) and conducting research at the AAU Geophysical Observatory. Elias Lewi emphasizes that his decision to return to Ethiopia stemmed from a “commitment” to his homeland, even though he would have had other opportunities in Europe or North America after his time working in Germany.

Indonesia Stephanus Mulyadi †

Today, many people in the Cicalap region, one of the poorest in Java, are reaping the benefits of his studies.

Together with KONTAK, he launched a so-called “goat scholarship” that helps disadvantaged students from Cilacap while also teaching them to become responsible individuals: goats are entrusted to the students, who care for them. Some of the offspring are accepted as payment in lieu of tuition. Other young goats are passed on to younger students, ensuring the project is self-sustaining. In all these activities, Stephanus Mulyadi utilized and expanded the contacts and networks he had established in Germany in a particularly exemplary manner for the benefit of the local population.

Stephanus Mulyadi passed away completely unexpectedly in March 2022 at the age of only 55.