Thanks to our University website, Facebook and my mother, most of my close family and friends, apart from many strangers are aware of me having received it a couple of months ago. With congratulations and wishes still trickling in, its high time I shed some light on what it’s all about.
DAAD is short for 'Deutscher Akademischer Austausch Dienst' - 'German Academic Exchange Service' in English. It is a body constituted by institutes of higher education in Germany, whose purpose is to promote and support education and academic relations. In short, if you are considering studying here and wondering whom to ask about it, look no further. DAADy knows it all! In fact, my quest to pursue Masters in Germany started with a colleague telling me about its website. Apart from providing necessary information, they motivate academic achievers with scholarships and prizes.
I got the first hints of the ‘good news’ when our Program Manager at the University indicated ‘something positive’ that awaits me in the coming days, but would say no further, lest she spoil the pleasant surprise. You see, women have this habit of slipping a tiny worm into your ears and letting it chew up your brain! I mean, why not just let it be a surprise all together?! Anyways, the semester exams being round the corner, the heavy traffic of theories, equations and numericals through my neurons left no room for worms and I got on with the final lap of the course work. A couple of weeks later, it was official. An email from the Graduate School Office informed me about having been nominated by the university for the DAAD Best Foreign Student Award for the year 2010-11. My above-average academic performance, contribution as a Speaker of my class, a Student Representative in the Faculty Council and the Study Fee Committee were stated as the deciding factors for my nomination. The prize would be formally handed over during the Graduation Ceremony for the Summer Semester in about a month’s time. The privilege was quite unexpected, but an uncoordinated physical and verbal outburst was justified!
Seated in the second row of the town hall - 'Neckar Forum', I tried to get used to my suit, having worn it only once before in a trial room. After a series of speeches by the dignitaries, the prize distribution ceremony finally got under way. When my name was called out, I calmly walked up to the podium, received my certificate and joined the other awardees on the stage. A loud applause that followed resonated with my now rapid heartbeat, as I pretended to feel at home, facing the packed auditorium of 800+ spectators. I felt elated by this honour and dedicated the prize to my late grandfather who had helped me follow my German Dream. That day, the 29th of July coincidentally happened to be his birthday.
My mother almost fell off her chair laughing when I showed her the the DAAD ‘Urkunde’ (‘Certificate’ in German) over Skype, as it sounds quite hilarious in our regional language! All the same, she and rest of my family were very proud of their ward and word soon spread from mouth-to-ear-to-mouth. Mom had wishes for me from someone or the other, each time I called her. A news item appeared in a local Konkani newspaper in Mangalore and a mention was made in a family blog. A friend who happened to see the news item on my college website shared the link on facebook and so my ‘friends’, and their friends, and their friends… got an update. The aspiring applicants to my university also visited this webpage and I receive queries even to this day! Apart from this recognition, the award brought with it a substantial cash prize and more importantly, a valuable entry in my resume!
I am definitely not the most humble person and am quite proud of making my mark in this foreign land. However I genuinely feel that it would not have been possible without the support of my family, the blessings of my elders and of course the grace of the Almighty. Besides, a lot remains to be done and it is now time to eye the next strike at the ever moving goal-post.
