University Of Göttingen Student Receives Award

Ronja Härdtner, student on the “International Nature Conservation” (MINC) Master’s programme at the University of Göttingen has been awarded first place in the “Welcome to New Zealand Scholarship”. This scholarship, provided by the New Zealand government, supports German students who are planning to study in New Zealand. The jury praised Härdtner’s application as the “strongest application” amongst 300 competitors. The award consists of 8,000 euros.

“Ronja Härdtner is a student with an excellent track record,” says Professor Matthias Waltert, Director of MINC. As part of her studies, the Master’s student investigated the influence of anti-poaching measures on the behaviour of rhinos in Botswana and worked on the protection of the Angolan colobus monkey in Kenya, as well as primates and tapirs in Peru. She is also involved in conservation on a personal level: in Kenya, she founded an NGO that awards scholarships to conservation students.

For her double degree Master’s, Härdtner will continue her studies at Lincoln University in February 2023 to learn about conservation strategies in another region of the world. “We warmly congratulate Ronja on her scholarship and wish her a wonderful time studying in New Zealand,” says Waltert.