Wolfgang Ritter Foundation awards scholarships to six international PhD students at Constructor University
Six Constructor University PhD students from six different countries have been awarded scholarships from Bremen’s Wolfgang Ritter Foundation to support their doctoral research. Yelyzaveta Makedon, Dzmitry Rumiantsau, Ayush Kant Ranga, Anna Sinelnikova, Mastewal Bitew and Alice Cimenti are the latest recipients of the funding program for international PhD students, which provides financial support to enable students to fully concentrate on the final phases of their PhD projects.
The Wolfgang Ritter Foundation is one of Bremen’s largest science-oriented foundations, providing numerous awards, scholarships and funding opportunities for young scientists and graduate-level research. Best known for awarding the annual Wolfgang Ritter Prize – one of the most highly endowed awards for scientific achievements in business administration and economics – the foundation has partnered with Constructor University since 2017 to promote emerging international research talent, funding more than 60 PhD students through the scholarship program in that time.
“Constructor University stands for diversity and academic excellence,” said Alexander Witte, Managing Partner of the Wolfgang Ritter Foundation. “With our scholarships for doctoral candidates, we aim to support dedicated early-career researchers—so that a person's background or financial means do not determine their path in research, but rather their talent, curiosity and potential.”
Recognizing research, accelerating excellence
For recipients, the value of the scholarship is two-fold: it provides meaningful recognition of their research, as well as crucial financial support that enables them to fully dedicate themselves to completing their PhD projects.
“At this crucial stage of my doctoral research, the financial support provides essential stability, allowing me to dedicate my full focus to completing my thesis and finalizing multiple research manuscripts,” said Ayush Kant Ranga, whose physics research into organic semiconductors could lead to more durable and flexible solar technologies. “The foundation’s support not only eases a significant financial burden but also strengthens my ability to bring my research to a rigorous and timely completion.”
Others described the recognition as a vote of confidence in their careers and standing as academic researchers.
“The Foundation’s support during this critical period will enable me to focus on delivering high-quality results, which is doubly important for my academic career and allows me to make a more impactful contribution to the scientific community,” said Computational Systems Biology PhD student Dzmitry Rumiantsau.
Biochemistry PhD candidate Yelyzaveta Makedon echoed the sentiment, describing the scholarship as “more than just financial assistance.”
“It is an opportunity to grow as an independent researcher within Germany’s vibrant scientific community,” she explained. “Knowing that the Foundation invests in my work inspires me to continue my research with dedication and curiosity.”
Research for health, sustainability and social change
While the research projects of the six scholarship recipients span diverse academic fields – including sociology, physics, biochemistry and computational systems biology – they also reflect a shared commitment to advancing value-oriented topics and solutions.
Alice Cimenti and Anna Sinelnikova are each researching social issues pertaining to diversity and inclusion. While Cimenti’s project focuses on changing attitudes towards diversity among adolescents in Italy, Sinelnikova is exploring the effect of war and authoritarianism on diversity and inclusion discourses in Russia. Similarly, Mastewal Bitew has dedicated his research to furthering understanding and awareness of the distinct identity and experience of Ethiopian Jews in Ethiopia.
Both Cimenti and Bitew are affiliated with the Bremen International Graduate School of Social Sciences (BIGSSS). The BIGSSS program unites outstanding areas of graduate education and research between the University of Bremen and Constructor University into a synergistic inter-university institution.
In the natural sciences, the research projects of both Dzmitry Rumiantsau and Yelyzaveta Makedon could lead to improved treatments and outcomes for human health and medicine, while Ayush Kant Ranga’s work could promote further advancements in solar energy and high-efficiency lighting technologies.
As the funding partnership between Constructor University and Wolfgang Ritter Foundation approaches its tenth year, the program underscores the shared commitment of both organizations to promoting Bremen as a regional and international hub for the advancement of science, technology and higher learning.