Even during her school years, Jenny Hofmann developed a passion for mathematics and physics - two subjects that continue to inspire her to this day. She is particularly fascinated by the medical applications of technology. For this reason, she chose to study Biomedical Engineering at TU Ilmenau, complementing her degree with internships in industry and an Erasmus semester at the University of Tampere in Finland. From 2021 to 2025, she was a scholarship holder of the Hanns Seidel Foundation. After graduating with distinction in her bachelor’s degree, she is currently continuing her studies in a master’s program with a focus on Radiological Technology and Radiation Protection.
From a young age, Jenny Hofmann was also actively involved in her community and took on responsibility - whether as an associate board member of the Nassach rural youth association or in children’s work within her local church community. Since beginning her studies, she has been engaged in the Ilmenau regional group of "Engineers Without Borders," an organization that implements projects worldwide to improve access to water, sanitation, and electricity. There, she primarily contributes her skills to public relations and fundraising in order to support sustainable initiatives.
In his keynote address at the ceremony, University President Prof. Kai-Uwe Sattler encouraged students to take on such meaningful responsibilities even after graduation - not only to earn a living, but also to make a difference:
Take this optimistic, cosmopolitan and positive mood of our campus university with you!
Representing all graduates, Isabel Eulenberger, who completed her master’s degree in Biotechnical Chemistry, also addressed the audience:
The graduation we are celebrating today is [...] not an endpoint. It is a qualification and at the same time a responsibility. The responsibility to remain critical, to work with scientific rigor, and to ask questions - even when they are uncomfortable.
She explained that her studies had enabled both her and her fellow students not only to gain a comprehensive academic education, but also to grow personally:
We are taking more than just subject knowledge from these studies. We are taking with us an attitude. A way of thinking. The openness to endure questions even when the answers are not yet there. The insight that mistakes are not an end, but part of a process that shapes us - both professionally and personally. If we preserve this attitude, this degree becomes more than a title. It becomes a promise to ourselves: to remain curious, to take responsibility, and not to lose the courage to keep moving forward, even when the next step still seems uncertain or out of reach.
