Typical Student Life…

… was the theme of the 2023 ABSOLVENTUM Photo Contest, as voted for by a large majority of Mannheim students in a poll on Instagram. Following the poll, students had from February to April to find their favorite photos and submit them to the alumni network. It didn’t matter whether it was a carefully planned composition or a chance snapshot, the main thing was that each entry should depict everyday student life.

Learning, partying, living: The entries span an impressive range of typical student experiences: feelings of concentration and elation, incredible freedom and intense pressure, ravioli with butter and caffeine highs.

The ABSOLVENTUM team launched the photo contest back in 2018 to bring more art to the university. Now, after a three-year hiatus due to the pandemic, the contest is back. “We think it’s great and inspiring that we received such impressive entries again this year from across a whole host of departments,” said Christian Haas, Director of ABSOLVENTUM. The judges, chaired by the Reiss-Engelhorn Museums’ photography expert Professor Claude W. Sui, awarded prizes with a total value of 1,750 euros to Verena Weihberg (B.A. Sociology, first place), Jonas Masih (MMM, second place), and Nina Nikola Friedrich (M.A. Psychology, third place). The contest was made possible by the support of the Heinrich Vetter Foundation.

For anyone interested, the photos will be exhibited from 12 December 2023 outside the President’s Office on the ground floor of the east wing of the Schloss.

Text: Editorial team/December 2023