Rector Prof. Ursula M. Staudinger and Chancellor Dr. Andreas Handschuh gave a warm welcome to the Olympians on their behalf: "You both are showing that you can be very successful in sports as well as in your studies. We are very happy about your success."As a small gift, Tina Punzel (Olympic bronze medal in synchronised diving and student of economics) and Tom Liebscher received TUD backpacks filled with many useful little things.

The two athletes and the chancellor equally emphasised how important the support of the university and the respective faculty is in reconciling high-performance sport and studies. "Together with the faculties, we strive to make generous arrangements here, for example by offering part-time study or semesters off," explained Chancellor Andreas Handschuh.

Since the 2018/19 winter semester, TU Dresden has also been one of the few universities in Germany to award eight sports scholarships every year. "The scholarship holders are to be supported even better in achieving their sporting and academic achievements with this targeted help," emphasises the chancellor, under whose patronage the sports scholarship lies. After all, the double burden of studying and training is often compounded by the financial burden of competition fees and sports equipment. In view of the already scarce time, they cannot simply be compensated for with part-time jobs.

Aspiring transport engineer praises support from TU Dresden and its faculty

The now two-time Olympic champion Tom Liebscher has been enjoying this scholarship since 2019: "You have to say it like it is: for me, the TU Dresden sports scholarship is both financial security and a reward for my sporting and university achievements. I also particularly appreciate the contacts that the scholarship provides me with. At my Faculty of Transport and Traffic Sciences, I have professors as direct contacts and mentors for my studies and good contact with important key positions at the university. These are all amenities that make it incredibly easy for me to combine sport and studies. I would like to say an honest and sincere thank you for this. In fact, such a scholarship is not only a 'taking' for me, but also a 'giving'. I represent TU Dresden, its values and its successes to the outside world - beyond the borders of Dresden, Saxony and the Republic."

For the future, the successful canoeist hopes that Dresden as a sports location will become even more attractive with the support of TUD and that models such as the 'dual career', which combines top-class sport and a professional career, will be further expanded.

Bronze medallist Tina Punzel underlines this wish: "For me it was always important to look after my professional future alongside competitive sport and to advance my studies parallel to training. With a workload of 30 hours of training a week, that's not always easy. Of course, the cooperation with the TU Dresden and the career advisor at the Olympic Training Centre is extremely important. For the future, I would like to see professors and teaching staff at the TU Dresden being made even more aware of the special challenges for us competitive athletes, so that together we can achieve quick and flexible solutions when it comes to making appointments or substitute performances."