Fulda student wins E³UDRES² Award

The Fulda University of Applied Sciences has won first place at the E³UDRES² International Science Festival 2025: Najia Jalal is a Master's student on the Human Rights Studies in Politics, Law and Society study programme and is also the founder of the organisation "Gift for Girls". With this effective initiative, which supports women and girls in Najia Jalal's home country of Afghanistan, the student impressed jurors and the audience at the competition organised by the European University Alliance, beating off competition from 19 other projects from various European countries.

The E³UDRES² Festival 2025 took place under the motto "Local Pulse, Global Waves" at the University of Applied Sciences St. Pölten in Austria in collaboration with universities from all over Europe. The aim of the festival was to explore how research and innovation can drive global transformation. The projects, which run under Najia Jalal's "Gift for Girls", comprise two key initiatives: One is to build and support schools for girls in Afghanistan, and the other is to provide psychotherapeutic and psychosocial support services for women and girls in crisis situations. In the voting rounds, the Fulda student's project received the highest number of votes - both online and in the on-site voting - and thus secured the prize money of 1000 euros (first place).

Shaping a future full of hope and meaning
Najia Jalal's mission: "We support Afghan girls and women in gaining human values and laws and shaping a future full of hope and meaning." Even though Najia Jalal is studying in Fulda, she still follows events in her home country. She has clear words for the events and conditions there: "Afghanistan is now a place where human values such as human dignity, social justice, kindness and acceptance, collaboration and equality as well as human rights are trampled underfoot, progress is impossible and classes no longer exist. And this despite the fact that around 18.4 million people were in urgent need of humanitarian aid in 2021." This is why the student launched the scholarship programme for girls and women.

The "Gift for Girls" project supports girls in Afghanistan who are unable to attend school in certain districts and provinces. Through the facilities of so-called "underground schools" with experienced teaching staff and a regular syllabus in the areas of science, literature and social sciences, Najia Jalal's scholarship programme offers lessons five days a week. "Some girls in our three underground schools have been receiving lessons since September 2022, which has become a ray of hope for them," reports Najia Jalal. Young girls are also increasingly suffering from depression and sexual discrimination due to their insecure living conditions. Against this background, "Gift for Girls" has launched a psychotherapeutic program that started in the villages and has begun its activities: "We have provided information on mental illness for about 70 women through psychotherapeutic social workers. We also offer the opportunity for psychotherapeutic advisory services."

Further information on the Gift for Girls organisation