DAAD Prize at the University of Hamburg“You are more than just your immigrant background”

28 November 2025, by Christina Krätzig

Photo: UHH/Keller

From left: Nominating researcher Dr. Irina Mostovaia, prizewinner Anna Guseva, and University of Hamburg president Prof. Dr. Hauke Heekeren

Anna Guseva received this year’s DAAD Prize at the University of Hamburg, which recognizes her academic achievements in teacher training and her outstanding social commitment to school students from immigrant backgrounds.

Ms. Guseva, you come from Russia but in Germany you teach German and English. Why did you choose this path?

It has been a dream of mine for years to study teaching and become a teacher. Even while I was still going to school in Russia, I learned German, English, and French in my free time. German soon became my favorite language and after I finished high school at 17, I went to Germany to study.

What was it like studying in Hamburg?

At first, it was a difficult period. I had to figure things out on my own and I couldn’t start immediately at the University; I first had to attend a Studienkolleg for a year. Then Corona came and it was a state of emergency at the University, as it was at schools. Nonetheless, I have been able in the past few year to gain practical experience, especially in integration classes.

Those are considered especially challenging. Do you also find that to be the case?

Not really. Due to my own background, I can empathize well with children and adolescents from immigrant backgrounds. I know how difficult it can be to gain a foothold in a foreign country and I have a lot of understanding for the many challenges related to that. I am convinced that an immigrant background not only entails difficulties; it can also mean strength and enrichment. The message I would like to give to my pupils is that you are more than the story of fleeing your country or your immigrant background.

You are currently pursuing a master’s degree and funding your own studies and yet you have the time to advocate for educational justice and equal opportunity. How do you do it?

I worked for a year with the Zeit für Zukunft association and provided guidance to a girl who had fled Afghanistan. Since February, I have mentored an upper-level high school student who is the first person in her family who wants to study and I am helping her on her way to her Abitur and university study. That is a program of the Claussen-Simon Foundation. I try to get involved in the foundation’s different activities.

What are your dreams for your future?

I would like to stay in Germany and become a better contact and guide for young people; something that I didn’t have at the same age.