Two of the three main prizes awarded by the Chamber of Industry and Commerce (IHK) for Rheinhessen are going to Mainz University of Applied Sciences this year. At a festive ceremony on Tuesday, December 9, 2025, Lara Müller and Elena Zentgraf were honored for their outstanding master’s theses. The prize, worth a total of 5,000 euros, has been recognizing academic achievements with strong practical relevance since 1988 and highlights the innovative strength of Rheinhessen’s talented students.
Second prize went to Lara Müller from the Department of Engineering, who developed an innovative concept for an underwater pumped-storage power plant to store renewable energy in her master’s thesis. The third prize was awarded to Elena Zentgraf, also from the Department of Engineering, who addressed the challenging question of how companies can reliably assess the quality of AI-supported models in Industry 4.0 processes.
First prize was awarded to Lisa Sobocinski from Worms University of Applied Sciences for her analysis of Generation Z’s investment behavior. A special prize for continuing education was also awarded to Angela Boroch.
IHK President Dr. Marcus Walden emphasized the importance of these young graduates’ achievements for the regional economy: “Year after year, the IHK Prize demonstrates the potential inherent in the young talents of our region. Innovation arises where science and business meet—and it is precisely at this intersection that we want to build bridges.” The award-winning projects demonstrated that excellent research can make a direct contribution to the competitiveness, transformation, and sustainability of companies.
The winners were selected by a jury of prominent figures from business and academia, chaired by IHK Honorary President Dr. Engelbert Günster. According to Günster, the decisive factor in awarding the prizes was the potential for practical implementation of the research results, for example through technological approaches or impetus for future-oriented topics such as AI and energy supply.
IHK Award 2025 – An Overview of the Winners
1st Prize – 2,500 euros
Lisa Sobocinski
Worms University of Applied Sciences
Bachelor’s thesis: “Analysis and Evaluation of Generation Z’s Investment Decisions in the Tension Between Security and Return”
2nd Prize – 1,500 euros
Mainz University of Applied Sciences
Lara Müller
Master’s Thesis: “The Structural Design of an Underground Pumped-Storage Power Plant—Development and Cost Analysis with Identification of Optimization Potential for Reducing Construction Costs”
3rd Prize – 1,000 euros
Mainz University of Applied Sciences
Elena Zentgraf
Master’s Thesis: “Indirect Metrics for Evaluating LLM-Based Information Extraction in Industry 4.0”
