DAAD Prize for Yeshica Marianne Umaña Calderón

A total of four doctoral candidates and two Master’s students were nominated: Reginald Ofori Kyere (Master’s in Global Communication), Azem S. Talafha (Master’s in Literary Studies), as well as Francisco Calep Pimienta Gonzalez, Zahra Naghshband, Junghi Ha – and Yeshica Umaña Calderón. “It was a really difficult decision, because each and every one of the nominees embodies precisely that combination of academic excellence and commitment to the community that this prize is intended to recognise,” said Dr Antje Dallmann, head of the International Office, at the award ceremony, praising the wide range of outstanding achievements demonstrated by the nominees. In the end, the committee chose Yeshica Umaña Calderón, “a researcher who demonstrates what international study and research can mean both for a university and for the wider world.”

Yeshica Umaña Calderón was born in Mexico and completed her law degree at the National Autonomous University of Mexico. After several years practising law, she moved to Madrid, where she obtained a licentiate in canon law. In 2021, her academic excellence and intellectual curiosity led her to Erfurt, where she took up a post as a research employee at the professorship for Canon Law. In 2026, she was awarded her PhD under a cotutelle agreement between the Pontifical University of Comillas in Madrid and the University of Erfurt – with the distinction “summa cum laude”.

In her research, Yeshica Umaña Calderón focuses on the rights of victims of abuse in ecclesiastical criminal proceedings, a field at the intersection of legal theory, theology and the protection of human rights. Her course “The Best Interests of the Child: Promotion, Protection, Rights” was recognised by the German Rectors' Conference (HRK) as an exemplary model of innovative and multilingual teaching. Together with another outstanding project, this earned her the University of Erfurt’s Internationalisation Prize in 2025.

“Yeshica Umaña Calderón has also systematically invested in her own development as a lecturer,” explains Dr Antje Dallmann. “Last year, she was selected for the ‘Learning to Teach Theology’ programme run by the German Bishops’ Conference. She has helped organise international conferences and research projects in Quebec and Rome and is co-editor of an interdisciplinary anthology on child welfare. Earlier this year, she acted as a facilitator at the FUTUREMAKERS Glocal Leadership Training Programme in Nice, France. What sets her apart is, amongst other things, her ability to put academic findings into practice, for example in her work with the ‘Child Dignity Centre’ at the Ukrainian Catholic University and in her commitment to a children’s rights organisation in Sierra Leone. Academic excellence, empathy and global citizenship: Yeshica Umaña Calderón combines all three aspects in a way that embodies the spirit of this award.”

As in previous years, all nominees also received a certificate of recognition from the University of Erfurt. We congratulate the prize winner and the nominees!