Preisverleihung des Short Story Contest

Am 30. Juni wurden die diesjährigen Gewinnerinnen und Gewinner des STEM-Themed Short Story Writing Contest ausgezeichnet. Die eingereichten Beiträge zeigten eindrucksvoll, wie sich Themen aus Wissenschaft, Technologie, Ingenieurwesen und Mathematik mit Kreativität und erzählerischem Talent verbinden lassen.

Die Preisträgerinnen und Preisträger 2026:

• 1. Platz: ‘Everything You Want to Keep' by Joshua Jackson
• 2. Platz: ‘Daily Pickins’ by Elizabeth Juan Lili Emery
• 3. Platz: ‘Nothing to calculate’ by Marta Kelava

Anerkennungen (Honorable Mentions): 

• 'The Orchestra of Everything' by Lars Auler
• 'Mr. Dolly’s Copy Shop' by Sama Abdulrahman
• ‘How May I Help You?’ by Abhinav Baliyan
• 'Her' by Ece Baykut  

Herzlichen Glückwunsch an alle ausgezeichneten Autorinnen und Autoren! Ein großes Dankeschön geht außerdem an alle Teilnehmenden für ihre kreativen Beiträge sowie an alle Gäste, die bei der Preisverleihung dabei waren und die Erfolge der diesjährigen Wettbewerbsteilnehmenden mit uns gefeiert haben.

Du möchtest selbst mitmachen?
Die aktuelle Einreichungsfrist endet am 30. September 2026.
Alle Informationen zum Wettbewerb und zur Teilnahme findest du hier: STEM-Themed Short Story Writing Contest

Biographies

• Joshua Jackson is from a small village on the outskirts of Munich. He is currently studying Informatics: Games engineering. His hobbies include playing and developing video games, painting and gardening.
  Inspiration for “Everything You Want To Keep”: I was inspired to write this story after watching an episode of Black Mirror that explored the growing monetization of nearly every aspect of our lives. It got me thinking: What if even our daily awakening—or our memories themselves—were controlled by a profit-driven corporation? I wanted to blend this concept with the fragmented storytelling style often used in video games, where narrative is revealed in pieces rather than all at once. That combination led to the core idea and narrative structure of Everything You Want to Keep.
   
• Lili Emery (23) grew up in London, and moved to Munich after her studies in psychology and philosophy to pursue a master’s in interdisciplinary social science, applied to questions of ethics and responsibility in technology. She is currently completing her thesis on the promises and risks of AI therapist bots – but when she’s not writing that, she also loves hiking, video games, and drawing.
  Inspiration for “Daily Pickins”: I’ve always been a fan of dystopian fiction, and the hopes and warnings they can hold for our society. As someone working in technology ethics, I wanted my story to caution against the unfettered transhumanism and innovation, without concern for what might be lost along the way. This year, I also got to play Disco Elysium, and was really struck by its bleak and political themes and wanted to write about a world reminiscent of the quiet ruin of Revachol.
   
• Marta Kelava (23) is a civil engineering student currently in her sixth semester of a bachelor’s degree at TUM. In her free time, Marta enjoys reading, dancing and watching movies. She is a big fan of sci-fi media, Dune by Frank Herbert being her current favorite. 
  Inspiration for “Nothing to calculate”: I wanted to explore humanity’s capacity and our desire to measure and calculate everything. After encountering many discussions predicting specific “end of the world” dates online, none of which came true, I became interested in what it would mean if we actually succeeded in calculating the end of the world. This story is an attempt to examine that idea from a more unsettling perspective.
   
• Ece is a 24-year-old student originally from Turkey who has been living in Munich for the past 1.5 years. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematical Engineering and is currently pursuing an MSc in Management at the Technical University of Munich. Alongside her academic development, Ece is involved in the TUM School of Management Buddy Mentor Program and the TUM Business Game Club, where she takes part in student-led initiatives and community activities. She enjoys reading books and watching films, and is interested in the different ways stories are told and experienced across people. Living in a new city has also deepened her curiosity about people, everyday life, and the small details that shape how we understand the world.
   
• Abhinav Baliyan is studying management at TUM. He loves to read, everything from Dickens to Asimov. In his free time he likes to draw, play Badminton, cook and occasionally tries to make music.
  Inspiration for “How May I Help You?”: I wanted to write about something tangible instead of the usual fantastical elements one often finds in this genre. AI seemed to be an apt topic given how ubiquitous the term has become. I love a good O Henry ending, so this was my humble attempt at it. Also writing in present tense was interesting.
   
• Sama Abdulrahman (23) born and raised in Munich, with roots in the Middle East, is currently pursuing her M. Sc. in Electrical Engineering with focus on renewable energies. She enjoys writing short stories, reading and spends most of her day with headphones on. Lately, she’s been trying out embroidery, just for fun.
  Inspiration for “Dolly’s Copy Shop”: I’ve always wondered how far people would go for convenience. The thought of buying a version of yourself, especially a version that handles your life better than you do, is both tempting and unsettling. In this story, I wanted to explore clones as a consumer product. Clones who are being sold like packaged goods, delivered and guaranteed to make your life easier. But the motivation that drove this story was: If your personal identity becomes a product who has the right to it? To what extent are you allowed to exploit your identity?
   
• Lars Auler (22) is pursuing a M.Sc. in physics with a great deal of fascination and an even greater deal of confusion. In his free time, he likes to bake and read and water his plants. 
  Inspiration for “The Orchestra of Everything”: I often find myself marvelling at the sheer beauty of the night sky and sometimes, looking at photographs and videos of Jupiter and Saturn and Earth, it’s difficult not to be overwhelmed by their quiet grace. Thinking about future long-distance robotic space missions that might well act with some autonomy to avoid latency issues, I couldn’t help wondering how they might feel, if they could feel, about what they saw. Would they marvel, too? Should we let them?