ECHO Awards

ECHO Awards 2026 - Frequently Asked Questions

• What are the criteria and conditions?

  General criteria

  • Social impact: making tangible contributions that lead to positive change, both within and outside the educational institution, on socially relevant issues.
  • Policy and systemic change: being engaged in initiatives focused on policy-related and/or systemic issues aimed at addressing structural inequalities, and demonstrating a clear vision and strategy in doing so.
  • Leadership qualities: demonstrating inspiring leadership and the ability to mobilize and motivate others in processes of social change.

  Practical criteria

  • The student is part of an underrepresented group, with a specific focus on Dutch students with a non-western or refugee background;
  • The student has above-average study performance (guideline: average of 7.5 or higher);*
  • The student has an excellent command of the English language;**
  • The student is available for the ECHO Ambassadors Academy taking place on 19 September 2026;
  • The student is available for an interview with the ECHO Award jury on 29 October 2026;
  • The student is available to attend the award ceremony on 10 December 2026 (date may be subject to change).

  * A grade average of 7.5 or higher is not a strict requirement. The jury considers a grade average as one good indicator of excellence, but certainly not the only one. The grade average is always evaluated in relation to the student’s individual context.

  ** Excellent command of the English language is not a strict requirement. The jury does not expect candidates to be native speakers. The level of English must be sufficient for the candidate to participate in an English-language conversation and follow courses at UCLA.

• How do I enter the 2026 ECHO Awards?

  Because a limited number of students may be nominated for the ECHO Awards, we work with a VU-wide preselection round. Each faculty may nominate 2 candidates for this VU-wide preselection round. If there are more candidates, the faculties decide which 2 candidates they will put forward for the VU-wide preselection round. The Faculty of Science is an exception to this: they are allowed to put forward 4 candidates.

  Please note: nominations submitted by parties other than faculties or schools for the VU-wide selection round will not be considered by the jury.

  It is therefore important that interested students register with their faculty, so that the faculty can take stock of how many students want to be nominated and whether a selection should take place within the faculty. How the selection is made is at the faculty's discretion. Ask your faculty about the internal procedure.

  When nominating for the VU-wide internal preselection round, faculties and students must provide the following documents:

  • Fully completed nomination form (Note: the form must be completed by the faculty contact person nominating the student, e.g. a lecturer, programme director, faculty director or policy officer. Students should not fill in this form themselves!).
  • A personal motivation letter from the nominated student (see guidelines for motivation ECHO).
  • A resumé from the nominated student (max. 2 pages).
  • Optional: An optional video pitch (max. 3 minutes) in which the candidate presents their vision and societal impact.

  The nomination form and 2026 motivation letter guidelines can be found on the ECHO foundation website: https://echo-net.nl/en/echo-award/voordrachtsprocedure/

• What is the schedule and deadline for the VU-wide internal selection process?

  The deadline for faculty to submit nominations closes at 23:59 on Friday 15 May 2026. In late May or early June, the jury will discuss the submitted nominations, after which the results will be announced. In the third week of June, the Education Awards secretary will draft a nomination letter on behalf of VU and submit it to the Executive Board for approval. After approval by the Executive Board, the secretary will submit the complete nomination to ECHO no later than 26 June.

• Where and to whom should I report if I want to participate?

  Report to your faculty or school. Below is a list of contacts by faculty and school:

  • Dentistry: Oriana van der Sande-Semenciuc at o.c.van.der.sande-semenciuc@acta.nl
  • Science: onderwijsbeleid.beta@vu.nl
  • Behavioural and Movement Sciences: Esther Eustace at e.a.s.eustace@vu.nl
  • Medicine: Inge van Wijk at ij.vanwijk@amsterdamumc.nl
  • Law: secretarisonderwijs.rechten@vu.nl
  • Business and Economics: Krista Visscher at k.visscher@vu.nl
  • Humanities and Religion and Theology: onderwijsbureau.sgw.srt@vu.nl
  • Social Sciences: Dieneke van der Meulen via b.g.vander.meulen@vu.nl

• What happens after nomination by VU to ECHO?

  • Upon nomination by VU to ECHO, candidates automatically join the ECHO Ambassadors community, a network of socially engaged students and (young) professionals who have been nominated over the years. All nominated candidates are invited to participate in the ECHO Ambassadors Academy, a leadership programme that prepares candidates for their role as ECHO Ambassadors.
  • Nominated candidates also go through a selection process at ECHO. ECHO shortlists finalists for each Award category. Finalists are expected to make a presentation to the ECHO jury. The finalists (and the public) will hear who the winners are at the award ceremony (expected on 10 December 2026).
  • The winners will be rewarded with an all-expenses-paid summer course at UCLA in the United States in 2026 (Summer course is subject to change. If attendind the summer course is not possible, a fitting alternative will be sought in consultation with the winners).

• What about nominations from the former faculties of Religion and Theology, Humanities and Social Sciences?

  On 1 april 2025, the former faculties of Religion and Theology, Humanities and Social Sciences merged into 1 faculty - the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities (FSH). The former faculties have since existed as schools within FSH.

  The jury assumes that the Faculty has had sufficient time to integrate and align the schools. Therefore, for the 2026 ECHO Awards, a joint faculty nomination from FSH is being sought.

• Can international students also be nominated?

  Yes, under conditions. For international students, they are only eligible if they:

  • Identify themselves as part of a marginalised community in their own context;
  • Intend to settle in the Netherlands;
  • Have made a social contribution to Dutch society.

• Are students who are currently in the process of graduating still eligible?

  Yes, students who are in their graduation phase and will graduate before the summer can still be nominated for the ECHO Awards.

• What definition does ECHO use for non-Western background?

  ECHO uses the following definition for non-Western: Person whose migration background is one of the countries in Africa, Latin America and Asia (including Indonesia and Japan) or Turkey.

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