During the VU New Year's Gala the nominees for the VU awards showed that our university is bursting with talent.
Host Ernest van der Kwast, together with singer Dorona Alberti, vrije schrijver (writer in residence) Gustaaf Peek and rector magnificus Jeroen Geurts, put the well-deserved spotlights on education heroes, top students and fantastic supporting staff members. Very diverse nominees and winners, but each and everyone of them is inspiring, groundbreaking, and never gives up.
Bachelor Thesis Award
The Bachelor thesis award was awarded to Merel Stroes (SBE) with her thesis Matching in the mental health care sector: The effect of improved matching on the waiting time. The jury shared the opinion that Merel has clearly shown creativity and problem-solving abilities with her cross-disciplinary approach.
Other finalists were Regina van de Wall (Religion and Theology), Nikita Korst (Science) and Philipp Sommerhalter (Science).
Master Thesis Award
The Master thesis award was awarded to Charlotte Parree (Law) with her thesis Lijden kent geen leeftijd: actieve levensbeëindiging wel. In her thesis, Charlotte studies a gap in the euthenasia laws for young children. The jury was impressed by Charlotte's interdisciplinary way of critically examining the bill that is meant to resolve this gap.
Other finalists were Bjørn Kwee (Science) and Tahmina Arzomand (Medicine).
Student Talent Award
The StudenTalent award centers around a remarkable social, athletic or cultural achievement of the student. The winner of this award was Amarylle van Doorn (Medicine). According to the jury, she best represents what VU Amsterdam wants to stand for - starting the debate and dialogue in an intelligent way. In her, the jury sees a vocal, proactive and socially involved ambassador, which allows VU Amsterdam to colour outside the lines.
The other finalists were Valerie Dupuits (SBE) and Michael Elizabeth Gasior (Behavioral and Movement Science).
Van der Duijn Schouten Teaching Award
The Van der Duijn Schouten Teaching award is awarded every other year, to a teacher with the clearest vision on education and the best education renewing qualities. The conditions are that the teacher has been employed at VU Amsterdam for at least 10 years and hasn't been nominated for the award prior to this.
The winner of the Van der Duijn Schouten Teaching award is Yvette Taminiau (Social Sciences). In her speech, Yvette manages to connect her ideas on valorisation very concretely to her education approach, which is strongly based on the exchange with external partners and her alumni network. The jury saw in Yvette a proactive role model who seeks to connect existing parties in and outside VU Amsterdam to bring our organisation to a higher level, using her unique vision and approach on education.
The other finalists were Yolande Voskes (Medicine) and Sebastiaan Dönszelmann (Behavioral and Movement Science).
Teaching Talent Award
The Teaching Talent Award is the award for the best young teacher in the eyes of the student population. The University Student Council is responsible for organising the evaluation process and creating a jury for this award. Nominating candidates happens through the Faculty Student councils.
The winner is Lachezar Yanev (Law). The jury's motivation: 'He acknowledges his limitations within his role as a teacher, while at the same time trying to help students in a structural way. We think that the impact of structural changes in education methods and structures on themes such as student well-being as opposed to personal attention and 'aftercare' is often overlooked. Lachezar emphasises this impact in his education strategy which granted him, in addition to his teaching skills, this evaluation and award. Furthermore, the jury wants to emphasise that Yanev has less experience than the other nominees, for which we want to express our appreciation.'
The other finalists were Wiebe de Jong (Social Sciences) and Geert Schenk (Medicine).
Jury report
Read the full jury report of all the awards.
Tribute to the supporting staff member
The spotlights were also put on the supporting staff members once again. Vrije schrijver (writer in residence) Gustaaf Peek wrote a tribute to the supporters of the year: Hans van den Brink ('the friendly door man') and Evelyne Griffioen.
Congratulations to all of you!
Watch the livestream
Were you unable to attend the VU New Year's Gala? You can watch it via the recorded livestream.