Our colleague Gabriele Benedetti is the winner of the Recognition & Rewards Awards 2024 of the Amsterdam Young Academy (AYA) in the category Academic Community Support. Gabriele sincerely thanks his colleagues for the nomination: “I feel very fortunate to work in a department which appreciates and fosters an inclusive and supportive academic environment.”
Motivation of the jury
It is telling that Gabriele was nominated by several colleagues in this category. The jury very much appreciated Gabriele for all his care for the well-being of his colleagues and his support in all the challenges that they encounter. An interesting metaphor stands out in characterising Gabriele: “If our department was a complicated mechanical machine, he is a silent and hardworking mechanic that helps to grease it every day.” The jury felt great appreciation for Gabriele who continues to be this caring person even in the face of busy times and challenges that our busy academic lives entail.
About the prize
AYA welcomes and supports the current attention to Recognition & Rewards in Dutch academia and is committed to furthering forms of excellence and academic community care that are often overlooked in the current system. In line with this commitment, AYA has launched a new award aimed at academic staff at UvA and VU whose exceptional contributions to the academy might remain below the radar, but nevertheless are essential for a healthy university, be it in the form of teaching, societal impact, or of academic community support as a colleague, teacher, supervisor or mentor. Three prizes (of 2000 EUR each) in three different categories were awarded, to be used by the winners as allocated personal budget that they can spend as they see fit within the university context.