Talented students and researchers in the limelight at University of Groningen Summer Ceremony

Every year the University of Groningen honours its talented students and researchers. The winners of the GUF-100 prize, the Aart Bosman Student Excellence Award (students), the Gratama Prize and the Wierenga-Rengerink Prize (researchers) were announced at the Summer Ceremony on Friday 1 July, as were next year’s international alumni ambassadors.

GUF-100 2016

The GUF-100 prize for student excellence was first awarded in 1993 to mark the 100th anniversary of the Groningen University Fund (GUF). The winners receive EUR 2,500 prize money.

The winners of the GUF-100 prizes 2016 are: Roselinde van der Wiel (Faculty of Spatial Sciences), Annelot de Rechteren van Hemert (Faculty of Arts), Timothy Cnossen (Faculty of Philosophy), Thomas Hoeksema (Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences), Stijn Broekema (Faculty of Economics and Business), Luzia Heu (Faculty of Behavioural and Social Sciences), Welmoed Wagenaar (Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies), Maarten Knol (Faculty of Law), Danique van Vliet (Faculty of Medical Sciences).

Thomas Hoeksema wins Aart Bosman Student Excellence Award

Thomas Hoeksema was awarded a cum laude distinction for his Bachelor’s degree in Computing Science and is now following the Masters Honours College in High Tech Systems and Materials, with an average mark of 9.5. Always on the lookout for extracurricular challenges, he works as a software developer for a game company, is a team that is developing a method to register earthquakes in the province of Groningen, and is a teaching assistant for several Computing Science course units.

The first Aart Bosman Student Excellence Award was awarded in 2009 to mark the establishment of the University of Groningen Honours College. The winner, who is selected from the GUF-100 winners, receives EUR 2,500 prize money on top of the GUF-100 prize money. The winner of the Aart Bosman Student Excellence Award is usually a student who, alongside outstanding results, stands out from the crowd in extracurricular activities that benefit society.

Gratama Prize for Professor Michel Vols

Michel Vols is the winner of this year’s Gratama Prize. A leading international researcher in his field, he takes an original approach to research and has a notable effect on society. His unusual premise is that law should not only settle disputes but also solve problems. The Gratama Foundation believes that Professor Vols’s work is a clear example of how young researchers can take a creative, innovative and socially relevant approach to challenging questions.

The Gratama Prize is awarded to young researchers who stand out from the crowd with innovative, socially relevant and groundbreaking research. The prize is awarded to researchers from the Universities of Groningen and Leiden and comes with prize money of EUR 25,000.

Hanna van Loo wins Wierenga-Rengerink Prize

Since last year the University has awarded a prize to the PhD student who has written the best thesis: the Wierenga-Rengerink Prize. Each faculty choses a winner and the overall winner is selected from these. The 2015 prize goes to Hanna M. van Loo from the Faculty of Medical Sciences for her dissertation ‘Data-driven subtypes of major depressive disorder’. She wins EUR 7,500 in prize money.

International alumni ambassadors

One hundred and fifty international graduates from more than 40 different countries also attended the Summer Ceremony. The Ceremony marked their graduation from the University of Groningen. A select group of 18 International Alumni Ambassadors from 15 different countries were trained over the last six months to represent the University of Groningen in their home countries. They will spend a year promoting the University of Groningen by organizing international activities for prospective students.

Alumni donate prize money

The University of Groningen Dissertation Prize and the Aart Bosman Student Excellence Award are made possible by the Ubbo Emmius Fund. The prize money is donated by alumni who have fond memories of the University, and is intended to enable students to develop further in their academic studies.