These are the nominees for the Student Awards 2024

These are the nominees for the Student Awards 2024

Utrecht University is proud of its students who make outstanding achievements in the field of their studies or beyond. That is why the Executive Board presents two student awards each year during the opening of the academic year: the award for the Best Master's Thesis and the student award for Social Impact. The nominees for the Best Master's Thesis 2024 are: Femke Lenderink, Bilyana Manolova and Marien Raat. The nominees for the Social Impact Award 2024 are: Noa Duizend and Kjeld Werther.

Nominees Best Master's Thesis 2024

Femke Lenderink - Determinants of cardiorespiratory fitness in children withcongenital heart disease: physical activity, organized sports participation and parental behaviour

Femke's thesis is praised for its unique perspective: she examined how parental behavior affects the lung and heart function of children with congenital heart defects. Previous research did look at the child's fitness, coupled with physical activity and sports, but not the parents' role in all of this. The thesis is clearly written, with a good research question, introduction and conclusion, and also provides guidance for follow-up research and implementation of the results found.

Bilyana Manolova - Intimacies in Transition: The Formation of Post-socialist Subjectivity in Life Narratives from Bulgaria, Russia and Ukraine

In her thesis, Bilyana examines the transition of the people of Bulgaria, Russia and Ukraine from socialism to capitalism. Poignantly, she describes how influence and capitalism from the West collide with the socialist values of these cultures. She also looks at how we can learn from the transition that is slowly taking place. The jury greatly appreciates the quality of the work, the questions and the conclusions she draws from her research.

Marien Raat - Computation in Nested Closed Timelike Curves

Marien is described by the jury as a genius in his field. His thesis addresses the problem Turing once described: the computational power of computers is finite and stops at the halfway point. A problem so tough to compute that computers simply have no capacity left for it, let alone for even more complex problems. However, Marien argues that with current knowledge, including quantum mechanics and time loops, it may still be possible to expand the computational power of computers and allow them to compute more difficult - previously unsolvable - problems, thus proving Turing wrong. The thesis is described as precise, incisive and clear. The same is true of the lecture summary that makes it possible for almost anyone to understand the basis of his thesis: can we break through the apparent limits of computational power that currently grips computers?

Nominees for the Student Award Social Impact 2024

Noa Duizend

As a student of Jewish background, Noa, along with another Jewish student and two students of Muslim background (all non-UU students), started the "Share the Dove" initiative. Noa started this initiative in response to the escalation of violence in Gaza and Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. The goal of "Share the Dove was and is to call for dialogue, connection and togetherness by organizing dialogue evenings with young people, media appearances, conversations with politicians and administrators, and guest lectures and panels at high schools, colleges and universities.

By initiating and supervising dialogue with both Jewish and Muslim conversationalists and organizing it in so many diverse educational settings, they show, on the one hand, as role models, how things can be done, and on the other hand, they bring diverse opposites together by creating connection and conversation among young people with very different opinions.

Kjeld Werther

Kjeld is committed to several (volunteer) organizations in the fields of ocean protection and human rights, specifically two initiatives he set up himself. He raised with WWF the need to listen more to young people and started discussions about this with then-CEO Kirsten Schuijt. On Kjeld's advice, a youth council was formed, which is currently waiting for the official mandate to give advice to WWF.

In addition, from his commitment to the World Ocean Day Youth Advisory Council, Kjeld was asked to set up the Dutch branch of the Early Career Ocean Professionals program. This is a community for young people who are in the first ten years of their ocean-related career. Meanwhile, a Steering Committee has been established and is currently working out the strategy for the coming period.

Criteria

Directors of Education or research directors can nominate a student in their programme for the Student Award for the Best Master's Thesis. Anyone, regardless of their relationship to Utrecht University, may nominate a student for the Social Impact Award. See the criteria.

Announcement

The winners will be announced during the Start of the Academic Year ceremony in the Dom Church on Monday 2 September 2024.