Prizewinners opening academic year

On Monday, August 31st the academic year 2015/16 was officially opened by Maastricht Universty. Traditionally, also the winners of the Student Award and the Edmond Hustinx prize for science have been announced. The Student Award was won by Aurelia Streit for her work for the Refugee Project Maastricht. The Edmond Hustinx Prize went to Dr.Tamar Sharon of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences.

Student Award 2015

The Student Award is presented annually to students who, in addition to their studies, make a special contribution to society or culture. This year 10 students and groups of students were nominated for the Student Award. For an overview of all nominees, please watch the video. The jury felt that besides the winner, two of the nominees deserved an honourable mention, namely: UAEM-Maastricht and The Foodbank Maastricht.

The winner of the Student Award 2015 is Aurelia Streit. Aurelia has played a key role in setting up sub-committees for the Refugee Project Maastricht, so that refugees and students and citizens can share stories, learn from each other and even become friends. Aurelia organised a sports event, a Syrian refugee movie evening and she also helped the children of the Asylum Seeker’s Centre in Limmel to play and discover things they may not ordinarily have seen. Totally committed to the project, Aurelia applies herself happily, willingly and professionally.

The award consists of a work of art and € 1.000,-. A portrait of the winner will be added to the ‘Student hall of fame’ in the UM administrative building.

Edmond Hustinx prize for science

The Edmond Hustinx prize for science is awarded by Maastricht University on behalf of the Edmond Hustinx Foundation to a young, promising researcher. The prize also carries with it €15,000 for a specific project.

In 2015, the prize goes to a candidate from the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences.  Dr. Tamar Sharon received the prize for her research proposal  ‘The Googlization of Medical Research’. For more information about her research, watch this video.

Philosopher Tamar Sharon (1975) obtained her PhD cum laude in Israel in 2011. She researches how people engage with new health technologies, at a time when they are increasingly expected to take individual responsibility for their health. Sharon has published several scientific articles and a book on this topic, and has been awarded the Mara Bellar Prize, a Rubcion grant (2012) and a Veni grant (2014). Her research is innovative as it provides an alternative to the dominant discourses on personalized healthcare. Tamar Sharon has also been nominated for the 2015 New Scientist Research Talent: www.newscientist.nl/talent.

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