GUF-100 prizes 2021

Every year during the summer ceremony, the ‘best’ students at our University are put in the spotlight and presented with the GUF-100 prize. This tradition started in 1993, when the GUF-100 awards were introduced to mark the centennial anniversary of the Groningen University Fund (GUF). The award consists of a certificate and €2500 in prize money.

A GUF jury selects the prize-winners from candidates nominated by the faculties. The student assessor of the Board of the University joins the members of the GUF board to make the selection. This year, Adnan Kharbotly took on the first half of jury duties, and Teun Havinga was responsible for the second half. The entire event was skilfully organized by Liselotte Versteeg and Prof. Hanny Elzinga.

A UG-wide appeal is made for candidates for the GUF-100 prizes. Students can put themselves forward, and lecturers and fellow students can nominate candidates from within their Faculty. Faculty committees study the letters of motivation and CVs that they receive, before selecting three of the nominated students. Excellent study results are important, but in addition (and perhaps more importantly), candidates must be able to demonstrate outstanding personal or academic achievements outside their regular degree programmes. Finally, the 33 selected nominations from all 11 faculties are invited to give a short presentation and answer questions from the GUF jury. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, this part of the process took place online this year.

The GUF jury was delighted to see how many good students had been nominated this year, and that the Faculty selection committees had once again made excellent choices. It was truly inspiring to read the letters of motivation and CVs, and to watch these fantastic students give their pitch. The commendations reflect just a fraction of our admiration for the winners, but I can assure you that we are extremely proud of the number of outstanding students that our University encompasses.

The prizes were presented by the Rector Magnificus on 1 July 2021 during the summer ceremony.

On behalf of the jury, Prof. Lou de Leij, Chair of the GUF