These are the five finalists for Student of the Year

A student who has done something extraordinary, selfless and in the interests of society. This is the student we were looking for in the first Student of the Year election. We received over sixty nominations and a jury selected five finalists.

What were the criteria for the nomination? We were looking for someone (or a group of up to five students) who has done something extraordinary. This could be within their studies, outside their studies, in associations or in a personal capacity. The achievement was selfless and in the interests of society. After the nomination round, a jury of students and staff members reviewed the submissions and came up with the top five.

Who are these students?

We will introduce them to you in detail soon, but this will give you an idea:

Amir studies Medicine. His nomination shows how he has been dedicating himself to other medical students. Through participatory bodies, he has arranged a compensation for medical interns and raised the importance of the #MeToo movement within the medical world.

Berfu is a student Management of International Social Challenges. In addition to her chairmanship of the Erasmus Sustainability Hub, she started her own social enterprise called Gelecek Gelecek (Futuristic future). She was the Turkish delegate to the Y20, the youth version of the G20.

You have already read about GIDS in EM last year. The four board members are nominated, but work together with a pool of fifty medical students. They dedicate themselves voluntarily to improving the health of (often vulnerable) people from Rotterdam.

This academic year, Kyra spoke out about how inaccessible the campus is. She described it as ‘a veritable hell for people in wheelchairs’. A plan to make the campus accessible is currently being worked on. The Health Sciences and Philosophy student especially hopes that future students will have more accessible education.

At the end of February, Sandra Garstka (International Business and Business Economics) heard from an aunt in Poland that people were collecting items to donate to refugees from Ukraine. Sandra did not hesitate and started her own action: ‘EUR for Ukraine‘. She received more than she initially thought and had to rent a truck to transport everything.

When can you vote?

On 14 June we will announce the winner during The Bye Bye Show, the unofficial closing of the academic year. You can vote in the two weeks before that. The student with the most votes will become Student of the Year.