Inclusive Education Produces Prizes for European Studies

This commitment was clear in our recent ThinkFest event, where inclusion was a central theme and where three European Studies teachers won multiple prizes for how they approach it.

Emma Prins, Marije Minkman and Tiaan Westenberg were nominated for the Olive Award, an annual prize for excellent teaching teams, by students taking the Gender and Sexuality course that they launched earlier this year. It’s a course that tackles the tough questions raised by diversity in the 21st century and students really appreciated their efforts to stimulate open discussion in a safe environment.

Students aren’t the only fans. Both the jury prize and the audience award went to this team, and president Elisabeth Minnemann had the following to say about it: “That the judges and our students chose the same winner shows that we are on the same page. Their commitment and perseverance are to be commended. Especially at a time when that is not so easy. All the nominees carry our values and you see that every day in our education.”

Accepting the award, lecturer Emma Prins was proud and said that the awards “show that what we do matters.”