What's your idea for bringing Dutch and international students together?
Do you have a creative idea for improving contacts between Dutch and international students? Work out a plan and you could win the Van Bergen Prize and earn 5,000 euros to put your idea into practice. Deadline 22 October.
Of the 23,000 students at Leiden University, more than 2,000 come from abroad, and over 110 different nationalities are represented in Leiden and The Hague. So how do you make sure they mix well with one another? The annual Van Bergen Prize aims to encourage ideas that will promote the integration of Dutch and international students.
Students, lecturers, PhD candidates, student associations: everyone associated with the University is welcome to submit their plan. The deadline for submissions is 27 October 2017. What kind of plan can you submit? It could be something like organising activities related to lectures or tutorials attended by a number of international students, or making it possible for newly arrived international students to take part in cultural or sporting activities (such as a choir, an orchestra, a band, a small musical ensemble, a dance club, or a sports club). The prize will be awarded to the group or organisation that comes up with the best and most innovative plan. The winner of the prize is also expected to actually implement their plan.
Read about what previous winners have achieved >
All the plans will be considered and the best submissions will be nominated. A small number of nominees will then be asked to present their initiative at the Diversity Symposium on 22 November. The winner will be announced during the dinner.
Criteria
An idea for the Van Bergen Prize:
- should be an innovative activity for the Leiden University community;
- stimulates contacts between Dutch and international students, or promotes better relations between different cultures;
- is for a large target group, for example the whole Leiden community or a large group within the University;
- can be implemented relatively easily.
N.B. The Fund finances the start of the initiative. Ultimately, the intention is that the plan will become self-sustaining. Bear in mind that there is no budget for time spent working on the initiative nor for providing food and drink during the activities: the basis of the initiative is that it is voluntary.
Guidelines
To help you, here are some guidelines for putting your plan together. You can include the following categories in your plan:
- Introduction setting out your plan and describing the underlying ideas and aims (between 300 and 400 words);
- Description of how the plan can be implemented in the year 2018, including a timeline (also between 300 and 400 words);
- Cost budget, including any other sources of funding.
How can you submit your plan?
You can send in your idea for the Van Bergen Prize in Engish via the website in PDF format.
Send in your idea before 22 October 2018!
Contest regulations
- The person or group of participants study or are employed at Leiden University.
- Plans that are submitted after 22 October 2018 can no longer compete.
- No correspondence can be made about the results of the competition.
- Participants can only submit one entry.
- The award ceremony will take place on 13 November 2018 during the diversity symposium. You will be present at this award ceremony on 13 November and are willing to present the plan to the public.
- The amount of prize money is determined by the budget of the plan and can be adjusted by the jury, with a maximum of 5000 euros.
Contact and more information about the Van Bergen fonds
Qing-yi Fan, vanbergenfund@sea.leidenuniv.nl
Telephone: +31 (0)71 527 8025