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The Autumn and Winter Highlights report from Utrecht ľ�ϸ���Ӱ�� includes multiple achievements from Utrecht Young Academy and its members. Highlights is published twice a year by the ľ�ϸ���Ӱ�� to give its Dutch and international contacts an impression of what has been achieved over the past six months. 

Diversity Project against Prejudice

Assisted by Professor of Public Management and Behaviour, Lars Tummers, social psychologist Madelijn Strick undertook research among 902 people from Utrecht in order to boost their sense of solidarity and reduce prejudice amongst themselves.

The result was a video entitled “Utrecht zijn we samen [Together we’re Utrecht]", which the UYA produced in collaboration with the city council. The research shows that groups that watched the short film showed more solidarity than groups that had not watched the video. “Watching the film also led to a considerable reduction in prejudice”, said Madelijn Strick.

Erik van Sebille and Niko Wanders share the UU Publiprize

Erik van Sebille, an expert in the plastic soup and ocean currents, and Niko Wanders, an expert on drought, have jointly won the UU Publiprize award. The prize is awarded by the university and is designed to encourage Utrecht academics to take part in social debate via the media.

Wanders and Van Sebille are affiliated with Pathways to Sustainability, and their research is aimed at achieving a more sustainable world. The pair were dubbed ‘Mr Wet and Mr Dry’ in the course of the jury’s deliberations: “Whereas Wanders always storms the media world when prompted to do so by current events, Van Sebille is always ready to go out and ensure that the plastic soup makes the headlines, even when there doesn’t seem to be an immediate reason for this.”

UYA members participate in Honours Teaching Track

Honours teachers create a safe and supportive environment for motivated students, where the latter can push their limits and exceed academic expectations. The aim of the UU Honours Teaching Programme is to train teachers to provide honours education. Every year, about 15 teachers are selected for the programme. This year this group included two UYA-members: cultural and literary historian Martine Veldhuizen and sedimentologist João Trabucho Alexandre.

About the programme, Trabucho says the following: “I think it is necessary that we, teachers in higher education, continually expand, revise and reflect on our practice. Honours education provides teachers with an opportunity to experiment with new approaches to teaching. When successful, these new approaches can and should percolate through to our regular programmes.”