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Via a telephone call on April 14, 2020, Özge Algül (International Development Studies, 2019) was awarded the Vliegenthart Thesis Award for her thesis Pursuing peace: The Return of Bosnian War Refugees from "Paradise Lands" to "Home". Out of 25 entries, the jury unanimously chose Özge's thesis because of the systematic analysis of more than 26 interviews and the “wealth of insights that is highly unusual in many scientific studies”. Özge wins 2,000 euros with her thesis, free to spend. Max Vetzo (25) received an honorable mention and 500 euros for his thesis on algorithms and fundamental rights.

OP DE VLUCHT UIT DE BALKAN

De scriptie van Özge gaat over de migratiebiografieën en migratieaspiraties van Bosniërs die op jonge leeftijd (nu tussen de 25 en 45) de oorlog op de Balkan zijn ontvlucht en later zijn teruggekeerd naar Bosnië en zich in Sarajevo hebben gevestigd. Met haar scriptie wil Özge inzicht bieden in de omstandigheden, ervaringen en overwegingen die bijdragen aan de betekenis die mensen geven aan hun verblijf in het buitenland, de aard van de terugkeer en de huidige aspiraties en mogelijkheden om te blijven dan wel zich te oriënteren op vestiging in het gastland.

The results of Özge's thesis contribute to thinking about the possible return of the refugees from Syria

The jury praises Özge's systematic and thorough working method. Jury: “Where other students would suffice with a good description of the complexity of migrants' decision-making processes, Özge goes much deeper. By interpreting the interviews by the interaction between the personal resources on the one hand and the institutional, social, economic and cultural mechanisms in the places where their migration history has brought them, on the other. It achieves a wealth of insights that is very unusual in much scientific research. The text is full of accurate observations of a theoretical, practical and moral nature. In addition, the results of the thesis contribute to thinking about the possible return of the refugees from Syria.

HONORABLE MENTION

An honorable mention of 500 euros was also awarded. Max Vetzo (Legal Research, 2019) wrote his thesis on algorithms and fundamental rights. His research question: how are fundamental rights in the Netherlands (possibly) affected as a result of the use of big data, the 'internet of things' and artificial intelligence? The jury: “The research described in this thesis is of exceptionally high quality. It offers an important contribution to legal practice as well as to science. In addition, Max's findings have been included in a report to the House of Representatives by the Minister of the Interior.”

VLIEGENTHART THESIS AWARD

The Vliegenthart Thesis Prize is awarded annually by the Utrecht University Fund and aims to stimulate excellence among graduating students. Traditionally, the prize is awarded during University Day, the annual 'return day' for alumni of our university. This year, the presentation took place via telephone calls with the nominees, the jury and the winners, since the University Day could not take place this year due to the corona crisis. The prize was established in 2004, on the occasion of the farewell of Prof. Hans Vliegenthart as chairman of the Utrecht University Fund. The prize consists of an amount of 2,000 euros for the winner and a maximum of twice an amount of 500 euros for honorable mentions. The prize is awarded alternately in the disciplines of Humanities, Life Sciences, Natural Sciences and Gamma Sciences.

JURY

The submitted theses are assessed by a jury, which varies in composition, but is chaired by Prof. J.F.G. Vliegenthart (emeritus professor of Chemistry). The jury of this edition - in the discipline of Gamma Sciences: Prof. Bas de Gaay Fortman (emeritus professor of Political Economy of Human Rights), Prof. Pieter Hooimeijer (professor of Social Geography and Planning), Prof. Eric Myjer (professor of Conflict and Security Law) and Prof. Susan te Pas (professor of Cognitive Psychology).