Anneliene Jonker received the Professor De Winter Prize, the ‘publication award for outstanding female talent’. Jonker is an assistant professor at both the BMS and TNW faculties and specialises in research into rare diseases. Her publication appeared in the prestigious journal Nature Reviews Drug Discovery. With her article, Jonker contributed to the first ‘roadmap’ for genetic therapies for ultra-rare diseases.
The Professor De Winter Prize, named after the professor who passed away in 2005, recognises excellent scientific research and aims to encourage further academic career development. It comes with a cash prize of €3,000. Last year’s winner, Libera Fresiello, also took to the stage. It was already known that she won the prize, but she had not yet received the cheque.
Overijssel PhD Award
The Overijssel PhD Award for ‘a dissertation of outstanding scientific quality’ went to Yifei Yu. He obtained his PhD exactly one year ago, cum laude, for research into improving information flows for circular construction projects. Yu carried out his work at the BMS department IEBIS, where he still works as a senior researcher. The award, presented by the Province of Overijssel, includes a cash prize of €5,000 and a certificate.
Marina van Damme Scholarship
The Marina van Damme Scholarship, worth €9,000 and accompanied by an artwork, was awarded this year to Lisa Deijlen, a mechanical engineering alumna. After graduating in 2018, she joined ASML. Since 2023, she has been department manager for Business Intelligence & IT at the family-owned SME Vogel’s Holding B.V. The committee unanimously selected her as the winner, writing that it was ‘impressed by Lisa’s drive to combine technology, data, and leadership’.
The runner-up was technical medicine alumna Wietske Woliner-van der Weg, now programme manager for child rehabilitation at Revalidatie Friesland. She receives an encouragement prize of €2,500. Last year’s winner, Andrez Coco, also appeared on stage. It was already announced that she received the scholarship, but the formal presentation only took place this afternoon.
The University of Twente Fund has awarded the scholarship since 2003, made possible by a donation from Marina van Damme-Van Weele. In 1965, she was the first person to obtain a PhD at what was then the Twente Technical College.
