Jo Ritzen awards scholarship

Prof. dr. Jo Ritzen officially awarded the Jo Ritzen Scholarship to Thaïs Gautry last week. The funding for this scholarship was raised by alumni, university staff and other sponsors during last year's annual fund campaign. Many UM employees also donated (a part of) their Christmas gifts to this charity.

The Jo Ritzen Scholarship is intended for talented first generation students who wish to study at Maastricht University. Jo Ritzen: ''In this way, we can make sure that everyone gets an equal chance to study.”

Recently, Thaïs Gautry received this year’s Jo Ritzen scholarship. Thaïs wanted to study Law from an early age and started studying European Law at Maastricht University. She lives with her parents in Strasbourg, her roots are in Niger. Thaïs: “I am incredibly grateful for this scholarship. I am aware that this is a beautiful opportunity for me. By succeeding in my studies, and eventually getting a job in the legal field, I hope I will be able to fight for other people’s rights and give a voice to the voiceless.”

Inspiring meeting
Bouwien Janssen, who was present at the award ceremony on behalf of the University Fund Limburg/SWOL: “It was an inspiring meeting between a very involved scholarship provider Jo Ritzen and student Thaïs Gautry. They immediately started a lively conversation, and they talked about political developments in Europe, France and Niger. A follow-up meeting between the two has already been scheduled.”

Prof. dr. Jo Ritzen is professorial fellow of International Economics of Science, Technology and Higher Education at the UNU Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (UNU-MERIT) and the Maastricht Graduate School of Governance. He was previously Dutch Minister of Education and Science and President of Maastricht University.