Project
Economics and Law student Nikki Speklé won the Lambers Student Excellence Award 2020. In her thesis ‘Enfranchising “all affected interests”: The case for a world federation’, she presents a new vision on democracy.
The prize is financed by the ARK-Fonds, a fund named after its founder Alexander Rinnooy Kan. As the former Erasmus University Rotterdam rector magnificus, he believes that the influence of science on our society must not be underestimated. Rinnooy Kan: “The university is where scientific talent is tracked down, appreciated, and developed. The goal is progress in all areas of life. Society needs academics. For solving acute problems, like challenges in sustainability, public health, and the distribution of wealth.
But also, for more fundamental research.” Donations are essential to creating a higher budget for science. Rinnooy Kan: “The Netherlands lack the American tradition of alumni fundraising. Ivy League universities have enormous endowments. Recently, an alumnus of MIT donated a billion dollars for a new Artificial Intelligence laboratory. But Rotterdam especially is making a lot of progress. Some alumni have made very significant contributions, sometimes as high as one million euros and more’.
Nikki receives the Lambers Student Excellence Award 2020
