Award for the First Generation Fund

Last year, UP Community was nominated for UU’s Diversity and Inclusion Award. UP unfortunately fell just outside the boat, but no worries; the award went to another initiative supporting first-generation students: the First Generation Fund. Charisma Hehakaya, PhD student at the Imaging & Oncology division of UMC Utrecht, is the founder of the fund. The Ffonds provides financial support to first-generation students. Presenting the award, Diversity Dean Janneke Plantinga expressed the jury’s admiration for Charisma’s great commitment to creating visibility for first-generation students. It is a large group, about a third of all students at Utrecht University. For them, academic study does not come naturally. Within just over a year, more than 20 students have already received a financial contribution from the First Generation Fund for their textbooks or a laptop, or for a stay at a university abroad.