Winners KNAW Education Prize 2021 announced

Profile papers on current and stimulating topics such as the influence of home education on language development, teenagers’ interest in the environment and the effect of artificial intelligence on stock market trading

Today was the festive online presentation of the KNAW Education Award for the best vwo profile assignments in the Netherlands. Within the four profiles Culture & Society, Economy & Society, Nature & Health and Nature & Technology a first, second and third prize were awarded. All winners receive a stipend for their first year of college. 

First prizes:

Profile Culture & Society: Language development group 3 during distance learning Jiska de Nie | College Hageveld, Heemstede
Jiska de Nie studied the influence of home education during the first corona-lockdown on the language development of Haarlem children in group 3. She conducted surveys among teachers at eleven Haarlem schools in different neighborhoods. In this way she discovered that in the socio-economically weaker Haarlem neighborhoods 55 percent of the students had a language disadvantage. In the more affluent neighborhoods, this was true for 36 percent. Also, the type of language arrears in the poorer neighborhoods was more severe: the children will suffer from it for a longer time. At the same time, some children actually managed to develop a head start through home schooling: 20 percent in the poorer and 26 percent in the richer districts. The study shows that school closure has increased the inequality of opportunity among young children.

Profile Economics & Society: Young people of today, for the environment of the future Gwendolyn Berkelder & Sophie Handgraaf | Comenius College, Hilversum
Gwendolyn Berkelder and Sophie Handgraaf were looking for a solution to the ‘teenage dip’. This is the low point in interest in the environment among 13- to 18-year-olds, the very group that will suffer the most from environmental damage. Based on extensive empirical research, Gwendolyn and Sophie conclude that a differentiated approach has the greatest chance of success. For example, it is best not to put too much energy into the ‘disengaged’. The paralyzed need to be convinced that they do have an impact. The ‘charitables’ (who are willing to commit themselves to any good cause) can be tried to become more interested in the environment. Finally, the ‘concerned activists’ must be better equipped with knowledge so that they can influence others.

Nature & Health Profile: Musicians in sound and vision; differences in multitasking performance between musicians and non-musicians Joëlle Steltenpool | Mencia de Mendoza, Breda
Musicians do have to multitask: reading notes, listening and making music at the same time. Joëlle Steltenpool investigated whether trained musicians can multitask better than non-musicians, also outside of music. To test this she developed her own computer game, in which test subjects had to respond simultaneously to both visual and auditory stimuli. The results showed that musicians indeed performed the tests better than non-musicians. No significant correlations were found between performance on the computer task and the age at which someone started playing music, the amount of time someone played music per week and the type of instrument someone played. It is still unclear whether people become better at multitasking as a result of the music training, or whether people who are good at multitasking last longer in music lessons.

Nature & Technology Profile: Man versus Machine Stach Redeker, Noah Verkaik & Sander Vermeulen | Erasmus College, Zoetermeer
Stach Redeker, Noah Verkaik and Sander Vermeulen want to become rich. They also like artificial intelligence. What could be more logical than to research, for your profile assignment, whether you can write a software program that is better at investments than a human being? The students immersed themselves in stock market trading, dived into the world of automation and got down to programming. Eventually they succeeded in writing a program that could independently trade stocks with a return. Although it could not yet compete with human traders, the students expect that in the future stock traders will face competition from artificial intelligence. After all, “If three enthusiastic guys and a computer can achieve reasonable returns, what are the possibilities of a firm with a thousand techies?

Other winners: 

Culture & Society

Second prize: From excuse debate to excuse culture – Martje den Ouden | Driestar College, Gouda
In 2020, for the first time there was extensive attention for the black pages of Dutch history. Prime Minister Rutte apologized for the shortcomings of the Dutch government during the Holocaust. Martje den Ouden investigated where this seemingly sudden readiness to apologize comes from, and how the debate about “apologies,” “regret,” and “remorse” has developed. She describes how since 1995 the Dutch government ? but also companies and churches ? dared to scrutinize its own role more and more critically. New facts and the increased multi-coloredness of Dutch society also played a role. Thus, the processing of the past is changing and the excuse debate in the Netherlands has shifted to an excuse culture.

Third prize: Germany eingekreist: formation of the foreign policy of the German empire 1871-1914 – Tarik Dellouche & Sander Iuga | Zuider Gymnasium, Rotterdam
What circumstances and personal decisions determined the foreign policy of the German empire? This question is historically relevant, because an initially stable and pacifist policy under Chancellor Bismarck increasingly went off the rails after Kaiser Wilhelm II took office, and ultimately resulted in a world war. Tarik Dellouche and Sander Iuga tested existing ideas about this period. They read an impressive mountain of source material, from historical treaties to diaries and memoirs. They conclude that the encirclement of Germany by powerful states was at the heart of foreign policy. Bismarck wanted to make Germany a pacifist buffer, Wilhelm wanted to strengthen the country militarily. Thus, he was not out to destroy Bismarck’s work, but had a different vision that ultimately turned out badly.

Economy & Society

Second prize:Child influencers: child labor or hobby? – Noa Esselbrugge & Geanne Timmerman | CSG Dingstede Meppel
Child influencers are children under the age of thirteen who earn money on social media. The phenomenon is still quite new and is scientifically and legally in its infancy. A daring decision therefore by Noa Esselbrugge and Geanne Timmerman to delve into this. Noa and Geanne approach the subject from a comparative legal perspective, but also look at the earning models and the psychological effects on the children. They conclude that child influencers do perform child labor, and that the legislator should protect these children. For example, part of the income should be compulsorily deposited in an escrow account, for later. And the child should be able to take all commercial material offline without parental intervention.

Third prize: Can it be a little less now and then? – Jaëlle Mourik & Sifra Kooy |GSR, Rotterdam
Jaëlle Mourik and Sifra Kooy see many students who make sky-high demands on themselves. Perfectionism is great, but sometimes it gets out of hand. Then it can lead to extreme fatigue, anxiety disorders, procrastination, depression and other misery. Jaëlle and Sifra wondered how students can use their perfectionism in a positive way without letting it get them down. They mapped the phenomenon thoroughly and developed a course to teach perfectionist students to accept their perfectionism, to recognize the risks and to adjust their behavior through exercises. Jaëlle and Sifra actually gave the course to a group of fellow pupils. They felt afterwards that they had learned something new about themselves. They also scored slightly lower on the perfectionism yardstick developed by Jaëlle and Sifra.

Nature & Health

Second prize: Cardiac Automated Drug Administration System – Arwa Issa | Ir. Lely Lyceum, Amsterdam
Arwa Issa wanted to come up with a technical solution to a medical problem. She chose the most common heart rhythm disorder: atrial fibrillation. This is when the heart suddenly starts beating irregularly; many older people are particularly affected. Inspired by the insulin pump, Arwa designed a system that can pump medications in a dosed and automatic manner. It does this when it is registered via a smartwatch that the heart rate is changing without the patient exerting any effort. In a few minutes, the symptoms should be resolved. Arwa designed its Cardiac Automated Drug Administration System (CADAS) via simulation. It has not yet been tested on real patients. But Arwa hopes CADAS will lay the groundwork for a world where atrial fibrillation no longer needs to cause unnecessary suffering.

Third prize: The all-devouring explosions: Beirut and COVID-19 infections – Sarah & Stéphanie Issa | Fons Vitae Lyceum, Amsterdam
On August 4, 2020, two heavy explosions took place in the port of Beirut. For their profile paper, Sarah and Stéphanie Issa investigated what the influence of this local disaster was on another disaster, the corona pandemic. To do this, Sarah and Stéphanie did literature research on Lebanese politics before and after the explosions, and held interviews with doctors in Lebanon and the Netherlands. The sisters also analyzed the number of infections before and three weeks after the explosions. As a control group, they took infections in two other Lebanese cities. Sarah and Stéphanie conclude that it was not so much the explosions themselves that increased COVID-19 infections as the furious demonstrations that followed in several Lebanese cities.

Nature & Technology

Second prize: The causes and prevention of antibiotic resistance – Ariska van de Bunt & Ellen van Kruistum | Johannes Fontanus College, Barneveld
Two hundred people die every year in the Netherlands from antibiotic resistance. This is relatively low, but scientists predict that the number will increase as we import the resistance from abroad. A topical and relevant subject, therefore, which Ariska van de Bunt and Ellen van Kruistum took up in their profile paper. After thorough research and exciting experiments in shower drains, they conclude that the use of antibiotics must be reduced as much as possible in order to prevent resistance. This can be done by paying close attention to hygiene, by developing alternative treatment methods, but also by not simply using antibiotics in cattle and fish farms. Both Ariska and Ellen would like to continue in the biomedical sector after their final exams. Their profile paper is an excellent first step.

Second prize (ex aequo): The patellar reflex – David Chen & Stevan Pavlovi?
The complex nervous system in the human body, although crucial to our health, is not easy to investigate because it is located deep inside the body. David Chen and Stevan Pavlovic saw in the patellar reflex – the well-known knee twisting up when hit with a hammer – the ideal way to diagnose the nervous system. But then that diagnosis should preferably not be left to the naked eye. David and Stevan applied mathematics to biology in order to design, step by step, a set-up that quantifies knee movement with the aid of video and a cell phone. According to the KNAW jury, the setup the boys designed is almost ripe for the market.

293 papers
President of the KNAW Ineke Sluiter presented the KNAW Education Prize to the 12 winners today. They were selected by a jury of scientists from the four different domains (Culture and Society, Economy and Society, Nature and Health, and Nature and Technology), which judged 293 profile papers this year. The Nature and Technology jury decided to award two Second Prizes because the high quality made choosing impossible.

The winning students will receive a scholarship for their first college year. The first prize is a sum of € 2,000, the second of € 1,500 and the third prize is € 1,000. The teachers who supervised the winning papers also receive an award from the KNAW. The schools receive a plaque. On the website of the KNAW Education Prize there is more information about all nominated assignments and about the prize itself.

About the KNAW Education Prize
This year, the KNAW Education Prize is being awarded for the thirteenth time. With this prize, the KNAW wants to emphasize that inspiring education lays the foundation for good science. The prize is made possible by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science.