Eleven refugees awarded NWO grant

It is the fourth time that the so-called Hestia Impulse for refugee scientists have been distributed. The recipients will be researching subjects such as the effects of medicines on algae populations, maternal stress and how the war in Syria is impacting the division of roles between men and women there.

Waste
Because of language problems or cultural differences, it is not easy for refugee scientists to resume their work. The thinking behind the grant programme is that there is a risk that their talent will be lost, and that would be a waste.

The researchers get a full-time appointment for a maximum of one and a half years or a part-time appointment for two years. A little less than 1.4 million euros is available for the Hestia grants. The total number of candidates was 19.

Hestia
NWO set up the programme in 2018 in partnership with the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW), The Young Academy and UAF, the foundation for refugee students. The refugees will work at seven different universities.