Photo Ben Houdijk The Refugee Student Foundation UAF presented Tadele Alemu, a PhD candidate of the Food Process Engineering group, with the award this afternoon. Alemu fled Ethiopia in 2017. His exceptional study and work achievements, as well as his civic engagement, have earned him the Public Choice Award.
The award was announced during International Migrants Day in Leusden. Alemu received the award from the UAF’s director, Mirjam Huisman, who praised his enormous drive and perseverance. ‘Tadele is an example to us all. He shows how valuable working and studying is to sustainable participation and personal growth.’
‘I am tremendously grateful for this award’, Alemu stated in his acceptance speech. ‘It is an acknowledgement of my work and a symbol of hope for all refugees trying to find their way in a new society.’
Alemu, who is 37 years old, was born in Ethiopia, and he fled in 2017 due to the regime. He worked at Bahir Dar University after completing his master’s in food technology. In the Netherlands, he had to rebuild his life. Despite having PTSD and taking care of his family (he lives in Amsterdam with his wife and child), he succeeded in completing his master’s in Sustainable Food Process Engineering in Wageningen in under two years. He is now a PhD student at the Food Process Engineering group, where he researches the sustainable extraction of proteins from peas for use in meat substitutes.
On the UAF and the Award
UAF is a foundation that has been supporting students, professionals and scientists in their re-training, refresher training and inflow into the Dutch education system and employment market for over 75 years. The organisation collaborates with government and education institutes. The organisation describes the UAF Award as ‘an ode to refugees’ talent, knowledge and perseverance’. Four out of the over 3,200 refugees the UAF supports each year, were selected for the award, for excelling in their academic and work achievements and community involvement.
