The Groene Ruijter Award

Each year, Ghent University presents the Groene Ruijter Award to an outstanding student project that has contributed to a more sustainable university during the past academic year.

What?

Did you work on an impressive sustainability project this academic year? Has it had an impact on Ghent University? Would you like UGent to further develop and implement your initiative? Then apply for the Groene Ruijter Award!

The Groene Ruijter Award is presented to a student project that, over the past academic year, has contributed to a more sustainable university (and possibly city, world, …). In addition to the award, the winning team receives a voucher for a sustainable dinner in a Ghent restaurant and support to further develop the project at UGent.

With this award, the university wishes to honour and continue the passionate fight of Andreas De Ruijter for a more sustainable world.
Andreas De Ruijter, who passed away in July 2013, was a student in Civil Engineering. In September 2013 he was posthumously awarded his degree. He was a board member of UGent1010 (D’URGENT), a participant in Transition UGent, and a driving force behind the Urban Mining project.

For whom?

The competition is open to all UGent students, regardless of their programme or year of study. Students from other higher education institutions in Ghent may also participate. Entries can be submitted individually or as a group. The project must have a clear link to sustainability and the university.

How to take part?

Complete the application form and submit it before 18 April 2025.

Evaluation criteria

Projects will be assessed on the following criteria:

  • Originality of the project

  • Connection with current sustainability policy: To what extent does it support and strengthen existing sustainability policies?

  • Impact of the project: What did you aim to achieve? How large is the target audience? Can it be scaled up to other groups/institutions?

Announcement of results

Participants will present their project on Thursday 25 April from 18:00. After deliberation, the jury will announce the winner of the Groene Ruijter Award.

Jury composition

The jury consists of the rector, the parents of Andreas De Ruijter, the logistics manager, and two representatives of the Green Office.

Impressive projects from previous years

  • InciSioN Ghent, the International Student Surgical Network: Air pollution and the effects of climate change pose major risks to health and everyday wellbeing. Healthcare is vital, but it also has a significant impact, for example in terms of material use. Medical students in InciSioN Ghent set up a sustainability branch as the first local committee. They organised an event, talks, and brainstorming sessions to anchor sustainable values in the faculty, raise awareness among future healthcare providers, and encourage more conscious use of materials.

  • Recuperatheek for Architecture and Urbanism students: A Recuperatheek is a cooperative storage space for reused materials within a design school. Leftover and used materials can be bought and sold using an alternative currency. This results not only in a sustainable and solidarity-based project, but also offers experience with a sustainable economic model.

  • Epione, a chatline focused on student mental wellbeing: The Ghent Student Council launched Epione to give students a place to open up. The chatline is staffed every evening by volunteer students. While it does not provide professional help, students can receive a listening ear, advice, or be referred to one of the university’s support services or external assistance.

  • Sustainability survey: The FRiSj sustainability team organised a large survey on integrating sustainability into engineering education. They are now working with the results: 84.4% of students believe the faculty has a responsibility to educate them about sustainability, while 53.5% feel this has not received enough attention so far.

  • Swap Shop: A free thrift shop, run by students, where incoming and outgoing exchange students can collect second-hand items for their student rooms and pass them on to the next group when they leave. This reduces waste and gives items a second life.

  • Ecozycorner: Students built new furniture out of old editions of the student magazine Schamper. Fun benches and tables were created and distributed across campuses.

  • Buddy Project: Set up to encourage intercultural connections at UGent, this project brings together exchange students, refugees, and local students to promote integration. Its main focus is on social sustainability.

  • The Green Locomotive: A group of young researchers wanted to show that internationalisation and sustainability can go hand in hand. They launched several awareness-raising campaigns across different channels and wrote a policy note to the university board, which eventually led to UGent’s sustainable travel policy.

Contact

More information: duurzaam@ugent.be