Applications Marina van Damme Fonds
The Marina van Damme Fund annually awards a scholarship to a female alumna to take a groundbreaking and/or cross-disciplinary step or turn in their career. The grant of €9,000 is intended for broadening knowledge in the form of a study at an accredited institution. Preference is given to alumnae of technical studies working in a technological environment.
Who is eligible
Candidates for the scholarship should have obtained a master's degree or a PhD from Wageningen University & Research. Preference is given to alumnae from technical fields of study working in a technological environment who have already established a career (at least 4 years of work experience after graduation).
The scholarship consists of a sum of €9,000 and a sculpture, and is intended for broadening or deepening knowledge in the form of, for example, an education, module or courses at an accredited institution. The scholarship is not intended for (co)financing a PhD trajectory, project or startup.
How to apply
The applications for the Marina van Damme scholarship 2025 are closed.
Applications for 2026 are yet to be announced.
When applying for the scholarship, the candidate herself should prepare a plan showing the developments she has made since graduation.
For a complete overview of the criteria and the procedure for applying, please download the criteria below:
More information
Marina van Damme studied in Delft, obtained her PhD in Twente and made a career at the Koninklijke Zoutfabriek, now Akzo. She wanted to support female engineers with some years of work experience but want to develop further. In 2003 she therefore handed out the annual Marina van Damme Grant at the universities of Twente and Delft. In 2010 the Eindhoven University of Technology was added to the list. With the creation of the 4TU Federation in 2018, she added Wageningen University & Research to the series.
"When I started studying in 1947, only 1 in 100 students in Delft was female. The fact that I made a career has not been a matter of course, but I really enjoyed it. I want other women to have this possibility too." - Marina van Damme
- 2025 - Anita Bake, incentive prize for Ivana Mik
- 2024 - Gesine Harms
- 2023 - Monicah Mburu and Pey Sze Teo
- 2022 - Martyna Hogendorf and Adita de Haan - Fuentes Usquiano
- 2021 - No winner due to COVID-pandemic
- 2020 - Iris van der Meer and Iris van ’t Erve
- 2019 - Chantal Vogels and Judith Houtman, incentive prize for Nienke van Staaveren
- 2018 - Julia E. Samson
Winners of the scholarship are welcomed into the Marina van Damme Network, an active network of former winners. These women support the scholarship awards by serving on the juries and strengthen one another through their ambitious personalities. With their varied but shared technological backgrounds and interests, they seek ways to help each other move forward and serve as role models for ambitious women. The members of the Marina van Damme Network meet several times a year, including every spring under the apple tree in Mrs. Van Damme’s garden.
Questions?
Questions about the Marina van Damme Fund? Get in touch.
EMA (Lies) Boelrijk, B Ec
Director University Fund Wageningen
Winner Marina Van Damme scholarship 2025
Anita Bake
WUR alumna Anita Bake has won the Marina van Damme scholarship 2025. She was chosen from dozens of candidates who were nominated for the scholarship. With the prize money of €9,000, Anita Bake will follow a training in leadership in the food sector: the Executive MBA - Food and Agribusiness Track, offered by Wageningen University & Research with TIAS School for Business and Society.
Anita Bake obtained her MSc in Nutrition and Health from WUR in 2015 and has been working as a researcher, advisor and information officer in the food sector for years. Born and raised in Nepal, she was the first in her family to pursue a university education, earn a master's degree on a scholarship, and work internationally. She is passionate about creating a world where healthy and nutritious food is accessible and affordable for everyone. Currently, she is Head of Programme at Less is Adequate and seeks to change food systems for children under the age of five by working with agribusiness on nutrition and safety.
Anita is keen to become a leader who can work effectively with the private sector and agribusiness to influence change at scale. That is why, thanks to the scholarship, she will be following the Executive MBA - Food and Agribusiness Track. The Executive MBA in Agri-Business is specifically designed for scholars and academics who want to make the transition from academia to business leadership.
This year, an incentive prize by Marina van Damme, the initiator of the fund was also awarded. This goes to Ivana Mik, MSc Food Biotechnology and Bioprocessing (2018). With prize, she is also starting a course at TIAS: "Starting Leadership and Management".
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