ECHO Award 2025

On Wednesday, 10 December, the ECHO Award 2025 ceremony took place at The Hague University of Applied Sciences. This celebratory gathering marked not only the culmination of the ECHO Award trajectory but also the 25th anniversary of the ECHO Award – a milestone in recognising and celebrating inclusive leadership in higher education.

The ECHO Award is an annual recognition for students with a non-Western or refugee background who are studying in higher education and creating impact on urgent social issues. During the ceremony, we honour the finalists and winners who distinguish themselves through their dedication, vision, and contributions to a more inclusive society.

Reform of the ECHO Award

Starting in 2025, we are introducing a renewed structure in which three ECHO Awards will be presented to students who stand out for the impact they create on urgent social issues. In recent years, we have seen that students contribute to social change in a variety of ways. While the categories used in previous years (ECHO Award for Universities of Applied Sciences, ECHO Award for Research Universities, Beta Technology Award, and Law & Tax Award) have been valuable, the current era calls for a more flexible framework. In the new setup, the HBO (Universities of Applied Sciences) and WO (Research Universities) categories will remain, but we are introducing a third: the Current Affairs Award (Actualiteiten Award). With this award, the jury can think across categories and respond to the most pressing social developments of the coming years.