Each year, ECHO, Center for Diversity Policy, invites universities of applied sciences and research universities in the Netherlands to nominate socially engaged students for the ECHO Award.

Candidates for an ECHO Award are students from underrepresented groups who demonstrate visible social impact, contribute to policy and systemic change, and show leadership qualities. Read more about the criteria here.

The winners are selected by an independent jury and are given the opportunity to participate in a fully funded Summer Course at UCLA in the United States (subject to change).

All nominated students automatically become part of the ECHO Ambassadors Network. This network now includes around 500 students, as well as young and senior professionals, who have been nominated for the ECHO Award over the past ±25 years. It is a community of like-minded people who are connected through ECHO, while each contributing in their own way and context to diversity, inclusion, and equity in society.

Reform of the ECHO Award as of 2025

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.