THE VAN NOORDWIJK AWARD AND THE 'WILLEM KOLFF BATTLE OF THE UNIVERSITIES'
The Van Noordwijk Grant
The Van Noordwijk Grant was established in 2003. In 2024, the Board of the Willem Kolff Foundation decided to rename it to the Van Noordwijk Award, maintaining the same awarding criteria.
Prof. Jacob van Noordwijk during the first presentation of the award named after him in 2004.
In 2004, the winner was Johannes van Dijk, Technical Computer Scientist, Dept. of Clinical Neurophysiology, Radboud UMC, Nijmegen
The Van Noordwijk Award (formerly the Van Noordwijk Grant) is a scientific encouragement award named after the main assistant of professor Kolff during the development of the artificial kidney in World War II, Prof. Dr. Jacobus van Noordwijk (1920-2008). Until 2018, the Van Noordwijk Grant consisted of a scientific encouragement award of €10,000 awarded by the Willem Kolff Foundation to a potential, practical interdisciplinary scientific concept in the field of organ replacement (bio)medical technology and cell technology. Since its creation in 2003, the award has been granted twice. In 2004 and 2009, it was granted as a stimulation budget for an individual researcher conducting research on a concrete, patient-related solution to a medical problem. After 2009, the Van Noordwijk Grant was awarded to the winner of the 'Willem Kolff Battle of the Universities'.
In 2024, it was decided to permanently convert the Van Noordwijk Grant into the Van Noordwijk Award, consisting of a certificate and a medal featuring the image of Jacob van Noordwijk. The criteria and intended purpose remain unchanged.
The 'Willem Kolff Battle of the Universities'
The first 'Willem Kolff Battle of the Universities' was held in 2011 in Leiden. The second 'Battle' took place in Eindhoven in 2014 and the third in 2018, again in Leiden. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the 'Kolff Battle of the Universities' – like other award ceremonies – was put on hold. Following a reorientation of the activities of the WKS in collaboration with external partners including the Dutch Kidney Foundation, it was decided in 2022 not to organize new 'Battles' for the time being.
The team from Erasmus Medical Center Rotterdam won the first 'Battle of the Universities' for the Van Noordwijk Grant on September 30, 2011. Scientific teams from nine Dutch universities competed for 24 hours for an innovation award for the best solution to a medical-technical problem in a heart and kidney patient. The Erasmus MC team, with their Cell Bead Transplantation Concept – transplanting stem cells from the bone marrow to remove accumulating toxins (ADMA) from the body, which cause heart problems in kidney patients over time – was considered the most innovative idea by both the jury and the audience. They won a prize of €10,000 which they announced they would use to further develop their concept.
In 2014, the team from Eindhoven Radboud MC won the Van Noordwijk Grant.
The last time the Van Noordwijk Grant could be awarded to the winner of the 'Battle of the Universities' was in October 2018, when the team from Radboud University's Medical Center (Nijmegen) claimed the honor. During the Battle, six teams of young researchers competed to find the most innovative solution to a 'kidney problem' through a (bio)medical approach. For an impression of the setup and progress of the 'battle', see the following links:
BATTLE 2011, Leiden
WINNER: Team Erasmus MC, Rotterdam
