Established with the aim of supporting women’s careers and stimulating their development, the Marina van Damme prize/grant has been able to help numerous female engineers realise ambitious dreams. In 2023 the network will already have 60 members from a wide range of backgrounds and fields of study. Member stories elsewhere on this site reflect some of the diversity within the network.
Marina van Damme Network
Network for female ingenieurs with ambition and passion for their profession.
The Marina van Damme grant is awarded annualy to promising alumnae from each of the universities of technology in Twente, Delft and Eindhoven, and from Wageningen University and Research. The grant winners together form the inspiring, creative and active Marina van Damme network.
Meet all membersNetwork Goals
Each year, the new grant applications, the selection process, and the grant award ceremonies are exciting highlights for the network – both for applicants and existing members. The quality of applications is consistently very high, and choice of a winner is not easy. Each university is therefore supported in the selection process by a number of former winners. The award ceremonies are festive events organized by the universities, where the new winners can immediately meet other network members and Dr. Ir. Marina van Damme. A very warm personal welcome, followed by online congratulations from other members.
The network is a close-knit community of independent and ambitious women, spread across many countries, with a wide range of expertise, knowledge and experience. Members regularly share stories about their challenges in both the workplace and private life, creating a strong bond between them. The network organizes (themed) meetings to promote contact between members. Marina van Damme herself is also very involved in the well-being of the members, and annually invites all members to her home for an informative day ‘under the apple tree’.
The network is dedicated to inspiring and supporting members. Members help fellow members overcome obstacles, grow and accept new challenges. Whether it concerns making a study choice, taking the next career step or taking a leap into a new field, the network members encourage each other to make dreams come true and to use our full potential.
With the publication of the member stories, the network also hopes to set an example for other girls and women who want to develop their passion for science and technology.
It has been a pleasure to see the network growing from a single person to what it is now, a large group of talented women with very diverse technical background and inspiring, helping, and motivating each other.
- Sonia Heemstra de Groot, winner 2003 -
Meet our members
A source of inspiration!
Marina van Damme Grant
The universities of technology of Twente, Delft and Eindhoven, and Wageningen University and Research, each year select an ambitious alumna as the winner of the Marina van Damme grant.
Last update: May 2023