Las month, medical intern Froukje van Gelder won the ECIO Frank Award. Through this award, the Expert Centre on Inclusive Education (ECIO) seeks to highlight students with disabilities or support needs who make education more inclusive and accessible. 'It caught me by surprise because I didn’t even know the award was being presented', she responds enthusiastically.
Source: Erasmus MC
Froukje first received a call about the ECIO Frank Award a while back. 'Wouldn’t this be a good fit for you?' A little while later, she heard that her friends had already signed her up — and then shortly after that, she found out she had been nominated. As part of the nomination, Froukje was filmed at the Education Centre. In the video, she explains how she came up with the idea of creating an e-learning module.
'It felt a bit strange', Froukje says about having won the award. 'I found out I was nominated in early February, and by April, I still hadn’t heard anything. But as it turns out, they were already working behind the scenes to be able to present the award during the MORE education award ceremony.' She plans to use the €1000 in prize money to expand and translate her e-learning module on dyslexia for students.
'While the recommendations set out in the e-learning are essential for dyslexic people, they can definitely be useful for all students and lecturers. These tips can make education better!'
Dr. Ingrid Brussé
OB/GYN-perinatologist
Straight from rounds to the MORE education award ceremony?
Froukje was busy with her internship rounds and did not actually want to go to the MORE education award ceremony. Her boyfriend persisted, saying 'I really want to go'. Froukje was standing behind a pole as ECIO staff prepared the banners. She heard Sem, from the Medical Faculty Association Rotterdam (MFVR) , mention "ECIO". That’s when it hit her.
'Winning the award is very cool. Professional translations are expensive. It can be done cheaply by translating it yourself first and then having someone check it, but I want it done really well straight away, so I needed the prize money. I think it’s just amazing that I can now move forward with this.'
Due to the surprise aspect, there was no chance to prepare a speech – but thankfully, that worked out just fine. 'All of a sudden, I had to get up and say something. ECIO had been worried about that, but my friends thought "eh, she has got this".'
Professional translation
Before Froukje is ready to translate her e-learning, she wants to expand the module for Erasmus MC students and make it into something all students can use, across the entire university. If there is money left over, she hopes to translate the e-learning for lecturers as well.
Empowering those with dyslexia
After developing the e-learning for lecturers, Froukje was approached by Dr Tessa van Ginhoven (an oncological surgeon) who thought it was a promising initiative. Together, they came up with the idea of researching dyslexia and other forms of neurodivergence among employees. Are there many employees who have these conditions? Do they need help with their work? What strengths do they bring to their jobs? While neurodivergent individuals may have limitations, they also have special strengths, i.e. super powers. Those super powers need to be seen and heard as well.
- More information
You can find more information about Froukjes e-learning on the website Amazing Erasmus MC.