On Thursday, December 10, 2015, the Dean awarded Kiril Dimitrov and Verena Leppmeier with the Best International Medical Student Award; Oluwatoju Akomolafe, Catarina Teixeira Alves, Maria Francisca Batista, Julia Bayer, Maxwell Alexander Cameron, Erica Catherine Crothers, Trevor Dudley, Florian Merkle, Ana Catarina Ferreir Palhau, Isha Laxmi Patel, Firas Raheman, Irene Santo, Marketa Tolarova and Daniel Jorge Toscano were awarded the Top 10 per cent International Medical Students Award.
Both awards are awarded annually to the top students, the rules for awarding can be found here and here. They not only represent an outstanding achievement in a symbolic sense, but also have a very practical impact. The awarded students get significant reductions in their tuition fees, while the best students receive generous 50 per cent tuition rebates for the academic year.
The ceremony took place in the Kinosál, a space where other important events like meetings of the Scientific Advisory Board of our Faculty are held. Dean of the Faculty prof. Vladimír Komárek and Vice-Dean for Study in English doc. Květa Bláhová held short congratulation speeches before traditional hand shaking.
We asked Kiril and Verena a couple of questions regarding the awards:
Kiril Dimitrov
Did you go for the prize?
Of course, I did. It's been a long time coming, I've tried really hard. The exams were very tough – and achieving this award makes it feel more complete.
When did you decide to go for it?
After the second year when I realized I had been doing pretty well in the past year and half, so I kept doing this in the third year, fourth year, and here I am.
How does it change your budget?
I can afford to buy more books now. (smile) It's not going to change my budget that much, although it is a lot of money, so I plan on saving it. But it's going to be nice, if I get it, hopefully, next year… I will only have to pay one tuition fee in two years.
Will you go for it next year?
Yes!
Verena Leppmeier
Did you go for the prize?
I didn't even know I could get it, I read, it was only up from the second year, but apparently it's also for first years, I was really surprised.
When did you get to know about the award?
Two weeks ago I got an e-mail from Renata I would be among the best students.
What does it make with your budget?
I'll buy a new small car – my old one was broken a year ago – and I'll go more often home to Germany and maybe… I'll go for holiday next summer semester.
Will you go for it next year?
There is a pressure, everyone expects you to be always good, but it also depends on luck with exam questions. So I'll try, but I won't be too disappointed if it doesn't work again.
We wish all our students good luck for the next year!
