Press release

Wimberley Award 2020 shared by Christoffer and Scott

Published on 3 July 2020

The prestigious Wimberley award has been given to joint winners, Scott Mackenzie and Christoffer Nielsen, who both contributed greatly to university life

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The prestigious Wimberley award has been given to joint winners, Scott Mackenzie and Christoffer Nielsen, who both showed outstanding academic achievement alongside a commitment to social, political and health advocacy throughout their time at the University of Dundee.

The Wimberley Award is an annual honour given by the principal to students who have made a distinguished contribution to University life during their studies.

Scott (23) graduated early in medicine and joined the cohort of junior doctors helping to fight the coronavirus pandemic, while Christoffer (24) graduated with a first-class honours in politics. Although they weren’t able to cross the stage, both celebrated from home and reflected on how the opportunities they had at Dundee shaped their experience and future careers.

Originally from Fife, Scott graduated with a number of published papers already under his belt promoting equality with a focus on reproductive rights in the LGBT+ community. In addition to excelling academically, he also co-founded the highly popular Dundee University Sign Language Society in 2016.

“I feel incredibly grateful to have been given this award. I appreciate there is a wealth of brilliant work that goes on at University of Dundee at both an undergraduate and postgraduate level,” said Scott.

“I was very thankful to even be considered and winning the Wimberley Award has been a wonderful surprise.

“Dundee’s great reputation for training compassionate doctors combined with the welcoming and inclusive student community making it the perfect place to study.

“It has been a real pleasure having the freedom to be supported in projects important to me, such as my work on LGBTQ reproductive rights. My biggest personal highlight and what I am most thankful for is the wonderful friendships I have made in Dundee that will last a lifetime.”

Christoffer (24) is a Politics graduate from Copenhagen, Denmark and has spent his time at Dundee as a fierce champion of human rights while also engaging in student leadership as Vice-president for the School of Social Sciences where he campaigned tirelessly for students’ welfare.

During his time at Dundee Christoffer designed and implemented a two-month advocacy campaign for Dr Ahmadreza Djalali, an Iranian-Swedish academic who has been sentenced to death under allegations of spying that he and his supporters dispute.

As president of the Model United Nations Society at University of Dundee, Christoffer successfully represented the Society at the biggest Model UN conference in Scotland at the University of Edinburgh and will go on to the biennial ‘EU in International Affairs’ conference to be held in Brussels with top scholars in his field.

“I am deeply honoured and touched to receive this prestigious award. I have been able to be part of so many things during my time at the University, but I had never imagined that I would receive the Wimberley Award,” said Christoffer.

“I was taken aback by the welcoming and friendly atmosphere on campus at Dundee and the close relationship between students and staff when I first arrived.

“If there is one thing that Dundee has given me, it is a global perspective on the world. I’ve been engaged in human rights advocacy work through my human rights modules and it has given me an insight into NGO work. I’ve been able to meet incredible human rights activists from all over the world.

“Dundee has taught me that it’s important to find and pursue projects you are passionate about and the rest should hopefully fall into place.”

Christoffer will be taking some time to travel after completing his degree and is considering a postgraduate study in the field of politics and human rights.

Scott will be moving on from his role at Ninewells to join NHS Lothian to start work as an academic junior doctor in a few months.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic Scott and Christoffer joined thousands of University of Dundee Graduates celebrating from home all over the world.

Enquiries

Hannah Adams

Media Relations Officer

+44 (0)1382 385131

hadams001@dundee.ac.uk
Story category Student work/achievement