Buba Bojang, a PhD student in the School of Law, is among four students to receive the 2015 Quincentenary Prize from the University of Aberdeen.
Buba was elected as President of the school’s Legal Research Society (LRS) in 2013. The LRS is a student-led and run initiative responsible for running academic and social events. Under Buba’s leadership, lecturer Dr Irène Couzigou says the LRS has been transformed from a “situation of dormancy to a very vibrant and active society”.
The annual Quincentenary Prize was established to mark the University’s 500th anniversary and recognises the exceptional efforts and talents of students. Buba received the award alongside his fellow winners, dental students Clare Lowe and Paul Roden, and Magdalena Blanz from the Chemistry department. In honour of their achievements, the students were each presented with a £1000 cash prize and medal by the leader of Aberdeen City Council, Jenny Laing, alongside Senior Vice-Principal Professor Jeremy Kilburn, at a ceremony held at the Aberdeen City Council Town House on Thursday 14 May.
Clare Lowe is leading a group of her classmates from Aberdeen Dental School to Africa this summer to teach oral health to locals. The group will travel to Musoma in rural Tanzania to implement an oral health programme that Clare has developed. In nominating Clare, Dr Rona Patey described her as “a remarkable young woman”.
Fellow dental student Paul Roden, who worked as a pharmacist before deciding to retrain as a dentist, went on to become the President of the Aberdeen Dental Society and has played an active role in fundraising and the implementation of improved processes within the school.
Magdalena Blanz, currently in the fourth year of her five-year Master of Chemistry degree, is an outstanding student who has achieved top marks throughout her course. She has received five awards for academic excellence over the last three years, including the 2014 Royal Society of Chemistry Analytical Chemistry Summer Studentship, worth £1440. She has also held three internships which saw her based in Alaska and the Friedrich-Schiller-University at Jena in Germany.
In addition to her academic skills, Magdalena is a passionate musician and a member of the University Symphony Orchestra, Trombone Ensemble, Concert Band and the University Chamber Orchestra. She has held a Choral Scholarship at St Machar’s Cathedral since 2013, is a member of the Cathedral Choir, and plays the organ at St Machar’s, taking time to explain the pipe organ to visiting children.