HEC Lausanne (UNIL), in partnership with the UNIL International Relations Service, and the Christophe Pralong Association have awarded the Cadot Prize and the Pralong Prize to 3 students whose projects aim at solving development problems in the world. Discover this year's winners and their projects.
Each endowed with a maximum amount of CHF 10'000.-, the Cadot and Pralong Prizes are intended to help a student or a group of students to carry out a social, entrepreneurial or academic project in an emerging country. These awards are open to all students without discrimination, whether they are from the University of Lausanne, EPFL or other universities in French-speaking Switzerland. For this edition, 19 applications were submitted to the jury, which decided to support 3 projects.
The Olivier Cadot Prize was awarded to an academic project:
Nadine Hosny, PhD student in psychology at the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences (UNIL) for her project entitled "Complex-Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Urban Egypt: Cultural Adaptation and Pilot Testing of an Evidence-Based Treatment Manual".
"Our project aims to investigate the cultural and structural aspects related to post-traumatic stress disorder in urban areas of Egypt, where the prevalence of different forms of violence is high. The diagnosis of this syndrome summarizes the severe psychological difficulties faced by people exposed to extreme or repeated forms of violence and trauma. In addition to the basic universal symptoms, culture-specific symptoms should be explored and included to make these diagnoses more valid across cultures. Recent evidence also shows that in addition to cultural aspects, there are structural and social determinants, such as economic and social inequalities. Cultural and structural aspects are therefore essential for the development of effective therapies for PTSD. The information gathered in this research will be used to formulate a culturally specific diagnostic module, as well as to pilot and culturally adapt a therapeutic manual to improve care for this vulnerable population."
"Being of Egyptian origin, I know how limited mental health resources are in Egypt. Access to reliable care remains a challenge for the general population, as well as for refugees. The same study in Switzerland is being conducted in parallel in order to have two different perspectives on the same topic. The project will pave the way for collaboration with the American University in Cairo and other local non-governmental organizations. The Cadot Prize gives me the opportunity to pursue a thesis topic that interests me and is of personal importance to vulnerable populations in my home country. It will allow me to advance my career in the field of cultural clinical psychology and will also help me engage in practical applications of scientific research, which is the goal of my career as a researcher and psychotherapist."
The Christophe Pralong Prize was awarded to 2 students for 2 projects:
1. Fabien Dierckx, in the Master's program in Tourism Studies at the Faculty of Geosciences and Environment (UNIL), for his project entitled "Setting up a motor hoe rental service, including transport, for farmers of small plots".
"This project aims to set up a system of motor hoe rental. It is a small agricultural machine that allows to prepare the soil before planting. The rental service is intended for farmers of small plots. This project is based on the observation that turning over the soil manually is a physically demanding and painful activity and that there is no equipment available in Togo as in the rest of West Africa. The principle of renting instead of making equipment available or selling it seeks to respond to financing difficulties as well as to the need to ensure maintenance while remaining within the limits of an acceptable financial burden allowing the continuity of the activity. A rotovator favors better yields, the recultivation of abandoned areas and makes farming more attractive to young people. Improved food supply offers the possibility of being less sensitive to weather hazards, generating income with the surplus and increasing resilience to global geopolitical conditions.
Why did you apply for this prize and how will it help you?
"The participation to the Pralong prize was a natural step because of a convergence of views. The project of renting motor hoes has as objective to establish the principles of a sustainable economic activity. The three fundamental pillars are: providing material assistance for the start-up of an activity, the second is the generation of an income and the third, the primary factor of success, is the search for the involvement of actors in the territory concerned."
2. Idrissou Mounpe Chare, doctoral student in social sciences at the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences (UNIL), for his project entitled "Construction of a borehole equipped with a human-powered pump for a community without access to drinking water in the Mfekout district of Njimom".
"Access to drinking water and sanitation is a daily challenge for countries in the South. In Cameroon, only 31% of households have access to drinking water (50.7% in urban areas and 6.1% in rural areas). This is the context of this project, which consists of building a human-powered borehole in a rural commune in Cameroon, Njimom. The inhabitants of Njimom have difficulty accessing quality water because the available sources are not drinkable and they are not connected to the water distribution network. The inhabitants must therefore walk long distances to access water sources whose quality is not always guaranteed, which has many negative consequences on their health. There is therefore a real need to improve living conditions and hygiene through access to an essential product: water."
Why did you apply for this prize and how will it help you?
"The call for projects for the Pralong Prize was an opportunity to help the population of Njimom who have difficulty accessing water. Participation in the prize allows for financial support and therefore the implementation and speed of execution of the project. The drilling and the works should thus begin in the next few months. Another motivation for the project is to try to curb the curve of water-borne and endemic diseases, which are constantly on the rise, through the contribution of the drilling. By carrying out this project we hope to motivate and inspire other students to carry out other positive initiatives. The different actors involved in the project are sources of learning. We will be more than satisfied and happy to have contributed to the happiness of vulnerable populations because we believe that happiness is only truly happiness if it is shared."
HEC Lausanne warmly congratulates the laureates of this 2023 edition and already gives you an appointment in October for the launch of the new call for projects for the 2024 awards.