News
CERGE-EI Alumni Awards Announced at 25th Anniversary Gala
30 May, 2016
In the lead up to the 25th Anniversary celebrations, CERGE-EI called upon it’s community to identify alumni who have made a considerable social impact in their community. On Friday 27 May Jan Švejnar presented the Alumni Awards to Gurgen Aslanyan and Jindřich Gallo. Congratulations to our two exceptional graduates!
In recognition of all the outstanding deeds that our graduates have performed and with the purpose of uniting alumni closer to the CERGE-EI community, the very first Alumni Awards 2016 were launched. Faculty, students, staff and all other CERGE-EI members came together to nominate and vote online for their favorite alumni who had significantly contributed to the society over the past year and a half. Their pursuits could involve anything from work focused on social development and pro bono involvement to community oriented extracurricular activities.
The seven remarkable alumni nominated for the awards were Gurgen Aslanyan (2014 PhD in Economics), Jindřich Gallo (2015 MA in Applied Economics), Martin Kálovec (2002 PhD in Economics), Iva Pejsarová (2013 MA in Economics), Branislav Saxa (2009 PhD in Economics), Dragana Stanišić (2013 PhD in Economics), and Jiří Střelický (2011 PhD in Economics). With 230 votes cast, the race was very tight, with the top two nominees distinguished by a margin of only 3 votes.
With the 25th Anniversary Gala as a unique opportunity to present winners to the CERGE-EI community, Jan Švejnar announced Gurgen Aslanyan as the Alumni Award Winner of 2016. Returning to Armenia after his graduation, Gurgen has played a crucial role in shaping one of the most influential economic think tanks in Armenia, the Dilijan Research and Training Center of the Central Bank of Armenia. The center acts as the head research facility of Armenia's central bank, focusing on producing and disseminating world-class data, research and policy advising, as well as encouraging economics education in the region.
The Honorary Alumni Award was presented to Jindřich Gallo for setting up the first student club at CERGE-EI, the Prague Wall Street Club, and organizing free educational activities in finance. Bringing the financial expertise of Aswath Damodaran, Professor of Finance at NYU Stern School of Business, to a wide audience of Prague students, Jindřich taught two free courses based on Damodaran’s materials. Moreover he organized a public lecture by professor Damodaran at CERGE-EI in May, attended by over 200 students from universities across the Czech Republic.
CERGE-EI is very proud of the efforts that Gurgen and Jindřich have put into contributing to their community as well as all the other great deeds that our Alumni Awards nominees have achieved.
