Eva at Op1 discussing if cum laude should be abolished

Can you still excel in 2023? Medical schools are considering the elimination of cum laude graduation, and there's a growing movement to de-emphasize medals in sports. However, entrepreneur Ali Niknam and tech investor Eva de Mol hold the opinion that this might not be a wise direction. In Op1 they discuss it with advocates vice dean Amsterdam UMC/VU Christa Boer and board member ISO Jorgen Blom. 

Watch the episode here Christa Boer, Eva de Mol, Ali Niknam en Jorgen Blom over excelleren anno 2023 (in Dutch).

Eva de Mol expresses reservations about completely doing away with the concept of excellence. She suggests, "If students are becoming stressed merely because they are striving for cum laude graduation, it could indicate that those individuals might not be suited for that pursuit."

The discussion around the table evokes memories for De Mol of her time as a student in the United States. "There, we would celebrate when someone had a publication," she recalls. When she proposed introducing a similar approach in the Netherlands, she encountered resistance. "They argued that it might make those without publications feel disheartened," she recounts.