Four Tilburg University studies nominated for Klokhuis Wetenschapsprijs
Tilburg University Junior has nominated four studies for the Klokhuis Wetenschapsprijs. This award is presented annually by the educational children’s program Het Klokhuis to recognize scientific research that is both interesting and relevant to children aged 9 to 12.

The Tilburg contenders for the Klokhuis Wetenschapsprijs are timely and diverse. One of the nominated projects is Bliep bliep: How can I help you? How chatbots learn to talk like humans, by Christine Liebrecht and Charlotte van Hooijdonk. They investigated how chatbots can communicate more humanly with company customers.
Another relevant study comes from Frans Cruijssen, Anuj Puri, and Ikie Leunissen. For the Zero Hunger Lab, they explored why people in need of food assistance often don’t visit food banks. Shame emerged as a significant barrier in this regard.
Tilburg University Junior is an initiative of Tilburg University aimed at introducing children aged 9 to 12 to science. They develop educational programs for primary schools and organize events in and around the university, such as Night University Junior and the Children’s University.
Additionally, a team focusing on cyberbullying has been nominated: Renske van Enschot, Sara Pabian, Jan de Wit, Thorsten Erle, Marije van Amelsvoort, Eefje van Moorsel, and Bianca Sips. For their initiative Digitally Brave: Uniting Against Online Bullying!, they developed a method to help bystanders of cyberbullying intervene effectively.
The fourth nomination goes to Marion van den Heuvel, who researched child poverty. With her project The Strongest Link, she hopes to break the cycle of generational poverty using neuropsychological insights.
Voting
Starting February 24, children and adults can vote for their favorite research project on the Het Klokhuis website. The winner will be announced on March 16, 2025, and will receive their own episode on the program.