PATRON OF THE MONTH: Inspired by Kristīne Krūma, Individuals Donate to a Memorial Scholarship

The creation of the Kristīne Krūma Memorial Scholarship in 2016 was encouraged by her students, UL graduates Mārtiņš Paparinskis and Ieva Miļūna. The scholarship was created in remembrance of the life and contributions of the UL Faculty of Law graduate, lecturer, former prorector of Riga Graduate School of Law (RGSL) and Judge of the Latvian Constitutional Court Dr. iur. Kristīne Krūma (1974-2016).

The founders of the scholarship explain that, in a broader sense, the goal is to support European Union (EU) and international law studies and research in Latvia, but in a more narrow sense – to support young adults who are interested, and who have positive ambitions in the future to build their career in this field. But philosophically the purpose of the scholarship is to promote the cognitive process that was started by Kristīne Krūma herself and that inspired her so much. As her contemporaries recall, she admitted that a source of inspiration is like a sea horizon. “Maybe it’s “Dullais Dauka” syndrome – a constant desire to know what else is beyond the horizon, the feeling of infinity, cognition, living with the external circumstances.”  

The starting point does not matter

Dr. iur. Kristīne Krūma’s studies at the University of Latvia began in 1992. She can be described as a ‘simple girl from Purvciems’, who was well aware of the limited opportunities at the time in international relations and law. It was thanks to scholarships from various Danish, German and Swedish foundations that Kristīne was given the opportunities to build her base knowledge in those countries. It opened up opportunities for diplomatic work, a career in judiciary and improvement in Latvia’s academic environment. The spouse of K. Krūma – Ivars Indāns – emphasizes: “Scholarship foundations opened up opportunities for a “simple girl from Purvciems” to hold the highest positions, and now, I hope that the Kristīne Krūma Memorial Scholarship will open up similar opportunities for “simple boys and girls from Bolderāja, Rēzekne, Saldus or any other place in Latvia”.”

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Scholarship – a testament of what has been accomplished

“By donating to Kristīne Krūma Memorial Scholarship, we are investing in a very near future, we are investing in Latvian expertise, we are investing in the development of our very own legal awareness, from which will benefit both the private sector and state institutions. Even a small amount of support for this scholarship can affect someone, who will possibly improve, advance, and develop EU and international law in all our common interests,” say the founders of the scholarship who invite to participate in the donation campaign.

With the administrative support of the University of Latvia foundation, the Kristīne Krūma Memorial Scholarship has been awarded since the 2017/2018 academic year. It is intended for magister students of the UL Faculty of Law or RGSL with a grant of 3 000 EUR/acad. year. The first scholarship was granted to UL Faculty of Law alumnus Dāvids Lipšens, but the second scholarship recipient was UL Faculty of Law graduate Elīna Luīze Vītola. The 2019/2020 academic year scholarship recipient Gabriela Šantare in research is passionate about public international law, in particular international environmental law and its interactions with other areas of law, such as issues of state responsibility. “Receiving the scholarship serves as a great starting point for further growth and professional development. The support of the Patrons provides students with the opportunity to deepen their knowledge in the areas of law they’re interested in, and can also serve as support for continuing their studies at the next level,” tells Gabriela. The young lawyer admits that “at the same time, receiving the scholarship is a testament to what has been accomplished, as well as motivates you not to stop and strive for new achievements and challenges in both academic and professional life.”

Competence is based on quality higher education

Ivars Indāns emphasizes that quality higher education is a prerequisite for the development of society and it’s of everyone’s interest. At present, the central issue in the world is to limit the spread of coronavirus, the search of a new vaccine in which the academic and research institutions also take part of. It wouldn’t be possible if we ignored higher education. Thus, higher education is not just a story of development and innovations; it is also about solving the existential problems of humanity.

The spouse of Kristīne Krūma continues that the EU and international law may seem like a narrow and very specific area, but in any crisis, different societies want to wait for their preferred EU policies, decisions and problem solutions. No matter how we may be used to our own consumer lifestyle, we regularly return to the issue of EU competences, interests, money ect. It is higher education that in this field opens up a wide thematic area for the development of EU law.

So far, 42 individual patrons have donated to the Kristīne Krūma Memorial Scholarship Fund, with 9 having donated twice or more. For the 2020 campaign, 450 Euros have been donated. Like-minded individuals and friends are invited to continue the initiative and to contribute to a better future for the people of Europe, including Latvia.

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