Dr. Jenny Lind Elmaco receives Marie Curie Social Impact Award
By Victoria “NIKE” De Dios
Once again, the Filipino’s ingenuity will always shine wherever he or she will be and this has been recently proven when a Filipina scientist-researcher made her mark along with other intelligent, innovative, and co-creative fellows in the Marie Curie Alumni Association.
Dr. Jenny Lind Elmaco, Scientist-Researcher was awarded by the Marie Curie Alumni Association with Marie Curie Social Impact Award.
Speaking to THEPHILBIZNEWS, Dr. Jenny Lind Elmaco underscored that the recognition she received goes beyond herself.
“This (award) is just not for me or about me. But also an honor for our country and fellow Filipinos around the world. I hope that amidst the negative news we read every day, this will inspire our Kababayans,” Dr. Elmaco said.
The unassuming Scientist-Researcher is very optimistic that many Filipinos will also make their marks in these challenging times.
“The pandemic is here, and that does not mean we will fall into a trap of being helpless and embrace a defeatist attitude. We are blessed because we are still alive. This means we have a mission to fulfill. It doesn’t matter if it is a small accomplishment, what matters if we keep on trying and never give. Making a difference doesn’t mean doing great things, but doing our share to make a positive impact in our small ways,” Dr. Elmaco shared.
Dr. Elmaco has an impressive academic records. She not only a Marie Curie Scholar but also a scholar of the prestigious Erasmus Mundus Scholarship Program. She completed her Ph.D. at Spain’s Universidad Complutense de Madrid and one of the oldest universities in the world. She graduated with a ‘Sobresaliente Cum Laude” grade (excellent with honors).
Recently Dr. Elmaco was appointed as Vice-Chair of the Asia Pacific Women Inventors and Innovators Network. Apart from Marie Curie Scholarship, she is also an alumna of the Erasmus Mundus Scholarship.
“I hope that this will encourage more Filipinas to pursue scientific careers and to also intertwine their work with societal impact,” she continued.
“The Marie Curie Alumni Association is a community of some of the best scientific minds from all over the world and I am truly honored and grateful for giving me this recognition — the Marie Curie Social Impact Award,” Elmaco said.
“As background, the Marie Curie Social Impact Award is given to reward a fellow/former awardee whose activity has a positive social impact. The Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions is Europe’s most competitive and prestigious research and innovation fellowships. This is in honor of Marie Skłodowska-Curie is the Polish-French namesake of the programme and was the first female Nobel prize winner. The only person to win a Nobel Prize for contributions in two different sciences (physics and chemistry), she was also the first — and the only woman to have been awarded a Nobel Prize twice,” she explained.
“For me, to get to how I am now and how I value intertwining passion and purpose and principle-centered leadership is not something I did on my own. I am a product of great mentors and amazing friends from all over the world, and a supportive family. I am also a result of learnings and unlearnings, of sometimes bitter lessons, of loss, of honest conversations of my limitations and several battles with my inner thoughts, of searching and longing to find my place in this vast world. I’ve been caught in ditches and brushed myself off from tumbles and stumbles,” Dr. Lind added.
