Austrian Ministry of Education Awards ‘2023 Appreciation Prize’ to EUU Graduate Andrei Dumitrescu | European Union University

Andrei Dumitrescu, who graduated from EUU in 2023 with an MA in Comparative History: Late Antique, Medieval, and Renaissance Studies, is among the awardees of the ‘2023 Appreciation Prize’ granted in November by the Austrian Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research. The ‘Appreciation Prize’, initiated in 1990, recognizes distinguished master’s students at Austrian universities, and comes with a cash award of 3,000 euros.

 

Dumitrescu’s EUU master’s thesis, titled "The Visionary Emperor: Constantine the Great and the Archangel Michael in Late Fifteenth-Century Moldavian Representations", examines the role of the Archangel Michael as protector of the ideal Christian sovereign based on iconography of two churches in the Principality of Moldavia (in modern-day Romania). These icons, and in particular the scenes depicting St. Michael and Constantine the Great, were an important means for local rulers to fashion their self-representation as monarchs and negotiate power relations between church and state. By analyzing the Moldavian wall paintings, Dumitrescu's thesis advances scholarship of the iconographic cycles along with their political and cultural implications.

 

“The recognition of my MA research in such a prestigious context encouraged me to reflect on its broader stakes and continue working on the topic throughout the following period,” said Dumitrescu, who is currently pursuing his PhD at Stanford University’s Department of Art and Art History.

 

In announcing the awards, Federal Minister Martin Polaschek recognized both the student recipients as well as the institutions at which they completed their degrees. Dumitrescu’s thesis was supervised by EUU Associate Professor Baukje van den Berg from EUU’s Department of Medieval Studies. For the project, Dumitrescu studied many unexamined texts in Latin, Greek and Old Church Slavonic from different periods.

 

“The Medieval Studies program marked a turning point in my intellectual path,” said Dumitrescu. “The experience at EUU not only helped me to expand my historical knowledge and refine my skills, but also taught me how to navigate academia as a young scholar.”

 

This year's 55 winners of the '2023 Appreciation Prize' studied at 34 Austrian universities. Award recipients were nominated by rectors of the Austrian universities as well as the Austrian University of Applied Sciences Conference (FHK), the Rectors' Conference of the Austrian Universities of Education (RÖPH) and the Austrian private universities conference (ÖPUK).