The winners of the EuroTech Future Award 2024 have been announced. Congratulations to the three winners and thank you to all participants!
The six EuroTech Universities are leading European universities of science and technology. We join forces to build a strong, sustainable, sovereign, and resilient Europe. Contributing to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is a core element of our vision as an alliance, and we are proud of the achievements of our researchers that help Europe and the world advance on their way to a more sustainable future. The EuroTech Future Award recognises excellent scientific contributions to the UN SDGs by EuroTech researchers that are at the beginning of their career.
The award
The award is given by the EuroTech Universities Alliance members:
- Technical University of Denmark
- École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne
- Institut Polytechnique de Paris
- Technion – Israel Institute of Technology
- Eindhoven University of Technology
- Technical University of Munich
It is conceived as a distinction and comes with the following financial rewards:
- 1st place: €2,000
- 2nd place: €1,000
- 3rd place: €500
Eligibility
To be eligible, participants need to fulfil the following criteria:
- To work at a EuroTech University in a non-permanent position at the time of the deadline (29 February 2024, 17:00 CET).
- To have received their doctoral degree (date of thesis defence) less than five years before the time of the deadline (29 February 2024, 17:00 CET). Exceptions can be made for proven career breaks.
Scope
The EuroTech Future Award is given to early-career researchers for outstanding achievements in any research topic that contributes to achieving one or more of the 17 United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. Participants need to demonstrate the excellence and impact of their research and relate it to at least one SDG. At the same time, the award recognises the participants’ ability to communicate about their research in a way that allows non-experts, particularly policymakers and citizens, to understand their contribution to a more sustainable world.
To qualify for the award, key (intermediate) results have to be demonstrated. Submissions referring to research in a conceptual or early implementation phase will be disregarded. The submission can refer to a specific completed or ongoing project, but this is not mandatory.
International collaboration is a focus of the EuroTech Universities Alliance. We therefore particularly welcome submissions that include collaboration with a further EuroTech University. If substantial collaboration can be demonstrated, a bonus will be given in the evaluation phase.
Timeline
The timeline for the 2024 award is as follows:
Call opens
Call closes
Results are communicated
Award ceremony
How to participate
Submissions must be made between 08/01 and 29/02/2024 (17:00 CET) by using this form:
Block 1: COMMUNICATION
Executive summary of your research in laypersons’ terms
(max. 200 words)
Block 2: IMPACT
Description of progress beyond the state-of-the-art; of key (intermediate) results; of the scientific/technological/societal impact and of how the research contributes to the UN SDGs
(max. 1,000 words)
Block 3: EXCELLENCE
Brief demonstration of the research(er)’s excellence containing:
A short CV;
A list of publications;
Max. 3 of the following: A letter of recommendation; a grant received; an award received; a conference contribution; a successful industry collaboration; a patent application; another item/activity that the applicant considers relevant
The information has to be provided in a single PDF document. Illustrative materials (images, graphs, tables, etc.) may be included. For audio-visual materials, please provide a link. If you would like to invoke particular circumstances having led to a career break, or if you have any other comment, please include this information on a separate page at the end of the PDF file.
Only one submission per participant is admissible. In case of several submissions by the same participant, only the last submission received will be considered.
Former winners of the Award are not eligible.
Jury
The winners will be determined by an inter-university jury. The jury is composed of the Vice-Presidents for Research of the six EuroTech Universities and the Head of the EuroTech Brussels Office.
Prof. Noam Adir
Executive Vice-President for Research, Technion
Prof. Gerhard Kramer
Senior Vice-President for Research & Innovation, TUM
Prof. Rasmus Larsen
Provost, DTU
Prof. Silvia Lenaerts
Rector Magnificus, TU/e
Prof. Andreas Mortensen
Associate Vice-President for Research, EPFL
Tatiana Panteli
Head of Brussels Office, EuroTech
Prof. Kees van der Beek
Vice-President for Research, IP Paris
Award ceremony
The award ceremony will take place on Wednesday, 4 June 2024, in Brussels. Travel expenses of the three winners will be covered. Please note that the date might be subject to change.
Further information
For more detailed information, please see the terms & conditions. We also have gathered answers to potential questions in our FAQ sections below. In case of doubt, please send an e-mail to [email protected], we are happy to help.
FAQ: Eligibility
In the context of the EuroTech Future Award, "early-career researcher" refers to researchers who hold a non-permanent position at one of the six EuroTech Universities and who have received their doctoral degree less than five years before the application deadline, counting from the date of their PhD thesis defence. Having a doctoral degree is required. As a participant, you will most likely be a postdoctoral researcher or assistant professor.
Yes, under certain conditions career breaks can be taken into account, namely if they have been caused by maternity or paternity leave, long-term illness, national service, clinical training, or due to a natural disaster or seeking asylum. Please make sure to specify the reasons in your submission, on a separate page at the end. Feel free to discuss your eligibility before submission by sending an e-mail to [email protected].
FAQ: Submission
No, not necessarily. The award is open to any research as long as it falls within the framework of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals. It does not necessarily need to be linked to a specific project. But you are of course welcome to include results you have obtained through one or more projects in your submission.
No, not at all. The results can also stem from previous work you did before joining your current university.
Yes, absolutely. Please focus your submission on your personal contributions to that project.
Moreover, demonstrating collaboration with colleagues from other EuroTech Universities will give you a bonus in the evaluation. The submission form includes a dedicated field to highlight such collaborations.
No, only one application per participant is possible. In fact, we will only take into account your last application we receive and disregard all former submissions.
To amend your submission, please create a new one. We will take into account only the last submission. It goes without saying that this is only possible before the deadline is reached.
You need to address one but may address more. It is important that you demonstrate the impact of your research in a credible way with regard to each goal you cite. So limit yourself to really relevant goals and justify the contribution rather than trying to cover as many as possible.
The EuroTech Future Award recognises actual contributions to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. This is why we would like to see some evidence that the research you are putting forward for this award is already bearing fruit. At the same time, we understand that you are at the beginning of your career and you still have some way to go with your research.
For demonstrating impact, it is key to refer to concrete results of your research, even if it is only intermediate results, and to describe how they will help achieve one or more of the SDGs. In which regard do they go beyond the state of the art? How will they lead to change? What progress has already been made? How do they pave the way for future progress? Is the output transferable to other research projects or to industry? Make sure to address scientific as well as technological and societal impact.
The short answer is: in the way that you find most convincing.
The long answer is: We think that there are different definitions of excellence. This is why the 'Excellence' part, next to your CV and a list of publications, leaves space for you to convince the jury with what you think is relevant. Possibly indications for excellence can be but are by no means limited to:
- A letter of recommendation or a testimonial of a respected figure in your field,
- A grant or an award received,
- A successful collaboration with an industrial partner,
- A contribution to an important conference,
- A patent application,
- Or any other item you deem relevant.
Please limit your choice to three maximum. Keep it short and sweet.
Slightly, yes, so make sure to read the full terms and conditions if you are planning to recycle your previous submission.
In a nutshell:
Block 1 remains per se unchanged. Please be aware that this executive summary is used for determining whether your submission makes it to the shortlist.
Block 2 now specifically asks for the state-of-the-art and a more comprehensive definition of the impact.
Block 3 has become more streamlined: We ask for a short CV and list of publications from every participant. The rest is, as before, up to you.
FAQ: Reward
The prize money is personal money and therefore does not need to be linked to a chair or department (but can be, if you prefer that).
The award ceremony will take place in the frame of a EuroTech event on a sustainability-related topic in Brussels, scheduled for 4 June 2024. The event will gather key stakeholders from the European institutions, national and regional representations, representatives of academia and industry, and press. You will be able to present your research to the audience. More information will be communicated in due time.
Previous edition
Curious about the winners of the 2023 edition and their projects? You can find them here!
Thank you to all 2023 participants for their truly impressive submissions!
