Una Europa PhD Impact Competition

Are you a doctoral researcher at an Una Europa partner university? Is your research related to Future Materials? Do you want to share the impact of your research with others?

Then enter the Una Europa PhD Impact Award competition!

The Una Europa PhD Impact Award aims to recognise and celebrate the impact, and potential impact, of research and researchers across the alliance. We invite doctoral researchers to reflect on their research practice, to consider how it impacts on society and contributes to the world.

Researchers are invited to complete a short PhD Impact Award case study template aimed at a non-scientific, non-technical audience. The case study should outline the impact or potential impact of the research e.g. on society, the economy, the environment, health, education, technology, culture or policy.

For this competition, the research should have a connection to Future Materials as understood in the context of Una Europa. Future Materials encompasses any material anticipated or expected to be developed or to become prominent in the future. Such materials possess advanced or novel properties, are more sustainable, or offer advantages over currently available materials in specific applications.

Who can enter?

The competition is open to all doctoral researchers who are currently undertaking a PhD at one of the 11 Una Europa partner universities. Please note: Applicants must enter during their PhD, up until the time of their PhD defence.

Doctoral researchers from the following fields may be working on an area related to Future Materials:

Materials Science
Engineering
Sustainability
Energy
Physics
Data Science
Chemistry.

However, entries are accepted from all disciplines and are not limited to this list.

What is the prize?

The winners of the Una Europa PhD Impact Award will have the opportunity to participate in a storytelling workshop (online) and be invited to the Una Europa Gathering in Bologna, Italy (27–29 November 2024) to showcase their research to the Una Europa community and meet with other researchers from the field of Future Materials. Travel and accommodation support will be provided to go to Bologna.

In addition, the winning entries will be published on the Una Europa website.

How does the competition work?

Read the Entry Guidelines for the PhD Impact Award. Then download the PhD Impact Award case study template and complete it in English. It should be written for a non-scientific, non-technical audience.

The Entry Guidelines document invites you to consider the impact or potential impact of your research, and guide you on how to define and describe impact.

The selection of the winner(s) will be done by an interdisciplinary jury including researchers in the field of Future Materials, a student, a communications expert and an administrative staff member.

What is the deadline?

The deadline for entries is midnight on 15 September 2024. The winner(s) will be notified by mid-October and must be available to travel in late November.

Entries should be emailed to marie-julie.jacquemot@fu-berlin.de, Senior Project Lead for Una.Futura at Freie Universität Berlin. Questions can also be sent to this address.

Image credit: Sonika Agarwal