Science prizes with deadlines until September 2025
by Céline Bonnamy (iDiv Scientific Networks)
The Prize Committee regularly monitors the wide scientific prize landscape, and any interesting prizes have their nomination or application deadlines in the coming months. We are pleased to provide a brief overview. For the sake of clarity, we have grouped the prizes by career stage, but you may also consider prizes in categories outside your career level.
For further details and enquiries, do not hesitate to contact the Prize Committee: prize@idiv.de or to visit our intranet page.
Mid- and senior-career researchers
Professor of the Year: The UNICUM Foundation recognises professors, who remarkably engage in teaching and prepare their students for the start of their career with practice-oriented teaching.
Nomination deadline: 15 June 2025
Frontiers of Knowledge Award: honours groundbreaking contributions across science, technology, humanities, and the arts. Open to individuals of any nationality or organisations that have made significant advancements, the awards recognise both independent and collaborative efforts. Nominations can be submitted by any scientific or cultural institution.
Nomination deadline: 30 June 2025
Hector Science Award: honours professors at German universities and research institutions for their outstanding research achievements and their special commitment to the teaching and encouragement of young scientists. The disciplines range from life sciences to engineering, medicine, and psychology.
Expected nomination period: From June until end of August 2025
Professor of the Year from Deutsche Hochschulverband (DHV): recognizes university professors or lecturers whose societal engagement goes beyond their research and teaching duties. With this award, the DHV aims to raise awareness of this aspect and showcase the contribution of university lecturers to the society.
Nomination deadline: 30 September 2025
Georg-Forster-Research Award: recognises the academic records of internationally outstanding researchers from developing and transition countries. The award is endowed with 60,000 € and the winners are invited to carry out a research project in Germany.
Nomination deadline: 31 October 2025
Early- and mid-career researchers
Hector RCD Award: this program aims to support junior scientists in that crucial phase between postdoc and professorship.
Nomination period: 1 September until 30 October 2024
Copernicus Medal: recognises excellent and innovative work in geosciences or in planetary and space sciences combined with exceptional efforts in community service.
Nomination deadline: 15 November 2024
Doctoral and early-career researchers, graduate students
GBIF Graduate Researchers Award: supports innovative research in biodiversity informatics. It honours two graduate students — typically one Master’s and one PhD candidate — nominated by GBIF Participant countries for their work using and mobilising biodiversity data shared through the GBIF network.
Application deadline: 27 June 2025
Wilhelm Ostwald Young Talent Award: presented by the Wilhelm Ostwald Society, the German Chemical Society and the German Bunsen Society for Physical Chemistry to early-career scientists in recognition of an outstanding dissertation or equivalent contribution to interdisciplinary research. The work presented should help to overcome discipline boundaries and obstacles. The dissertation should not be more than two years old and the nominee must not be older than 33. Nominations can be submitted by university professors and lecturers.
Nomination deadline: 31 July 2025
Academics Early-Career Talent Award: honours early-career scientists who have made outstanding and sustainable contributions to science and research. It also recognises social commitment and exemplary conduct in science.
Nomination deadline: 30 September 2025 (not open yet)
All career levels
Innovation Prize Thuringia: awarded annually to outstanding innovations from Thuringia. The aim is to honour innovations and the people behind them, and to motivate companies to integrate the competitive factor of innovation even more intensively into their corporate philosophy and to use it more strategically. The aim of the competition is to highlight innovative achievements, publish success stories and support networking to increase visibility.
Application deadline: 23 June 2025