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Public Prize for Piquing Pioneers
This award not only recognises excellence in academic achievement, but also seeks to encourage young researchers to communicate complex ideas to a broad audience in an accessible and engaging way.
New FWO Postdoc Award: Public Prize for Piquing Pioneers
The Research Foundation – Flanders (FWO) is introducing a brand-new postdoctoral award, the Publieksprijs Prikkelende Pioniers – Public Prize for Piquing Pioneers.
This award not only recognises excellence in academic achievement, but also seeks to encourage young researchers to communicate complex ideas to a broad audience in an accessible and engaging way. By encouraging scientists to share their work with the general public, the award aims to contribute to greater appreciation of science and its role in society.
2025 Edition
Meet the 10 nominees for Piquing Pioneers – 2025 edition
Objective
The award is aimed at postdoctoral researchers whose fellowship (junior or senior) has just ended. It seeks to reward young scientists who have not only made scientific progress in their research field, but have also had, or are expected to have, a significant socio-economic impact.
Selection process
Selection is based on the report on the most recent FWO postdoctoral fellowship, which every FWO beneficiary is required to submit. All 32 discipline-specific panels for fundamental research fellowships may nominate a candidate through their chair. A panel of experts in science communication then narrows this longlist of nominations down to a shortlist of 10 candidates.
The 10 nominees will have the opportunity to take a free popular science writing course organised by the SciComm Academy. They will then put the knowledge they have gained into practice, after which their blogs about their research will be published in EOS magazine. The Public Prize for Piquing Pioneers thus offers postdoctoral researchers a valuable opportunity to present their work and talents in an innovative way. The emphasis is on the ability to make scientific discoveries and complex theories understandable and inspiring, without compromising their substantive strength.
The best blog will be selected by the public through an online vote in November.
Award ceremony
The award ceremony will take place on the annual Science Day during the Brussels Science Festival. The winner will receive a voucher for a course of their choice at the SciComm Academy.