Czexpats in Science, together with Diana Biotechnologies, is pleased to announce the laureates of the 2nd Czexpats in Science Award, which recognizes early-career Czech scientists working abroad in any scientific discipline. Congratulations to Monika Čechová from the University of California, Jakub Drápal from Leiden University, and Stanislav Fort from Google DeepMind on receiving this prestigious award!
The award ceremony, featuring lectures and a panel discussion with the laureates, will take place on 16 April at 4:00 p.m. at Masaryk University, Komenského náměstí 2, Brno.
Who is the Award for?
For early career Czech researchers working abroad in any field of the exact sciences, the social sciences or the humanities.The candidate must meet the following criteria:
- The candidate has received a PhD degree (or equivalent) and at the time of the application deadline no more than seven years have passed since the award of the degree, i.e. the candidate defended the doctoral dissertation thesis on or after 1 December 2017. This period is extended by parental leave or similar career breaks, which must be indicated in the CV. PhD students in their final year of study are eligible to enter the competition if they will have successfully defended their dissertation by the Czexpats in Science Award ceremony on 16 April 2025.
- The candidate has Czech citizenship.
- The candidate holds a scientific position in any scientific field.
- Applications are welcome from candidates working outside academia – e.g. in applied research and development in commercial companies.
- The candidate has a primary affiliation with a foreign institution and physically spends more than half of his/her time outside the Czech Republic.
Profile of ideal laureate
The ideal laureate of the Czexpats Award has qualities and skills that allow them to excel in their field and to make a significant contribution to the advancement of knowledge. These qualities and skills include, but are not limited to, curiosity; perseverance; independence; critical thinking; open-mindedness; and moral, intellectual, and methodological integrity. The ideal laureate has a clear vision for the future, wants to contribute directly or indirectly to the development of the Czech scientific environment, and has the potential to become a leader and role model not only for their immediate colleagues and collaborators but also further afield, across disciplines and social strata.
The ideal laureate of the Czexpats Award has already achieved demonstrable success in his/her field, has an active positive relationship with the Czech Republic and a clear vision of how to contribute to future development of his/her field and to society as a whole in line with the Czexpats in Science vision and goals.
How to apply?
Registration for the competition is currently closed. We will inform you about the launch of the 3rd edition during 2025.
Application format
The application form is to be completed in Czech or English. The application form is available online at czexpats.org. The content of the application form is a text summarizing your Scientific or technology development achievement, Community and social activities and Vision for the future. The text of the application is limited to 4000 characters including spaces + references.
Scientific or technology development achievement
Describe your scientific or technology development achievement and explain its contribution to knowledge in the context of your field. Give a clear answer to the question of why your contribution is significant to your field. Choose a language and style that is understandable and interesting for readers interested in science but without in-depth knowledge of the field, and include references to primary sources (journal article, monograph, conference proceedings, etc.). For the format, you might find the Mozaika (Mosaic) column of the journal Vesmír useful.
Community and social activities
Describe your other activities that can support your profile for the Czexpats in Science Award. You can mention popularization of science, volunteering, educational, sporting or artistic activities, civic activism, being active in the online space, etc. Highlight any overlap of your activities with the Czech Republic.
Vision for the future
Describe your professional and social goals in 5-10 years and the steps you intend to take to achieve them. Put them in the context of the current direction of the academic community or in the context of science in the Czech Republic.
Opponents
Please also indicate at least two opponents who are able to assess your profile professionally. At least one of them must be independent (not your current or past supervisor and not working at the same institution). As part of the evaluation, the opponents may (but need not) be asked for their opinion.
Timeline
- September 2024: Announcement of the contest
- 30. 11. 2024: Application deadline
- March 2025: Interviews with the finalists; Finalists and winner/winners announced
- 16. 4. 2025: Award ceremony at Masaryk University in Brno
Method of assessment
- In the first step, a formal check will be carried out to ensure that the basic criteria are met (e.g. eligibility of candidates, completeness and timeliness of the application form). Candidates not meeting the formal criteria will be notified within 14 days of the closing date for applications.
- In the second step, an Internal committee of Czexpats in Science will select a maximum of six finalists from all the applications received that meet the formal criteria. Short profiles of the finalists will be published.
- In the third step, the Expert jury will evaluate the finalists. It may (but does not have to) invite them to a short online interview according to the competition timeline. The expert jury will select 1-3 winners of the Czexpats in Science Award.
Internal committee
The internal committee consists of 6 members of Czexpats in Science. It is proposed by the Director of Czexpats in Science and approved by the Steering Boar.
Expert jury
The Expert jury consists of 4 members, of which at least one representing Czexpats in Science and one representing Diana Biotechnologies. The composition of the Expert jury is approved by the Steering Board upon being proposed by the Director. The members of the Expert jury for the 2nd year of the competition 2024/2025 are:
- Markéta Icha Kubánková – co-founder of Czexpats in Science,
- Jiří Schimer – co-founder of DIANA Biotechnologies and Head of Chemistry,
- Lenka Zdeborová – Czech physicist and computer scientist who is currently a researcher at EPFL (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne),
- Barbara Havelková – Czech lawyer currently working at the University of Oxford.
Evaluation criteria
During the evaluation, the Internal committee and the Expert jury will focus in particular on the consistency of the candidate with the Profile of the Ideal laureate of the Czexpats in Science Award. The evaluation will include an assessment of all three strands of the application, taking into account the length of the career to date and the specificities of the field of science.
The main output of the Expert jury will be a written consensus statement on why the selected laureates best fulfill the Profile of the ideal laureate. This statement will be published together with the announcement of the names of the laureates.
Announcement and presentation of the Czexpats in Science Award
- The Expert jury will select a maximum of three laureates based on the written consensus report. In the event of insufficient number and/or quality of entries being received, the jury may decide not to grant the Award.
- Award ceremony will take place on 16 April 2025 at 4 p.m. at Masaryk University in Brno.
- The ceremonial announcement and award presentation will take place on 16 April 2025 at 4 p.m. at Masaryk University in Brno.
- The laureates will give a short lecture at the Award ceremony (if attendance of the conference in person is impossible due to serious reasons, it will be possible to give the lecture online).
- The Czexpats in Science Award is associated with media visibility of the finalists and laureates (see below), and a financial reward of 75,000 CZK in total. The Expert jury reserves the right to award up to three prizes in one year and to divide the prize money equally between the laureates.
Media coverage
- Edited texts based on the Scientific or technology development achievement text in the application form of all finalists will be published, together with their short biography, in the popular science journal Vesmír. If some texts do not meet the needs of the printed journal even after two rounds of editing, they will be published online only.
- The research of the laureates will also be communicated to the general public through various wide-reaching media.
FAQ
Brought to you by
