VDSP Innovation Award 2025

The “VDSP Innovation Award” is awarded annually by the VDSP to raise awareness for notable contributions of VDSP students bridging academic endeavours with real-world impact.

Eligibility Criteria

In this call, nominations for innovative projects will be considered which

  • Were implemented in the winter term 2024/2025 or summer term 2025
  • Were designed and executed by active student members of the VDSP* 
  • Were inspired by the research and/or the scholarly tasks of the VDSP student such as -but not limited to- teaching, technology transfer, outreach.

Nominations

Nominations will be accepted only if

  • They are received before Wed, 12 Nov, by the webform below.
  • They are submitted by a supervisor, a VDSP mentor of the active VDSP student or the VDSP student themselves.

In the case a project was initiated and implemented by multiple VDSP students, a joint nomination is permissible.

Award

The prize money amounts to EUR 1,000. In the case of a joint nomination, the monetary award will be divided equally between all active VDSP students who initiated and executed the winning nomination. 

Please note that if you are an employee of the University of Vienna, the award might be taxable and a certain amount might be deduced from your prize.

The awardee will be asked to deliver a highlight presentation at the doctoral project days (FÖP).

Selection

The “VDSP Innovation Award” recognizes the vital role of early career researchers in driving innovation.

The selection from the candidate publications will be carried out by a majority vote by three members of the VDSP Selection Committee according to good practice. The members of the VDSP Selection Committee will be recused from the discussion in cases where they cannot act objectively. 

The final decision lies with the VDSP scientific director and their deputy based on this vote.

Submission Form VDSP Innovation Award

Required fields are marked with a red square
Innovation Award 2025
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This field is required: Last name / Family name of nominator
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This field is required: First name / Given name of nominator
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This field is required: Role of nominator
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This field is required: Email of nominator
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This field is required: Nominee(s)
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This field is required: Description of the nominated initiative
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This field is required: Link to evidence of the nominated initiative
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This field is required: Statement on the relevance of the VDSP student's contributions to the nominated initiative
Declaration of consent
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This field is required: Declaration of consent

*Active VDSP students are students who

  • Are admitted to the doctoral study programme in Physics at the University of Vienna and
  • Have validated their VDSP membership by signing the Code of Good Practice
  • Have nominated a VDSP mentor and -depending on the admission date- have completed the FÖP, the annual progress report and annual mentor meeting within the set deadlines