Information & Conditions

L’ORÉAL Austria, in collaboration with the Austrian UNESCO Commission and in cooperation with the Austrian Academy of Sciences, with the financial support of the Federal Ministry of Women, Science and Research, offers awards for female basic researchers in the fields of medicine, the natural sciences or mathematics. For the development of projects in Austria.

These awards are announced and granted as part of the worldwide cooperation "For Women in Science" between UNESCO and L'ORÉAL.

Application Requirements

Applications for a L’ORÉAL Austria award are open to female post-docs who

• completed their Dr./PhD no more than four years ago (submission deadline),
• are Austrian citizens or have been living in Austria for the last three years,
• submit a research project in any of the research areas mentioned above which will be conducted in Austria (projects in related disciplines pursuing an experimental research approach will also be considered)
  and
• have publications in peer-reviewed journals.

Exceptions
Delays (up to max. 3 years) due to (child)care obligations, chronic illness or disability will be taken into account. Exceptions must be clarified with the Department of Fellowships and Awards of the OeAW before submitting the application.

Application Modalities
Applicants are entitled to apply to other (funding) organizations. The Department of Fellowships and Awards of the OeAW must be informed of such applications and their outcome in writing however.

It is not possible to apply for another OeAW funding program at the same time.

Objective

The awards are intended to promote talented female scientific talent who are qualified by notable publications. The aim is to support female researchers who completed their doctorate/PhD no more than four years ago.
In particular, the award is intended for the following cases:

• to prepare a research project for application to (inter)national third-party funding organizations
  or
• for re-integration after a research stay abroad or after parental leave

The project must be carried out in Austria; short project-related stays abroad are possible.

Applications for the preparation of a research project for third-party funding are also possible if the Dr./PhD degree has not been completed by the deadline date, but will be completed by the end of May at the latest. In such a case, information about the planned date of completion of the Dr./PhD degree must be included in the application documents.

Amount of the Award

The amount of the award is 25,000 Euros and is paid in total or in two instalments (at the beginning and after half of the funding period).

Use

The award can be used to cover living expenses. The amount can also be used for courses, seminars, congresses, short research stays in Austria and abroad, childcare or for material resources.
A proposal outlining the intended use of the award money must be submitted with the application.

if the funding conditions are not met due to the recipient's fault, the funding amount must be repaid.

Reporting

No later than 3 months after the completion of the project that received the award, the final report must be sent by e-mail to the Austrian UNESCO Commission (walder-wintersteiner(at)unesco.at) and to the Department of Fellowships and Awards of the OeAW (stipref(at)oeaw.ac.at).

After Receiving the Award

Implementation of the submitted project can begin from the time the candidate in question os notified of the award decision until the end of the current year.

Obligations

Theaward winners undertake to have themselves photographed for public communication and to attend the award ceremony (in October/November). If events are planned specifically for and with them in the 12 months following the award ceremony (maximum of two), they are expected to participate.  They may also be filmed and interviewed for non-commercial purposes related to the communication of the L'Oréal-UNESCO "For Women in Science" program.  
These photos, videos and texts may be used for written and audiovisual publications and for distribution in Austrian and international media. Written permission for the image rights must be signed by each award winner.

The award winners may be invited to participate as science ambassadors for networking and activities within the framework of the MINT Aktionsplan (STEM Action Plan). For this purpose, their contact details will be forwarded to the Federal Ministry for Women, Science and Research,

By submitting the application for the L'ORÉAL Austria awards, these obligations are accepted.