L'ORÉAL Information

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 Education, Science and Research, awards fellowships for female basic researchers in the fields of medicine, the natural sciences or mathematics. For the funding, continuation or development of projects in Austria.

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

Application requirements

Applications for a L’ORÉAL Austria fellowship are open to female doctoral candidates or post-docs who

• began their doctorate/PhD no more than three years ago (pre-docs)
  or
  completed their Dr./PhD no more than four years ago (post-docs),
• 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 due to (child)care obligations (up to 3 years) will be taken into account. Exceptions must be clarified with the Department of Fellowships and Awards of the OeAW before submitting the application.

Conditions
Applicants are entitled to apply to other (funding) bodies. 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 programme at the same time.

Objective

The fellowships are intended to promote talented female young researchers who can demonstrate either above-average degree scores or significant publications.

The aim is to support female researchers who are about to complete their dissertation or have already completed their doctorate/PhD (post-docs).
The fellowship is particularly intended for the following cases:

• completion of a a doctoral thesis
  or
• scientific development of a project proposal for the application at (inter)national third-party funding organisations
  or
• re-integration following a research stay abroad or parental leave

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

Applications for start-up or interim funding of dissertations are not accepted.

Applications for a post-doc fellowship are accepted even if the Dr./PhD degree has not been completed by the deadline date but will be completed before the meeting of the fellowship committee (in June/July). In such a case, information about the planned date of completion of the Dr./PhD degree must be included in the application documents.

Length and Extent of Funding

L’ORÉAL Austria fellowships are awarded for between 8 and a maximum of 12 months (pre-docs) or between 6 and 8 months (post-docs).

A L’ORÉAL Austria fellowship is funded in the amount of 25,000 Euros (before tax) and is paid in total or in two instalments (at the beginning and at the half-way stage).

The fellowship is intended to cover the costs of living. Parts of it can also be used for courses, seminars, congresses, short research stays at home and abroad, childcare or for material resources.

Should fellows fail to adhere to the conditions of the fellowship, they must pay back their funding.

Start of the fellowship and reporting

The fellowship can be taken up at any point until the end of the year once the researcher in question has been informed of the committee's decision.

A final report must be sent by email to the Austrian UNESCO Commission (walder-wintersteiner(at)unesco.at) and to the Department of Fellowships and Awards of the OeAW (barbara.haberl(at)oeaw.ac.at) within three months of the fellowship’s completion.

After receiving the fellowship

The fellowship holders undertake to have themselves photographed for public communication and to attend the award ceremony.
If events are planned specifically for and with them in the 12 months following the award ceremony (maximum of two), they are also 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 fellowship holder.