Are you a doctoral researcher at one of the Una Europa partner universities? Is your research related to Future Materials and Technology, One Health, Sustainability, or Data Science & Artificial Intelligence? Do you want to share the impact of your research with others? Then enter the Una Europa PhD Impact Competition!

Follow this link to our online application form.

The call for applications is open until 14 September 2025 at 23:59 CEST.

What is it?

The Una Europa PhD Impact Award aims to recognise and celebrate the impact, and potential impact, of research and researchers. We invite doctoral researchers to reflect on their research practice and consider how it impacts on society and contributes to the world. Being able to articulate the impact of research is an essential skill for all researchers.

This call is adressed to doctoral researchers from the fields of:

• Data Science & Artificial Intelligence
• Future Materials & Technologies
• One Health
• Sustainability

Who can enter?

The competition is open to all doctoral researchers who are currently undertaking a PhD at one of the 11 Una Europa partner universities. Researchers may enter during their PhD, up until the time of their PhD defence.

What’s in it for me?

Winners of the PhD Impact Award will be given the unique opportunity to present their research at one of Europe’s leading science festivals: climb the Inspiration Stage of the Berlin Science Week at Berlin’s Museum für Naturkunde (Museum for Natural Sciences) on November 1/2 2025 and showcase your work to interested people from the fields of science, economy, art, culture, and society. This will be followed by a networking opportunity with other scientists and peers at the museum. Travel and accommodation costs will be provided by Una Europa.

Winners will be invited to participate in an online science communication workshop to support their preparations for presenting at Berlin Science Week.

How does the competition work?

Submit your entry to the Una Europa PhD Impact Award

The application form will invite you to consider the impact or potential impact of your research, e.g. on society, the economy, the environment, on health, on education, on technology, on culture or on policy. Read the guidance document for more details on how to define and describe the impact of your research.

The winner(s) will be selected by an interdisciplinary jury of researchers in the fields of Data Science & Articifical Intelligence; Future Materials and Technologies; One Health; and Sustainability.

When is the deadline for submission?

The call for applications is open until 14 September 2025 at 23:59 CEST.

The winner(s) will be notified by late September and must be available to travel to Berlin for the weekend of 1–2 November.

If any of the winners are non-EU citizens, we will do our best to support you in obtaining a visa to travel to Berlin. However, due to the timeline and waiting times for visa appointments, an alternative prize may be offered in this case.

Questions can be addressed to Kirsten Schmiester at kirsten.schmiester@fu-berlin.de, Senior Project Lead for Una.Futura at Freie Universität Berlin.