Prizes and Awards

Call for nominations:

• The Princess of Asturias Foundation is a non-profit private institution whose essential aims are to contribute to extolling and promoting those scientific, cultural and humanistic values that form part of the universal heritage of humanity and to consolidate the existing links between the Principality of Asturias and the title traditionally held by the heirs to the Crown of Spain.
• His Majesty King Felipe VI was Honorary President of the Foundation since its creation in 1980 until his proclamation as King of Spain on 19th June 2014, following which Her Royal Highness Leonor de Borbón y Ortiz, Princess of Asturias, became the Honorary President of this institution which annually convenes the Princess of Asturias Awards.
• Aimed at rewarding the scientific, technical, cultural, social and humanitarian work carried out at an international level by individuals, institutions or groups of individuals or institutions, these awards are granted in eight categories: the Arts, Communication and Humanities, Social Sciences, Concord, International Cooperation, Literature, Social Sciences, Sports and Technical and Scientific Research.
• The Awards are presented at a solemn ceremony held each year at the Campoamor Theatre in Oviedo.
• The Princess of Asturias Foundation issues a public call for nominations for the 2026 Princess of Asturias Awards, which shall be governed by the following Regulations approved by its Board of Trustees.
• Further information is available on the Princess of Asturias Awards webpage

Regulations

• The Princess of Asturias Foundation convenes the Princess of Asturias Awards.
• The Princess of Asturias Awards are to be conferred on those individuals and/or institutions that, through their work and merits in scientific, technical, cultural, social and humanitarian fields, contribute to progress and social well-being in an extraordinary and exemplary way.
• Furthermore, the repercussions of this work should always be considered in the broadest sense; that is, its contribution to the field should be of international scope and/or be acknowledged at an international level, be longstanding and hence indisputably appropriate.

Nominations may be submitted by:

• Laureates from previous years;
• members of the eight Juries, duly convened each year, provided they do not present nominations for the award in the category corresponding to the Jury of which they are a member;
•  Spanish diplomatic missions abroad;
• diplomatic representations in Spain;
• renowned public figures and institutions;
• other public figures and institutions invited to do so by the Princess of Asturias Foundation.

The following candidatures shall not be accepted in any case whatsoever:

• posthumous nominations;
• heads of state and/or heads of governments, or those who hold office as head of state or government, whether Spanish or foreign;
• high-ranking institutions of the Spanish State, their members or senior officials of the Spanish Government;
• Trustees of the Princess of Asturias Foundation at the time of the nomination, or those who have been Trustees within three years immediately prior to the nomination;
• Jury members or those who have been a member of any Princess of Asturias Award Jury within three years immediately prior to the nomination;
• individuals, organizations or institutions who apply for the award on their own behalf or on behalf of the organizations they represent.
• In each and every case, the decision as to whether nominations comply or not with the requirements established in these Regulations, and hence the suitability of the candidatures, ultimately lies with the Princess of Asturias Foundation. Said decision is not open to appeal.

Requirements:

• Completed official form
• CV
• Letters of Support

Each Princess of Asturias Award is endowed with:

• a Joan Miró sculpture, symbolizing the Princess of Asturias Awards;
• a diploma of accreditation;
•  an insignia;
• €50.000, amount to be equally divided among the Laureates when the award is shared.

VPRE Office submission deadline: Thursday 26th February 2026

Overview:

• The Chair of the General Prize Committee of the International Balzan Foundation “Prize” has invited Imperial to submit nominations for the 2026 Balzan Prizes for candidates in the physical, mathematical, natural sciences and medicine.
• Each of the 2026 Balzan Prizes is 750,000 Swiss francs.
• Half the Prize money will be awarded to the Prizewinner in recognition of her/his work. The other half will be destined by the Prizewinner to a research project involving young researchers or research groups. The research proposal will be subject to the approval of the General Prize Committee.

Award Categories:

• Imperial is invited to submit for the following 2026 Balzan Prizes topics: ‘Biodegradable Polymers from Renewable Sources’ and ‘Molecular Evolution: Decoding Patterns of Genomic Change.’
  • Biodegradable Polymers from Renewable Sources: The Balzan Prize in Biodegradable Polymers from Renewable Sources is intended to honor pioneering research that creates sustainable, high-performance materials from renewable resources. The Prize especially recognizes advances that enable scalable and cost-effective development of biodegradable polymers. By addressing global challenges such as plastic pollution, microplastic contamination, and fossil fuel dependence, the Prize will highlight innovations with potential for transformative impacts across industrial applications in - for instance - packaging, textile or biomedical technologies.
  • Molecular evolution: Decoding patterns of genomic change: Evolution leaves genetic fingerprints in the genomes of biological populations by changing heritable traits over successive generations. Research in molecular evolution leverages these fingerprints to describe and explain how natural selection and genetic drift shapes genomes over evolutionary history. This prize will recognize groundbreaking research in the field of molecular evolution ranging from the development of computational, statistical and mathematical methods to empirical approaches such as experimental evolution or field studies.

Nomination materials:

• a report (1-2 pages) on the reasons for applying (in Italian, French, English or German);
• a brief description (one paragraph, in non-specialist language/terms) of the most significant results obtained by the candidate with reference to the subject area of the award;
• a list of the ten most important publications (complete with bibliographical citations): one or two should be highlighted as recommended reading for non-specialists;
• a curriculum vitae specifying, among other things, the position currently held, the main academic activities carried out, place and date of birth, nationality, residence and address;
• a recent photograph (in high resolution, jpg), complete with copyright where applicable.

Further details:

• Nominations must be signed by the nominator
• Prizes may be awarded to individuals or to small working teams who have produced results jointly. It is to be noted that more than one candidate may be nominated for each prize subject. Furthermore, they do not necessarily have to be part of the institution of the individual making the nomination, nor of the same nationality.
• Further information can be found on the official International Balzan Prize Foundation webpage.

VPRE Office Deadline: Friday 27th February 2026

Prize Categories: 

• Medicine on the topic of ‘Artificial Intelligence in Clinical Medicine’
• Science on the topic of ‘Chemistry’

Nomination Statutes:

• Nominations are accepted from universities, scientific institutions and research centers.
• Nominations are not accepted from individuals or political parties.
• Nominated works must be published, likely to benefit mankind and enrich human knowledge.
• Nominations are not accepted posthumously.
• Dissertations are not accepted.
• Research works for which potential laureates are nominated must be already published, of benefit to mankind, and of recognized enrichment to human knowledge.
• Posthumous nominations are not permitted.
• Laureates of King Faisal Prize shall not be awarded the Prize again.
• More than one candidate may be nominated, irrespective of their affiliation with the nominating institution.

Nomination requirements:

• An official letter of nomination, adequately justifying the nomination and outlining the nominee’s achievements in the field of the Prize.
• A list of nominated works; not exceeding ten works.
• Nominee’s contact information.
•  A detailed CV with a list of the nominee’s publications.
• A recent color-photo of the nominee with high resolution.
• A letter of commitment to present two lectures in his/her field of specialization, at academic institutions in the event s/he is awarded the Prize.
• A copy of each one of the nominated work.
• Nominee’s general information form:
  • Nominee’s Full Name
  • Date of Birth
  • Place of Birth
  • Nationality
  • Current Position
  • Qualification 
  • Field of Specialisation 
  • Summary of Major Achievements
  • Postal Mailing Address
  • Contact Details (city code, mobile, country code, email, office phone, home phone)

Prize components:

• A certificate written in Arabic calligraphy featuring the laureate’s name with a brief description of the work for which s/he is awarded the Prize.
• A commemorative 24-carat, 200-gram gold medallion.
• A sum of SR 750,000 (US$ 200,000).

For more information, please visit the King Faisal Prize official website.

VPRE Office Deadline: Tuesday 17th March 2026

Overview:

• The Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists in the United Kingdom recognize the country’s most promising faculty-rank (academic staff) researchers in Life Sciences, Physical Sciences & Engineering, and Chemical Sciences. One Blavatnik Laureate in each disciplinary category will receive £100,000 in unrestricted funds, with two Finalists receiving £30,000 each. The Blavatnik Awards are generously supported by the Blavatnik Family Foundation and independently administered by The New York Academy of Sciences.

Eligible nominees must:

• Have been born in or after 1985 (42 years of age or younger)
  • Age-limit exceptions will be considered by the Blavatnik Family Foundation in exceptional circumstances upon a detailed written submission from the nominating institution. 
• Hold a doctorate degree (PhD, DPhil, MD, DDS, DVM, etc.);
• Currently hold an academic staff position at an invited institution in the United Kingdom;
• Currently conduct research as a principal investigator in one of the disciplinary categories in Chemical Sciences, Life Sciences, or Physical Sciences & Engineering.

Nominees and their work as independent investigators will be evaluated according to the following criteria:

• Quality: The extent to which the work is reliable, valid, credible, and scientifically rigorous.
• Impact: The extent to which the work addresses an important problem, advances scientific progress, and is influential in the nominee’s field, related fields, or beyond, and/or has the potential to benefit society.
• Novelty: The extent to which the work challenges existing paradigms, establishes a new field or considerably expands on an existing field, employs original methodologies or concepts, and/or pursues an original question.
• Promise: The nominee has potential for further significant contributions to science, and the research program will generate further impactful and novel discoveries. 

Nominations:

• Please note that Imperial may only submit one application in each of the three disciplinary categories (Chemical Sciences, Physical Sciences & Engineering, and Life Sciences). Therefore, an internal selection process will be used.
• HoDs should submit nominations (max. one nomination per department) to Lara Breckon (l.breckon@imperial.ac.uk) before COB Monday 23rd March 2026 . Internal nominations should include (1) the nominees name, (2), the nominee’s CV, and (3) half-page outlining the reasons why the nominee is a suitable candidate for the award. If applicable, the internal nomination should be accompanied by a letter outlining Age Limit Exceptions.  Nominations will then be reviewed by RAG (or a subset of RAG chaired by the Vice-Provost (Research and Enterprise)).
• Please note that further materials will be required for successful candidates following the internal submission stage. The nomination package for the Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists in the UK contains the following documents:
  • Nomination Form
  • Rationale for Nomination
  • Curriculum Vitae
  • Research Summary
  • Professional Service and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Statement
  • Key Publications and/or Patents
  • Letters of Support

Please refer to the updated 2027 Blavatnik Awards in the UK Guidelines for details on candidate eligibility and selection criteria.  Details of nomination requirements can be found on the Blavatnik Award’s Nomination Materials & Instructions webpage. 

Overview:

• The Seoul Peace Prize was established in 1990 to commemorate the success of the 24th Olympic Games held in Seoul, Korea, an event in which 160 nations from across the world took part, creating harmony and friendship. 
• The significance of the Seoul Olympic Games rests in the fact that the games heralded the termination of age-old political and ideological conflict between the East and the West, fostering a worldwide atmosphere of peace and reconciliation. It also served as an occasion to confirm the possibility of achieving world peace through mutual understanding and cooperation.
• The success of the Seoul Olympics has a particular meaning to the Korean people whose yearning for peace has been born of an especially challenging history.
• The Seoul Peace Prize was established to reflect the wishes of the people and to crystallize their desire for ever-lasting peace on earth.

Award details:

• The Seoul Peace Prize is awarded biennially.
• The laureate receives a diploma, a plaque, and am honorarium of US $200,000.

Categories:

• Nominees should deserve indisputable recognition for their outstanding contribution in the following areas:
  • Maintenance or restoration of peace in a disputed region or the world at large
  • Promotion of mutual understanding and reconciliation among peoples and nations
  • Peace building through the advancement of human rights, democracy, international cooperation, anti-war and anti-nuclear/mass destructive weapons, feminism, environment, culture, sports, and science and technology
  • Human development projects or initiatives

Nomination materials:

• Data on nominee (name, nationality, title, institution, date of birth, e-mail address)
• CV
• Reasons for nomination

VPRE Office Deadline: Wednesday 1st April 2026

Prize Details:

• The University of Copenhagen hereby launches a call for nominees for the Sonning Prize 2027, Denmark’s largest cultural award, and thereby encourage you to share this notice among employees at your university.
• The Sonning Prize of 1.000.000 DKK (about EURO 134.000) is awarded by the Sonning-Foundation to a person who is “found to have done commendable work for the benefit of European culture”.
• The Sonning Prize is normally awarded every other year at a ceremony at the University of Copenhagen.

Nomination process

• Employees at European Universities may nominate candidates for the Sonning Prize.
• To nominate candidates, please send a brief proposal (no longer than one page) describing the candidate’s significance for European culture along with candidate curricula vitae.
• The Sonning Prize Committee, appointed by the Board of the University of Copenhagen, may request additional recommendations for the candidates the committee chooses to proceed with
• It is the Board of the Sonning-Foundation that, based on recommendations made by the Sonning Prize committee, selects the recipient of the Sonning Prize.

VPRE Office Deadline: Monday 4^th May 2026