If you are a junior researcher, you can now nominate your research environment for the Danish Young Academy’s Research Environment of the Year 2026 award and win DKK 10,000 for an academic or social event.
Good research environments foster better research
At the Danish Young Academy, we know how important it is for early career researchers’ talent development to be part of good research communities. For this reason, we launched an award to recognize the importance of good research environments for the work, performance, and well-being of each individual scholar, and to acknowledge the contribution of each participant to the research community. We aim to inspire a conversation about the qualities that characterize a good research environment.
You can nominate your research environment for the Research Environment of the Year 2026 award. The prize is DKK 10,000 to support an academic or social event in your research environment. We awarded the prize for the first time in 2022. You can read about the background of the award and what we learned about great research environments by reading the many inspiring nominations submitted in previous years. Since we receive many award-worthy nominations by outstanding environments, we encourage people to resubmit their updated nominations.
Who can nominate a research environment for the award?
You must be at least two early career scholars at the academic level of M.A., Ph.D, postdoc or assistant professor and be employed at a Danish research institution to nominate your research environment for the award.
What are our assessment criteria for the nominated research environments?
We find it particularly important that young researchers receive supervision, feedback, and good development opportunities. There are several ways of supporting these aims. For example, a good research environment may foster excellence and creativity in research, the testing of new ideas, collaboration, early career paths, and the well-being and mental health of all members of the community. We look forward to hearing what a good research environment means to you.
How do we define a “research environment”?
- It may be a formal or informal network, e.g., a Ph.D. network or an outreach network
- It may be a research cluster that connects researchers across different disciplines
- It may be a research group with a supervisor and two or more D. students
- It may be a research environment with a horizontal or vertical structure
- It may be a digital and/or physical environment
How can you nominate your research environment?
You should submit a short nomination that addresses the following questions:
- Provide a brief description of the nominated research environment, including your topic of research, the location and size of your research environment, and your affiliations to it.
- Why does your research community deserve the Research Environment of the Year award?
- How has the collaboration of your research environment fostered your research, developed you as young researchers, and enhanced your career opportunities?
The nomination may address one or more of the following questions:
- How do you advance creativity, and how do you make room for mistakes?
- How do you share successes and failures?
- What do you do to create a sense of groupness and embrace difference?
- What plans do you have for further developing your research environment?
Please offer concrete examples, not just of social activities, but also of research and career-related initiatives. Examples of top-down initiatives and bottom-up initiatives are equally encouraged.
The nomination should be submitted by filling in this form
The application deadline is 27 March 2026.
The prize is awarded 29 May 2026.
If you have any questions, please contact: bo@videnskabernesselskab.dk
