In 2024, the Academies of Sciences of the Baltic States and the National Commissions for UNESCO, in cooperation with the Ministries of Education and Science, will award fellowships under the "Baltic Women in Science" program (see the Memorandum of Understanding and Appendix 1 to the MoU). The aim of the program is to enhance the visibility of female scientists, promote gender equality in the scientific world, and inspire the next generations of researchers. The contest will be held independently in each country, the laureates will be announced at a joint ceremony in Vilnius in autumn 2024.
ship is not monitored, but a brief report on the research conducted and its results must be submitted at the end of the year.
RULES AND REGULATIONS 2024
Application deadline: July 5, 2024
Who can apply:
All Fellowships are granted for female PhD students or researchers who study or work in Estonian universities or research institutions in research fields listed below.
Granting the Fellowship to the Doctor of Sciences is subject to the condition that no more than 7 (seven) (on the day of opening the call, May 31, 2024) years has passed since the Doctor of Sciences has obtained her doctorate. If the applicant has been on maternity leave after obtaining her doctorate the time limit shall be extended by 18 months per each maternity leave.
The applicants must fill in the online application form at https://ta-konkursid.ee. Most of the information and documents should be submitted in English.
Following mandatory files should be added to the application:
- Research Plan. Duration 1 year, description of the Research Plan up to 4000 characters with spaces, in English. Plan should contain following information: research problem and research questions, aim, description of the methodology, the way research will be carried out, expected results, approximate schedule etc.
- Detailed CV (in English)
- Copies of documents proving acquired degrees (can be in Estonian)
- List of publications (DOI or link to the article included), list of patents
- Recommendation letter from a supervisor, team leader, institution, etc. (one letter is sufficient, can be in Estonian)
FELLOWSHIPS 2024
In Estonia, in 2024 three fellowships of €7,000 each will be awarded to female scientists as follows:
- For 1 PhD student in the fields of Natural Sciences, Engineering and Technology, Medical and Health Sciences (areas 1, 2, 3 of classification according to Frascati Manual)
- For 1 PhD in the fields of Natural Sciences, Engineering and Technology, Medical and Health Sciences (degree obtained no more than 7 years ago) (areas 1, 2, 3 of classification according to Frascati Manual)
- For 1 PhD in Social Sciences (degree obtained no more than 7 years ago) (area 5 of classification according to Frascati Manual)
The fellowship is awarded in recognition of the research so far and to support the implementation of a one-year research project proposed in the application. The amount of the Fellowship must be used for the pursuit of scientific research in the relevant Baltic country. The use of fellowship is not monitored, but a brief report on the research conducted and its results must be submitted at the end of the year.
EVALUATION
The evaluation will primarily focus on the planned research project: the importance of solving the problem in the given scientific field, the scientific level of the project, objectives, chosen methodology and content, originality of the scientific approach and clarity of the research questions and problem description, the achievability of the objectives within the given timeframe. All other submitted documents and information will also be considered.
In Estonia, candidates will be evaluated by a committee formed by the Estonian Academy of Sciences, consisting of Academy Members and previous winners of L’Oreal Baltic Awards: Academy Member Kalle Kirsimäe (chairman of the committee), Academy Members Krista Fischer, Maarja Grossberg-Kuusk (also a previous winner), Tiina Randma-Liiv, and Ellu Saar, and previous winners Dr. Els Heinsalu and Dr. Tuul Sepp.
Contact: Terje Tuisk, terje.tuisk@akadeemia.ee, +372 511 0356
** **
Until 2023, fellowships were awarded within the "Women in Science" initiative by L’Oréal Baltic. The program operated in Latvia from 2005 to 2023, in Estonia and Lithuania from 2017 to 2023. The program supported the professional development of female scientists in the Baltics in cooperation with the Estonian National Commission for UNESCO and the Estonian Academy of Sciences, helping them achieve new goals and benefiting both science and society at large. Science addresses societal challenges, and science needs both men and women equally.
The global "For Women in Science" initiative was established in 1998. Since then, UNESCO and L’Oréal have jointly contributed to the development of science through this program. The program recognizes young female scientists and supports them in achieving their goals and widely disseminating their scientific achievements.
Programme website: www.forwomeninscience.com
Website of the Estonian National Commission for UNESCO: www.unesco.ee/
| 2023 7000 euros | • Dr. Triin Laisk, Associate Professor of Reproductive Genetics and Genomics at the Institute of Genomics, University of Tartu • Kertu Liis Krigul, Junior Researcher in Microbiomics at the Institute of Genomics, University of Tartu |
| 2022 6000 euros | • Dr. Ester Oras, Researcher at the University of Tartu • Karolina Kudelina, PhD Candidate at Tallinn University of Technology |
| 2021 6000 euros | • Dr. Kaija Põhako-Esko, Researcher • Mari-Ann Lind, PhD Candidate at the University of Tartu |
| 2020 6000 euros | • Prof. Maarja Grossberg, Researcher at Tallinn University of Technology • Lisandra Marina Da Rocha Meneses, Junior Researcher at the Estonian University of Life Sciences |
| 2019 6000 euros | • Dr. Tuul Sepp, Researcher in Animal Ecology at the University of Tartu • Kaarin Parts, PhD Candidate in Botany and Ecology at the University of Tartu |
| 2018 6000 euros | • Dr. Karin Kogermann, Associate Professor and Lead Researcher at the Institute of Pharmacy, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tartu |
| 2017 6000 euros | • Dr. Els Heinsalu, Senior Researcher at the Institute of Chemical and Biological Physics |