The NWO Spinoza Prize is the highest award in Dutch academia for researchers who according to international standards belong to the absolutely best researchers worldwide. The recipients of the NWO Spinoza Prize do outstanding and groundbreaking research with broad effect. They are an inspiration for early-stage researchers. NWO invites selected persons to nominate candidates for this prize. 

  

The prize is named after Baruch Spinoza (1632-1677). Spinoza was an internationally renowned Dutch scientist and a clear example of freedom in research – a fitting representation for academic/scientific breakthroughs.

 

 

Purpose

The NWO Spinoza Prize is a unique lifetime achievement award but above all an encouragement for further academic research. The Spinoza Prize was established in 1995. NWO created the prize to increase the visibility of excellent scientists and to encourage world-class research in the Netherlands. 

 

Any sufficiently qualified researcher holding a permanent position at a research institute in the Netherlands can be nominated for a Spinoza Prize.

 

 

Budget and duration

The recipients each receive a bronze statue of Spinoza and 1.5 million euros. They are free to spend this as they wish as long as the expenditure is related to academic research.

 

 

For who

The NWO Spinoza Prize is awarded annually to two researchers, one working in the Social Sciences and Humanities and one from the Natural, Life and Technical Sciences. Candidates for the NWO Spinoza Prize can only be nominated personally by principles and chairpersons who NWO invites to submit nominations. NWO invites the principles and chairpersons of the following organisations to nominate candidates:

• the universities located in the Kingdom of the Netherlands;
• the domain of Humanities via the president of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW);
• the domain of Behavioural Sciences, Social Sciences and Law via the president of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW);
• the domain of Natural Sciences and Engineering via the president of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW);
• the domain of Medical, Medical-Biological and Health Sciences via the president of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW);
• research institutes of NWO and KNAW via the president of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW);
• De Jonge Akademie via the president of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW);
• the Netherlands Academy of Engineering;
• the Dutch Network of Women Professors;
• the Netherlands Federation of University Medical Centres (UMCNL, formerly known as: NFU);
• the Royal Holland Society of Sciences and Humanities (KHMW);
• the TO2 federation (the institutes for applied research);
• the Confederation of Netherlands Industry and Employers (VNO-NCW).

The principles and chairpersons may each nominate a total of three candidates for the Spinoza and the Stevin Prize with a maximum of two candidates per prize. Researchers cannot apply for a Spinoza Prize themselves.

Candidates for the NWO Spinoza Prize:

• should have a permanent position at one of the research institutes in the Netherlands;
• should be able to spend the Spinoza Prize fully before their retirement age;
• may not have already received a Spinoza Prize or a Stevin Prize.

 

 

 

 

Source: 

https://www.nwo.nl/en/nwo-spinoza-prize