The call for the L’Oréal Unesco For Women in Science fellowships 2025 is now open
The Dutch Network of Women Professors, in collaboration with the Netherlands Commission for Unesco, L’Oréal Belgilux & the Netherlands, NIAS-KNAW, and NEMO Science Museum, is proud to announce the 2025 Dutch L’Oréal-Unesco For Women in Science Fellowships. Four fellowships are awarded to women scientists conducting research in the Life Sciences in the broad sense of the word and in the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) disciplines.
Candidates must have completed a PhD for a minimum of three years and a maximum of 10 years (maternity leaves and periods of part-time work due to family circumstances may be deducted). For 2025, there are four scholarships of 30,000 euros each. The fellowships are intended for a research stay at NIAS-KNAW in Amsterdam, where fellows will be able to work free from administrative, clinical, or teaching responsibilities. This gives them time for in-depth research and for writing scientific publications or grant applications. If desired, they can be accommodated at the NIAS-KNAW in Amsterdam.
The fellowships aim to address the ongoing underrepresentation of women in senior academic roles. Despite gradual progress, women still account for less than 30% of professors in the Netherlands (see our Women Professors Monitor). This program is a vital step toward creating a more inclusive academic landscape and supporting the development of the next generation of women leaders in science. Past laureates have shared that their semester at NIAS made a significant and measurable impact on their careers.
Candidates submit a proposal on a theme in the Life Sciences or in the STEM disciplines. Because the programme aims to improve the career prospects of women researchers and increase the number of women professors in the Netherlands, only applicants with a permanent or temporary contract at a Dutch university or a Dutch research institute are eligible.
History
In 2012, L'Oréal Netherlands and the Netherlands Commission for Unesco introduced the national For Women in Science awards program in collaboration with the Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study (NIAS-KNAW) and the Dutch Network of Women Professors (LNVH). Under the motto 'The world needs science, science needs women', the FWIS program promotes women's scientific careers and to ultimately help increase the number of women professors.
The Dutch FWIS program annually provided two research grants worth €30,000 to two exceptional women scientists in the Life Sciences and, since 2023, in the STEM disciplines to enable these outstanding scientists to deepen their research. From 2019-2023, the programme also awarded prizes to talented young researchers (Rising Talents). This part of the programme has since been discontinued.
In 2024, in consultation with its partners, L'Oréal has decided to better align the FWiS program with the structure of similar programs in the BENELUX countries. As a result, from 2024 onwards,
4 fellowships are awarded at once, biennaily.
The International Programme
The Dutch FWiS fellowship programme is part of a prestigious international programme that is a collaboration between Unesco and L’Oréal. Since 1998, more than 3900 women from 110 countries have received a fellowship or award. Five of them have gone on to win a Nobel Prize, including the Nobel Prize winners of 2020 for Chemistry, Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer Doudna.
Application Process
The application window opens 15 January and closes 28 February 2025. The jury will select a maximum of four fellows, whose fellowships will begin either in September 2025 or February 2026. The regulations, the application form and the project proposal form for the For Women in Science Fellowships 2025 can be found below.
- Regulations For Women in Science Fellowships 2025
- Application form For Women in Science Fellowships 2025
- Project proposal form For Women in Science Fellowships 2025
For more information you can contact drs. Lidwien Poorthuis at poorthuis@lnvh.nl, + 31 6 15207225 or dr. Jon Verriet at jverriet@unesco.nl, +31 6 3986 5414.
Laureates of Previous Years
Find more information on the laureates of previous years here.