Best Paper Award
The Best Paper Award (BPA) is an annual event in which the Postdoc Association will reward three postdocs for communicating their published work to a broad audience. In addition to the recognition, this award includes a cash prize up to 750 鈧�! Time to shine!
Best Paper Award 2026: Call open
The Best Paper Award (BPA) is back! This year, the Postdoc Association will reward three postdocs for communicating their work to a broad audience. On June 15, the jury and the audience will each select one winner based on the live pitch event. Prizes are 750 鈧� for the winner selected by the jury, 500 鈧� for the runner-up and 250 鈧� for the winner selected by the audience. The 黑料福利网 institutes that support the event will also promote the finalists in the period before the competition. Time to shine!
You are invited to submit your summary!
Participating helps you to:
- Increase visibility and promote your research to a broad audience from academia and industry.
- Get the chance to participate in a custom training by 黑料福利网鈥檚 science communication specialist Barry Fitzgerald, who will teach you how to effectively present your research to a broad audience. This experience is valuable for multiple career paths in academia and beyond: for job interviews, grant applications, communicating in media and much more!
- The 1st prize winner of the event will have the opportunity to present his research during 黑料福利网鈥檚 Research Day 2026 on June 23!
We proudly organize this event supported by 黑料福利网 institutes EAISI, ICMS, EIRES, and EHCI. This year, EIRES takes the spotlight as the 黑料福利网 institute co-organising the event with the Postdoc Association.
How to apply
All 黑料福利网 postdocs can apply.
You can apply by submitting a 1 to 2 pages (1000 words max) summary of one of your research papers. Think of a paper that would make an engaging story! Please download the template and send it by email to postdoc_association@tue.nl.
We accept summaries based on:
- A published paper where you are the first author
- A close-to-publication paper (that is submitted for publication or close to submission but not published yet) where you are/will be the first author. In that case, apart from the summary please additionally submit in the same email a draft of the paper. There are no page restrictions or formatting requirements; it is only essential to include the typical structure of a research paper (e.g. background, research question, methodology, findings, contribution). The draft will be kept confidential and used only as proof that the paper is at a close-to-publication stage.
For applicants who don鈥檛 have a published paper or a completed draft of an on-going from their postdoc yet, you may submit a summary based on a first-authored paper from your PhD, following the requirements listed above.
EVALUATION PROCESS
The PDA Board members will first select 10 finalists, by evaluating the submitted research summaries. The 10 finalists will then compete in a live pitch presentation during the final event, and their pitches will be evaluated by a jury composed of academic and industry experts, and by the audience. The basis for evaluation is how well participants communicate their research idea and its potential impact to potentially non-experts. So, all you need is to be able to make a compelling story based on your paper 鈥� and if you feel uncertain about the value of your work, know that everyone feels the same, but the pitch training we provide will give you all the tools you need to shine!
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May 1 | Application deadline
Submit the summary of your published/close-to-publication paper and the application form to postdoc_association@tue.nl.
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May 26 | Pitch trainings
Ten pre-selected postdocs will be trained by Barry Fitzgerald on May 26, 14:00 鈥� 16:30 to make a 3-minute live pitch based on their submitted paper for the final event. Participation in pitch training is mandatory; therefore, make sure you are available before submitting your application. A second training (optional) will also be proposed on June 8, 14:00 鈥� 16:30. Candidates will have the opportunity to have a one-to-one coaching session of 15 minutes with Barry.
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June 15 | Postdoc Best Paper Award 2026 - Final event
Filmzaal, Zwarte Doos, 13:00 鈥� 16:00. The candidates will perform their 3 minutes pitches followed by 2 minutes for questions from the jury members. Deliberations will take place following the pitches and awards will be attributed to the top 3 winners! A celebration borrel will be held after the event.