Are you a graduating Master student with an innovative thesis in Zoology? Are you eager to pursue an academic career? The Jacques Kets Award for Zoology wants to give you a head start in boosting your academic skills and building your professional network. Award prizes include a travel grant, a presentation workshop and attendance as an invited speaker at the ZOOLOGY 2019 conference. Deadline for application is Friday 27 September.
Who can participate?
Each Masters student in biology, molecular biology, bioscience-engineering or related scientific disciplines who wrote a Master’s thesis at a Belgian university or research institute during the academic year 2018-2019 (or 2017-2018), and received a grade of at least 14/20 for their thesis.
The only requirement is that the subject of the thesis is in a zoological discipline in the broadest sense; this includes fundamental and applied studies in biodiversity conservation, ecology, population & conservation genetics, behavioural ecology & ethology, animal physiology, endocrinology, evolutionary biology, comparative anatomy & morphology, taxonomy & phylogeny, neurobiology or related disciplines.
Participation requires candidates to be able to join us at the Award Finals in Brussels on Saturday 16 November 2019.
How do you participate?
Submit a detailed English abstract of your thesis (maximum 500 words), fill out the registration form below, and don't forget to answer the two questions. Deadline for submission is Friday 27 September, 23:59.
The abstracts sent to us will be evaluated by an expert jury comprising professors representing the Belgian universities and will pass two selections:
- First, the scientific jury will select the five best abstracts from the submitted contributions.
- Second, the five shortlisted candidates will be invited to give an oral presentation of their work (in English) during the Kets Award Finals. This year’s master day will take place on Saturday 16 November 2018 at the Royal Belgian Institute for Natural Sciences in Brussels which is located at Vautierstraat 29, 1000 Brussels.
Prior to the Kets Award Finals, the five shortlisted candidates will be offered a workshop by “The Floor is Yours” on how to present your research in a clear and convincing way.
Award prizes
The Jury Award will be provided by the Royal Zoological Society of Antwerp, who will give the winner a Conference Travel Grant worth € 1,000.
The Public Prize will be provided by the Royal Belgian Zoological Society, who will give the winner the opportunity (registration, travel and accommodation included) to present his/her work as an invited speaker for an international audience of zoologists at the ZOOLOGY 2019 conference (formerly Benelux Congress of Zoology). This year’s conference will be organized by the Royal Belgian Zoological Society and the Royal Dutch Zoological Society on the 28-29th of November in Groningen, The Netherlands.
About the award
The Royal Zoological Society of Antwerp and the Royal Belgian Zoological Society annually award a scientific award for the best Belgian master thesis presentation in Zoology.
The “Jacques Kets” Award was first installed in 1953 by the Royal Zoological Society of Antwerp to arouse the love for nature in young people and to encourage them to pursue a career in natural sciences. The award was named after Jacques Kets, a naturalist and taxidermist from Antwerp who in 1843 became the first director of the newly established Antwerp Zoo.
In 2007 the Jacques Kets Award was modified into a “booster grant” to give promising Masters students the opportunity to build upon their achievements, to stimulate them to pursue an academic career in zoology, and give them a head start in building a professional network.