The OWSD – Elsevier Foundation Awards for Early-Career Women Scientists in the Developing World

The Elsevier Foundation launched in 2010. The World Academy of Sciences for the advancement of science in developing countries (TWAS)  and OWSD, the Awards reward and encourage women working and living in developing countries. The OWSD-Elsevier Foundation Awards have an important impact on local research cultures.

This is the reward for the participants who have made a demonstrable impact on the research environment, both at a regional and international level, and must have received their Ph.D. in the last ten years.

Since 2013 the number of awards was reduced to 5 per year in order to provide more focus and visibility. The

scientific disciplines were organized by research fields on a 3-year cycle:

• Biological sciences: agriculture, biology, and medicine – 2019 Awards (selected in 2018)
• Engineering, innovation & technology – 2020 Awards (selected in 2019)
• Physical sciences: chemistry, mathematics, and physics – 2021 Awards (selected in 2020)

Eligibility 

• Women who are in the early stages of their scientific careers, having often overcome great challenges to achieve research excellence

Benefits

• A cash prize of USD 5,000
• An all-expenses-paid trip to attend the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) annual meeting, held every year in the U.S.A. during February
• Possibility to attend workshops and sessions at the AAAS meeting, visits to local laboratories or institutions, and a celebratory dinner organized by the Elsevier Foundation
• Great opportunities to establish contacts and collaboration networks with colleagues from different parts of the world