Francqui Prize
The Francqui Prize, a prestigious accolade awarded annually in Belgium, holds significant importance in the world of academia and research. Established in 1933 this Prize motivates scholars to pursue groundbreaking research and interdisciplinary collaboration, and showcases Belgium’s contributions to the global intellectual community. The awarding of the Prize by the Belgium King and the involvement of a high-level international jury elevates its prestige. It honors outstanding individuals whilst elevating the standard of academic and scientific achievement in Belgium and beyond.
This year the Francqui-Collen Prize was awarded to Sarah-Maria FENDT (KUL) for her fundamental biomedical research in cancer metastasis as a metabolic disease, and to Philippe LEMEY (KUL) for his clinical & translational research finding a methodology to show how viruses’ spread can be mapped in real-time.
Left to right : Count Frédéric Francqui, Count Herman Van Rompuy (President of the Francqui Foundation),
Laureate Prof. Philippe Lemey, King Philippe, Laureate Prof. Sarah-Maria Fendt
and Baron Mark Waer (Vice-President of the Francqui Foundation)
[Consult the list of laureates]
Essential information about an entry
The Prize has to be considered as an inducement for a young scientist rather than the achievement of a career. This is the reason why the age limit is set at 50 years.
This prize is awarded successively in the fields of the Exact Sciences (2024), Human Sciences (2025) and Biological and Medical Sciences (2026). Thus, a person nominated for this Prize is not eligible again unless after three years.
Sponsorship : Candidates to this prize can be nominated, or by two members from a Royal Belgian Academy who emerge from de same discipline as the proposed candidate, or by a former Prize Laureat.
The demands introduced by indivuals for themselves are not taken into account.
The Francqui Prize cannot be shared : nevertheless it can be awarded to more than one person when it is obvious that they have worked together and that their contribution cannot be split.
The Board of Directors of the Francqui Foundation awards the Prize. Nevertheless the Board requires usually the input of an international jury. The decision of the Board is determinant.
The amount of the Francqui Prize is 250,000 euros.
File a submission
The deadline for introducing a nomination is the 15th of October.
Presentation must be in English to enable the international jury to evaluate the files
Requirements, introduced by the sponsors in accordance with Article 4 of the rules of the Francqui Prize :
- An original (paper) full submission containing (in following ordre) :
1) A page reflecting the name, the date of birth, the nationality, the affiliation and contact details of the candidate
+ the name, contact details and affiliation of the sponsors
2) Please provide a text of maximum 15 words or key words that best describe your field of research.
3) A motivation letter and a description of the works of the candidate, with reference to the 5 most relevant publications.
4) A Curriculum Vitae
5) Complete list of publications
6) Bibliometrics indicators, if available
7) Maximum 20 publications
- AND an electronic version (DVD or USB-stick) in the same order as the paper version and with the most relevant publications scanned.