GBIF 2022 Young Researchers Award

On behalf of the network of national Participants, the GBIF Secretariat is pleased to invite nominations for the 2022 Young Researchers Award. This annual programme aims to foster and recognize innovative research and discovery in biodiversity informatics by graduate students whose master’s and doctoral studies rely on GBIF-mediated data.

• Table of Content
• About GBIF—the Global Biodiversity Information Facility
• GBIF Young Researchers Award
• Aim and Benefits of GBIF Young Researchers Award
• Requirements for GBIF Young Researchers Award Qualification
• Interview date, Process and Venue for GBIF Young Researchers Award
• Application Deadline
• How to Apply

About GBIF—the Global Biodiversity Information Facility

GBIF—the Global Biodiversity Information Facility—is an international network and data infrastructure funded by the world's governments and aimed at providing anyone, anywhere, open access to data about all types of life on Earth. Coordinated through its Secretariat in Copenhagen, the GBIF network of participating countries and organizations, working through participant nodes, provides data-holding institutions around the world with common standards and open-source tools that enable them to share information about where and when species have been recorded. This knowledg... continue reading

GBIF Young Researchers Award

Aim and Benefits of GBIF Young Researchers Award

The 2022 programme will provide a pair of €5,000 prizes recognizing the work of two early-career researchers—preferably, one master’s and one PhD candidate—who receive formally nominations from the heads of delegation and node managers of GBIF Participant countries.

Requirements for GBIF Young Researchers Award Qualification

Candidates must be enrolled in a university graduate programme to be eligible for the award. Candidates must be either

a) citizens of a country participating in GBIF

or

b) students at an institution located in a GBIF participant country

Interview date, Process and Venue for GBIF Young Researchers Award

The GBIF Science Committee will review the nominations and select winners of the Young Researchers Awards.

The criteria for the awards include:

• Originality and innovation
• Use of and strategic significance for data accessed through GBIF
• Measurable effectiveness and impact in advancing biodiversity informatics and/or the conservation of biological diversity

Proposals that are not selected may be updated and resubmitted for consideration in subsequent years.

Awardees are expected to acknowledge GBIF support when disseminate research results via peer-reviewed publications, presentations at professional meetings, and other media.

Application Deadline

How to Apply

Candidates should prepare their proposal and nomination packets to include:

1. Research summary (200 words)
2. Project description (maximum 5 pages, 12-point Arial) that describes
   a. The need for the research and the question(s) it addresses.
   b. The role of data accessed through GBIF in addressing these questions. Research proposals must clearly demonstrate how the study incorporates data mobilized through GBIF. Students with questions about GBIF-enabled data should work with academic advisors, their GBIF national node, the GBIF Secretariat or members of the Science Committee to increase their understanding.
   c. The research scope, plan, methodologies, relevant literature citations and timetable.
   d. If relevant, a description or an excerpt from a data management plan that outlines how data related to the research is published or will be prepared for publication through the GBIF network to GBIF.org.
3. Curriculum vitae of the student applicant including full contact information at the home institution.
4. Supporting documents
   a. An official letter from the student’s faculty mentor/supervisor certifying that the applicant is a student in good standing in the graduate programme of the university.
   b. At least one, and no more than three, letters of support from established researchers active in a field that encompasses and incorporates biodiversity informatics (e.g., genetics, species composition and traits, biogeography, ecology, systematics, et al.)

For more details, visit GBIF website.