MILAN — L’Oréal Italia and the Italian National Commission for Unesco have launched the 14th edition of the award “L’Oreal Italia per le Donne e la Scienza,” or “L’Oreal Italy for Women and Science.”
The award is part of the international project L’Oréal Unesco “For Women in Science,” which was established in 1998, and has awarded 65 young Italian researchers in 14 years. The award kicked off on Oct. 19 and applicants can submit their projects through the Web site forwomeninscience.com till Jan. 19. The five winners will be announced during an official award ceremony, slated for May next year.
New in this edition is a raise in the prize money from 15,000 euros to 20,000 euros, or about $16,500 and $22,000 at current exchange rate, for each fellowship winner.
Cristina Scocchia, chief executive officer of L’Oréal Italia, believes that the award will help to overcome prejudice and encourage younger generations to pursue a career in research. “A study commissioned by the L’Oreal Foundation reveals that 67 percent of Europeans believe that women do not possess the skills necessary to access high-level occupations in science,” she said, adding: “This data, thus discouraging, makes us even more determined.”
