Future Proef Award

Future Proef Award

All information about the Future Proef Award for the best Ghent university master's thesis that answers sustainability issues.
Compete in the Future Proef Award 2023! Now both on Gentian and Flemish level

An award for sustainable master theses

Future Proef Award Ghent University

With the Future Proef Award, we put Ghent University master's theses that provide an answer to sustainability issues in the spotlight.

We are looking for graduating students who (a) have carried out high-quality research that (b) has impact, (c) is future-oriented and (d) contributes to the pursuit of a more sustainable society, economy and planet.

Sustainability constitutes one of the most guiding concepts of this era. Its interpretation varies from context to context and from person to person. As a result, many master's theses have a link to sustainability and are eligible for this prize. However, the laureates of the competition must possess a 360° vision of the sustainability issue.

On the 12th of December 2023, a festive award ceremony will be organized together with the city of Ghent. Here, the 10 laureates will present their thesis research and three winners will be awarded by the jury and one audience award will be given.

Flemish Future Proef Award

Since this year, the Future Proef Award is taken to a higher level. The three laureates that were selected by the jury of Ghent, advance to the Flemish level, where an independent jury will select a top three across institutions.

For whom?

  • Every student enrolled in Ghent University can submit up to and including the 8th of October 2023, provided that the master's thesis was completed in the previous academic year.
  • The participating candidate obtained at least a 16/20 for the master's thesis.
  • The master's thesis is written in English or Dutch
  • The master's thesis may be about any topic, given that it contributes to a sustainable future.
  • Confidential master's theses are not a problem, but please let us know so that we can make proper arrangements.

How to participate?

The registration happens fully online via the platform of the Flemish Government and consists of your master's thesis itself and a registration form.

After your registration, we will send you a confirmation of receipt from duurzaam@ugent.be

The course of the competition

  • The jury makes a pre-selection in the course of November on the basis of the submitted registrations. All participants also must submit an article about their master's thesis by the 8th of November 2023.
  • At the latest on the 21st of November, you will be informed whether you belong to the ten nominees and thus also make a chance to win the audience award.
  • The jury selects three winners from the ten nominees, and there is also a public voting on the basis of the articles of the nominees on the Future Proef website.
  • The official award ceremony of Ghent University is on the 12th of December 2023. At this ceremony, the ten nominees are given the chance to present their research to the public. Everyone is welcome to join, you can register here.
  • On the Flemish level, the three winners from Ghent University will be competing against students from other educational institutions. This selection is made on the basis of the already filled-in documents. An independent Flemish jury selects then the three Flemish Future Proef winners.
  • The announcement of the Flemish Future Proef Award winners will happen in the spring of 2024.

Your thesis on the Future Proef website

Every thesis that is registered gets a place on the Future Proef website in the form of a readable article. Like that, we make sustainable student research accessible for everyone, and we take many interesting theses out of their figurative drawer.

To compete for the audience award, all laureates also have to write an article. The public can then vote on the website.

All articles will also be put in the spotlight by us on our social media.

Contact

You can always e-mail us for further questions.