AXA Group

Two AXA Research Fund prizes are awarded annually.

Each prize is worth 250,000 euros. One is awarded to a researcher under 45 years old, and the other to a researcher of any age.

A share of the prize (100,000 euros) goes to the researcher, and the remainder (150,000 euros) is given to his or her laboratory.

Eligible applicants are research institutions with a high level of excellence and international scope situated within one of the European Union member states or within an associated country as defined in the FP7^[1].

Applications go through a two-step selection process. The Scientific Council makes a preliminary reading of all eligible projects, after which an independent double assessment takes place.

The main criteria for the scientific and academic assessment of proposals are:

1. The candidate's excellent academic record.
2. The original and innovative nature of past and current projects (assessment in the context of a research team).
3. Secondary factors that will also be taken into account are:
4. International openness
5. The strengthening of European networks (i.e. optimizing European resources with a focus on regional integration)

[1] FP7 Third Country Agreements (PDF file)
Switzerland, Israel, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Turkey, Croatia, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Serbia, Albania and Montenegro